About This Report Digital Government
Cover photo by Halverson Fine Photography |
From Process
to Results
October 1997 through December 2001:
Regulatory Improvements
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Taxpayers have demanded a better government and state workers have listened and are working hard to gain the public's trust. State agencies are continuing to make improvements to our government that save us money, generate revenue and provide better service to all of us. I applaud each agency's contributions to the quality of service we offer and commit to you that these efforts will continue. Our goal remains firm: "Make government work better..."
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April 2001 Department of Corrections and Department of General Administration Lexan Restoration Project Washington Corrections Center (WCC) faced thousands of dollars to replace damaged on-site windows. Lexan/Plexiglas are bullet-resistant security glass windows costing $3000 per 4 X 8-foot sheet. The Staff from WCC, General Administration and the 3M Corporation worked together modifying a process from Operation Desert Storm used on helicopter windows. Today, their repair process restores visual clarity to scratched and marked sheets for just $91.52. 3M tested the process, trained an inmate work team and piloted a project. This project saved $45,000 on 50 windows, increased prison security with improved visibility, kept Lexan out of landfills and gave offenders training in marketable skills. |
January 2001 Department of General Administration Incoming Sort Project U.S. Postal Service (USPS) schedule changes meant that GA's Consolidated Mail Services had two less hours to process mail-some of which included time sensitive checks, claims and license applications. Late processing negatively impacted customers and services. The team discovered improved capacity with the USPS with the use of automation compatible mail. It opened the door for expanded use of Barcode Readers and highspeed automated mail sorters. They also made adjustments to better match USPS pickup schedules. This resulted in improved timeliness, reduced errors, less staff time for sorting and dollar savings of $68,331 annually. |
July 2001 Department of Retirement Systems School Employees' Retirement System (SERS) Project A new School Employees Retirement System meant meeting legislatively mandated timelines and helping over 46,000 plan members make financial choices about which plan best met their needs. This team provided modeling software on the Internet, a training video and 24-hour Internet account information and a telephone interactive voice response system. Nearly all seminar participants said it increased their understanding of retirement investments. Stakeholders and customers helped the project implement on time and within budget, saving training materials and 152 staff hours. Lessons learned will also be applied to the upcoming Public Employees Retirement System 3 project. |
April 2001 Department of Social and Health Services Journey through the Healing Circle Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Related Conditions (FARC) are birth defects resulting from alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Affected children can be difficult to care for, risking association to crime and dependence on social welfare systems. FAS is the only cause of birth defects that can be completely avoided, but education is key. A team produced "Journey through the Healing Circle," a series of training resources for foster parents, clients, tribes, schools, social service agencies and medical professionals. It demystifies FAS/FARC in a sensitive and nonjudgmental way, providing a realistic overview of the impact of alcohol use during pregnancy. Improved community awareness and prevention programs saved $93,600 in foster care costs. |
April 2001 Health Care Authority Improving Customer Service with PEBB Online Form The Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) program relied on telephone and paper documents for contacting customers. During enrollment periods, PEBB received thousands of requests for information and account changes. Additionally, thousands of enrollment change forms are submitted from payroll/benefits offices to be keyed. For 2001, an online form was developed, piloted and implemented on the agency's website. Customers had immediate access to account information with the ability to change medical and dental plans, 24-7. The site drew 12,000 visits, over 4400 changes and saved nearly 600 staff hours. Online accounts are processed faster so members receive new I.D. cards sooner! |
July 2001 Department of Ecology Methamphetamine: Cleaning Up Drug Labs and Dumps Methamphetamine production creates toxic gases and solutions that are extremely harmful to people and the environment. In 2000, requests for meth-lab clean-ups quadrupled to 1454 and were projected to rise to 3400 by 2003. Without staff additions, the Department of Ecology (DOE) had to improve efficiencies to meet the increased demand. DOE now does clean ups they used to contract out-saving an average $1300 per site and a total $1.9 million in contractor fees for 2000. The National Guard and local law enforcement also provide assistance. New methods for disposal of improperly filled pressurized tanks have also saved time and improved safety. |
October 2001 Department of Corrections Breaking the Cycle Alternative Release Program The Pierce County Jail is federally required to reduce overcrowding which often results in early release of drug offenders. Because research shows a 60% reduction in recidivism for offenders who complete drug treatment, a team of criminal justice agencies designed a program to reduce jail overcrowding and start drug treatment at release. Now exoffenders receive orientation, substance abuse evaluation and treatment plans immediately. They also participate in random, weekly drug/alcohol testing. Of 354 participants, 67% are successfully in compliance. Research predicts most will remain arrest free for at least four years. The jail has saved $864,045 and 16,380 bed days. |
July 2001 Department of Licensing and Department of Revenue Master Business License Internet Application Filing a Master Business License used to be slow-up to three weeks via a paper process. This created problems for businesses needing a registration quickly. The Departments of Licensing and Revenue collaborated with other state agencies to allow application and payment of Master Business Licenses over the Internet. This "first in the nation" multiagency on-line business registration process receives over 1000 applications monthly. Businesses get their Unified Business Identifier (UBI) number immediately upon authorization of credit card funds. Information is more accurate too-17% of paper applicants require follow-up to reconcile application details . . . compared to only 1% of Internet applicants. |
April 2001 Department of Transportation Kozy Kamp/Klickitat County Public Works In remote southwest Washington, staffing highway construction projects is always a challenge. Last summer an opportunity occurred with benefits far beyond workforce issues. Klickitat County Public Works programmed a very large construction project but had insufficient staffing and equipment to administer it. They asked Department of Transportation (DOT) if resources could be loaned to meet their need. The DOT went a step further, rescheduling a large adjacent project of its own and combining both roadway ventures into a single job. Competition reduced bids 14% below estimates and sharing resources translated into cost savings of well over $1Million for DOT. |
January 2001 Department of Retirement Systems Quicker Response Helps Customers Plan Retirement The Department of Retirement Systems fields over 18,600 requests on benefit estimates annually. In a customer survey, members pleaded for faster response times for these requests. Baseline measurements indicated that the department was responding to estimate requests in 15.31 days. The team set a goal to reduce response time 25%. After developing a computerized review system, establishing greater consistency processing their plans and reducing staff time required for review of online account data, they reduced estimate requests to 5.22 days-a 65% improvement! Customer satisfaction ratings have increased and the department is saving 508 staff hours annually. |
July 2001 Department of Labor and Industries Electrical Licensing Team Labor and Industries (L&I) licenses electrical trainees, electricians and contractors, but customers complained that their processes were inefficient. Outdated forms were confusing and were continually sent back to customers for correction-causing frustration and delays. Trainees waited too long for examinations and temporary licenses. The team streamlined renewals, simplified rules and redesigned forms to eliminate mistakes, reduce phone calls and minimize delays. They also removed requirements for notarized signatures on 80% of the forms, saving time for customers and staff. By eliminating backlogs and allowing trainees to pass the exam sooner, 1700 workers received an additional $5 Million in higher wages. |
April 2001 Washington State School for the Blind Washington Lions Low Vision Task Force More than 100,000 Washington citizens have severe visual impairment. To increase public awareness and quality services for individuals of low vision, the Washington Lions Low Vision Task Force was formed. The blind and partially sighted joined experts in medicine, education and vision rehabilitation to form unique public/private partnership. Their efforts have produced a toll-free information and referral service, an education series, a traveling clinic for individuals in rural and underserved populations and a children's outreach program providing free evaluations to school-age children, including grants for purchasing low vision assistance devices. |
January 2001 Department of Corrections Computers 4 Kids Program Statistics showed that only 11% of old computers were recycled. Many were dumped in landfills or burn plants causing contamination. Meanwhile, budget restraints prevented public schools from purchasing enough computers for Washington students. The Department of Corrections, in an effort to provide inmates with marketable skills, partnered with the Community Colleges of Spokane Foundation and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to refurbish old PCs for schools. 55 inmates completed training and over 80,000 pounds of computer hardware waste was diverted from landfills. 5262 refurbished computers sent to schools have saved taxpayers over $2 Million. |
July 2001 Department of Labor and Industries Field Audit Team Labor & Industries (L&I) collects industrial insurance premiums from employers to cover workers injured on the job. Employers who fail to pay premiums not only gain an economic advantage over those who do, but cause honest employers to pay more than their share. A Field Audit Team asked for reports of suspect employers, cross-matched data to find unregistered employers, developed an "abbreviated audit" process to register employers more efficiently and started stamping correspondence with a red "Audit Notice" message to increase response rates. L&I increased registrations of non-compliant employers and collected $720,000 additional revenue for the year. |
October 2001 Department of Labor and Industries Deciduous Tree Fruit Industry Injury Reduction Team Eye injuries and falls from ladders caused serious safety concerns for orchard workers in Central Washington. Injuries were rising and so were compensation claims and premiums for growers. This team built a partnership with growers and migrant worker groups and marketed a colorful brochure combined with Spanish radio ads to persuade workers to use protective glasses and ladder safety training. The campaign resulted in 24% fewer eye injury claims, 20% fewer claims from ladder falls, dramatic reductions in claim costs and an 81% decrease in lost work days. Employers now have lower industrial insurance rates and lose fewer skilled workers. |
January 2001 Department of Retirement Systems Deferred Compensation Program Answers Participants' Requests In surveys, letters and telephone conversations, customers were asking for greater flexibility managing their investments. Transactions required paper forms and manual entry into a record keeping system that offered limited options. Customer service representatives were only available during regular business hours and figured investment values using desk calculators. Investment changes were allowed only twice monthly, taking a week or more to update in the system. Now, a fully integrated system provides 24-hour customer access via touch- tone phone and Internet. The automation has reduced the wait for investment transfers from twelve days to one, saved 6700 staff hours and $22,000 in forms, postage and microfilm. |
April 2001 Department of Licensing and Department of Revenue Automated Valuation System Sales tax is collected on the sale of used vehicles based on market value of vehicle and vessel purchases. Because of differing systems, agents inconsistently applied the use tax laws resulting in varying valuations. Washington lost millions of dollars from under-reported and under- collected use taxes. Department of Revenue, Department of Licensing, Washington State Auditors Association and Washington Association of Vehicle Subagents partnered the new Automated Valuation System. It checks fair market value against industry standards so customers receive the same values regardless of the office contacted. The system eliminates value books and "shopping" for the lowest tax. It generates revenue of $24 million annually and has cut phone inquiries by half. |
October 2001 Department of Labor and Industries Mainframe Computer Needs and Usage Team Many software programs were too large to run on agency computers so Labor & Industries (L&I) purchased mainframe capacity from the Department of Information Services (DIS). This represented a significant cost translating into millions of dollars annually. Because the agency's average monthly computer usage jumped dramatically, a team came together to examine how mainframe DIS computers organized, handled and stored data. They changed how and when data is accessed and were able to reduce related usage costs-saving the agency $388,800 per year. The ability to identify and understand changes in computer usage enables the agency to predict and better plan for future needs. |
October 2001 Health Care Authority Basic Health Customer Service Telephone Responsiveness Basic Health's Call Center faced issues with automation routing, using multi-languages and handling some 50,000 calls monthly. During a 12-month period, 42% of incoming calls were answered in 5 minutes or less. The team used system data to identify call flow, evaluate customer service, set alternative work schedules and better use the Automatic Call Distributor. As a result, as many as 93.6% of calls have been answered within 5 minutes, average length per call dropped from 9.33 to .48 minutes and call abandonment levels fell from 31.62% to only 3.9%. Improvements have also increased customer service issues resolved by a single call. |
January 2001 Department of General Administration Everything Including the Kitchen Sink Department of Transportation (DOT) purchased the Farmer's Insurance Building in Vancouver for its new headquarters. They found there a huge industrial kitchen that far exceeded their own requirements for food vending services. A Plant Operations Support Consortium found a new home for the $190,000 worth of equipment with Vancouver's State School for the Deaf and Clark College. Department of Corrections and Natural Resources provided labor crews for the dismantling and transport of the materials, which avoided $15,000 in removal and disposal costs. By creating extra space in their new headquarters facility, DOT has square footage generating an additional $30,000 in leasing revenue annually! |