New website shares ADOT continuous improvement success stories

PHOENIX – Wait times have been reduced dramatically at Motor Vehicle Division offices across Arizona thanks to improvements as complex as opening many offices an hour earlier and as simple as having a customer service representative make sure those in line have everything they need to complete their transactions.

A first-of-its-kind training program for truck drivers in Mexico has improved the flow of commerce at international ports of entry where Arizona Department of Transportation officers conduct safety inspections. Today, almost no drivers who have completed the International Border Inspection Qualification are having their trucks pulled out of service to correct safety violations, and Arizona’s highways are safer as a result.

Thanks to a retrofit kit created by employees, ADOT can replace the original halogen bulbs and mechanical shutters in older freeway message boards with state-of-the-art LED lighting – and at a fraction of the cost of replacing the whole board. Net savings: $250,000-plus per board that can be put toward other transportation needs.

Answering Governor Doug Ducey’s call for state agencies to continuously improve their value to taxpayers and other customers through the Arizona Management System, ADOT is dedicated to having every employee, everywhere, solving problems every day.

Because the improvements above are just part of the agency’s continuous improvement journey, ADOT has created a website allowing you to experience many more Arizona Management System successes through stories, blog posts, videos and photos. Visit azdot.gov/AMS to see what’s been accomplished, and come back often to see what’s new.

“For those of us at ADOT, the only thing more inspiring than seeing dozens of Arizona Management System success stories celebrated in one place is imagining how many more there will be in the months and years that follow,” said Scott Omer, ADOT’s Deputy Director/Chief Operating Officer and Continuous Improvement Executive Sponsor. “This new website is a way for all Arizonans to share the journey with us.”

The website separates Arizona Management System success stories into their main benefits: savings in taxpayer money, time savings and safety improvements. Among them:

Saving money: An ADOT Blog post explains how the Equipment Services team in Phoenix is repurposing unused spare tires in fleet vehicles that are put up for auction when replaced. To accomplish this, they changed an ADOT policy that called for tires to be replaced according to their age.

Saving time: A video on the ADOT Blog shared how employees at ADOT’s vehicle repair shop in Tucson are reducing the steps required to perform tasks by better organizing their work stations and the overall operation, down to adding tablets to water in a vehicle’s wiper fluid holder rather than lugging around containers of wiper fluid. The result: more efficient repairs and maintenance of vehicles used by ADOT and by other agencies that contract with ADOT for service.

Safety: An ADOT Blog post shared how wireless technology allows technicians in Phoenix to monitor traffic and signals along State Route 347 in Maricopa and make adjustments remotely that correct problems and improve traffic flow.

An Overview tab explains the Arizona Management System at ADOT and how employees are making countless improvements that may not necessarily turn into news releases or blog posts. An introductory video takes viewers around the state to see how ADOT employees in various roles are using the Arizona Management System to identify and address problems every day in order to improve quality, safety and the agency’s value to customers.

Learn more by visiting ADOT's Continuous Improvement / An AMS Success Story at azdot.gov/AMS.