PHOENIX – Starting this week, the timing of ramp-meter signals along southbound State Route 51 (Piestewa Freeway) are being adjusted to respond to the flow of morning rush-hour traffic, expanding an Arizona Department of Transportation program that began last fall along the freeway’s northbound on-ramps.

Instead of the ramp meters being programmed with predetermined red-light intervals, the system will use data from traffic-flow sensors embedded in the freeway’s pavement to adjust the signal timing. When morning rush-hour traffic slows, the ramp meters may hold vehicles several additional seconds to help ease the congestion.

The change involves southbound SR 51 on-ramp meters from Greenway to Thomas roads. The southbound ramp meter at Shea Boulevard isn’t currently in use.

As with the northbound State Route 51 ramp meters during the afternoon rush hour, the southbound meters may even turn off earlier in the morning based on how well freeway traffic is flowing.

Drivers may notice new signs along southbound SR 51 on-ramps advising them of the signal timing changes.

The ramp meter project supports one of ADOT’s key performance indicators under the Arizona Management System championed by Governor Doug Ducey: reducing the percentage of time freeways in the Phoenix metro area are congested.

Ramp meters have been in use for many years across the country and at many Phoenix-area freeway on-ramps during busy rush hours to enhance traffic flow, as well as safety, by controlling the number of vehicles entering freeways at any one time.

The upgrades along SR 51 provide a way to look at expanded capabilities of ramp-meter technology. Most ramp meters along Valley freeways are currently programmed with predetermined red-light intervals. Hours of operation for the meters have been based on historical traffic data.

The SR 51 ramp meters using the new responsive system are programmed to adjust to freeway traffic flow and the volume of traffic entering the freeway. Detectors along the entrance ramps also assess if ramp traffic is backing up, allowing the system to further adjust the red and green light timing to limit the amount of traffic waiting to enter the freeway.

ADOT is working closely with the city of Phoenix on the ramp meter research project and will continue to monitor any impacts to traffic on local streets intersecting with SR 51.

PHOENIX – Need to visit an MVD office? Leave that novel at home, you won’t need it to pass the time because the average time people spend at an Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division office has been cut in half in 2017 compared to last year.

So far in 2017, customers at the 15 MVD offices in metro Phoenix and Tucson are averaging fewer than 30 minutes from the moment they enter an office to the time they leave ‒ a trend that began in February and continues today.

This improvement is due in large part to the successful implementation of the Arizona Management System (AMS). Championed by Gov. Doug Ducey, AMS empowers employees at every level of the MVD to come up with innovative ways to serve customers more efficiently.

“The Motor Vehicle Division has embraced the AMS philosophy of finding change for the better, and we’re seeing impressive results,” said ADOT Director John Halikowski. “Instead of making customers sit and wait for a number to be called, we have employees answering questions and providing assistance. We’ve expanded office hours in all our urban offices. We offer more services online and at MVD kiosks. The end result is a much shorter amount of time most people need to spend when they visit an MVD office, and more innovations are on the way.”

“I’m very proud of the work being done by MVD employees to make our offices run more efficiently in keeping with our vision to get people out of line and safely on the road,” said MVD Director Eric Jorgensen. “That vision is more than just an idea. It’s the reality being played out every business day at MVD where our customers are getting more of their valuable time back to do the things they want to do.”

A year ago, a visit to an MVD office in the Phoenix or Tucson metro areas would typically take almost one hour. Today urban offices are consistently showing an average experience time of fewer than 30 minutes. In some locations, the average time from when a customer enters the office to the time he or she leaves is closer to 20 minutes.

This trend is especially notable because MVD is serving more customers in 2017 compared to last year, but doing so far more efficiently. In the month of March, for example, MVD experienced an exceptionally high amount of customer traffic with an average of nearly 9,400 daily transactions, while the offices still managed to keep the urban experience time below 30 minutes.

Another stunning improvement is the wait time in the lobby, or the time it takes from when a customer is given a service number and called to a counter to complete a transaction. In July 2016, 70 percent of urban MVD customers waited more than 15 minutes; as of May this year, that figure was below 25 percent.

For more information about the Motor Vehicle Division, please visit azdot.gov/mvd.

PHOENIX – Good news travels fast and it also travels far. The work being done by the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division to lower office wait times, use employees more resourcefully and be more efficient overall is being noticed 9,000 miles away in Singapore.

A delegation from the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and a representative from the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) visited MVD recently to learn about the continuous improvement transformation through the Arizona Management System championed by Governor Doug Ducey.

The delegation toured the MVD office located on 51st Avenue in Phoenix and got a firsthand look at how changes have helped contribute to an overall average reduction of 20 minutes in urban office wait times statewide. Other changes have contributed to an 80 percent reduction in overtime costs at some MVD locations, added more capacity by making road test appointments online and increased usage of online service options like kiosks and ServiceArizona.com. 

MVD Director Eric Jorgensen said, “The Singapore government is very interested in studying efficiency, and what impressed them most was that Margarita, a customer service representative in the West Phoenix office, was able to walk them through the huddle board that measures our goals and describes our initiatives and explain not only how our processes work, but why.  They were also very impressed with the level of engagement of all the leads, supervisors and office manager.”  

He added, “I truly believe that this kind of engagement, with 854 MVD employees actively looking for how to make things just a little better, is the key to getting our customers out of the line and safely on the road.”

The Singapore government has put a large focus on increasing productivity and innovation in their country, and SIT is looking at different ways to bring lean transformation to their university and ultimately to the workforce through education and skills development.

PHOENIX – What difference can half an hour make? A huge one when it results in an 80 percent reduction in employee overtime.

The Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division has seen major savings in those payroll costs since modifying the operating hours at its three Tucson-area offices. This change was brought about by MVD implementing Lean management techniques, part of the Arizona Management System, that empower employees to find ways to improve the customer experience.

In June 2016, Tucson MVD offices changed their opening time from 8 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. to better serve customers who arrive early and line up prior to the doors opening.

The earlier office opening time helps customers who want to get their business done early in the day and also allows management more flexibility when scheduling employees. Because of that flexibility, the number of employees available to serve customers is more consistent throughout the day and transactions are conducted more efficiently. That in turn results in fewer MVD staff working after closing time to finish various tasks, vastly reducing overtime costs. In the six months since making the change, overtime hours have dropped 80 percent when compared to the same time period a year ago.

“This is a great win for our customers, our employees and the taxpayers of Arizona,” said MVD Director Eric Jorgensen. “Because of the Lean management initiative championed by Governor Ducey, MVD is empowering its employees statewide to come up with ideas that provide a financial benefit as well as improved customer service.”

He added, “Tucson MVD employees now don’t stay late at work nearly as often, which means more time for themselves and their families. And our customers spend much less time at an office with overall wait times dropping by a statewide average of about 20 minutes. This is another way we’re getting people out of line and safely on the road.”

For more information on Tucson office locations visit: azdot.gov/mvd.

At the Tucson shop where the Arizona Department of Transportation repairs and maintains vehicles, technicians once rolled tires across the facility to reach a machine used for repairs.

Today, that machine is located next to the operation’s tire storage, along with the tools and supplies needed for the work. As a result, far fewer steps are required to repair tires.

Technicians once lost time searching various drawers for the right nuts, bolts, fittings and electronic connectors. Today, drawers are color-coded according to items, sizes and uses, better connecting technicians with what they need for a particular repair.

Rather than lugging containers of wiper fluid, technicians now create it by adding tablets with water to a vehicle’s wiper fluid holder. In addition to being a little less expensive, this approach frees space once required to store all of that wiper fluid.

“The littlest details make a big difference,” said Harry Edwards, the foreman.

As ADOT answers Governor Doug Ducey’s call for state agencies to continuously improve all aspects of their operations, employees at the Tucson Equipment Services shop are identifying ways to do their jobs more efficiently, down to how they organize their workstations.

“One of the things we’re challenged to do as employees is look for opportunities to improve upon what we did yesterday,” said Sonya Herrera, director of ADOT’s Administrative Services Division, which includes Equipment Services. “And I think the Tucson shop is a great example of how small changes, when added together, lead to a huge improvement.”

The payoff goes beyond more efficient repairs and maintenance for ADOT vehicles ranging from trucks to snowplows. Dozens of agencies contract with Equipment Services, including the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Arizona Department of Public Safety, police departments and school districts.

Improvements to date include a tracking system for specialized diagnostic tools that technicians share.

“Rather than spending time looking for it or searching for it, they know exactly who has that tool and can touch base with them to find out when it will be available,” Herrera said.

Devin Darlek, ADOT Equipment Services administrator, notes that applying continuous improvement techniques costs nothing in most cases while producing savings in time and taxpayer money. It’s also spurring a healthy competition among all 23 ADOT Equipment Services shops to identify improvements.

“Process improvements are contagious,” Darlek said. “All employees are excited about this and are working to plug in their own ideas.”

All through the Tucson shop, employees are evaluating processes and procedures to cut down on the steps – and time – needed to perform work. Reducing steps increases the shop’s capacity for other work.

They noticed, for example, that a machine used to remove, repair and mount light tires was in great demand. But it was located in the north end of the shop, while new tires were stored at the south end. Fetching the right supplies and tools for tire repairs involved more trips.

The employees’ review found that mounting and balancing a tire required 277 steps.

Moving the machine in question to where tires are stored, and next to the right supplies and tools, reduced the number of steps required to mount and balance a tire to 28.

Employees saved more steps by taking a close look at each technician’s workspace, and then reorganizing – rebuilding workbenches in some cases – to focus on the tasks each person performs most often as well as ergonomics.

After employees assessed which items in the parts area were in highest demand, Kevin Potts, the facility’s equipment parts supervisor, moved those items closer to the entrance. Where it once took 10 steps to dispense one of the faster-moving parts, it now takes just three.

That improvement also has reduced inventory, which in turn reduces overhead costs, and made accounting for inventory much more efficient.

“Instead of having three months of inventory sitting on my shelf, I’ve got just two or three weeks of inventory sitting on my shelf because I have really good vendors 20 minutes away,” Potts said.

Technician Shane Blasdel said the many improvements to date at the Tucson shop offer benefits beyond saving steps.

“Shop’s a lot cleaner, a lot more efficient, a lot safer,” Blasdel said.

Because continuous improvement is, by definition, continuous, accomplishments to date are just a start.

“No idea’s too small,” said Edwards, the Tucson shop foreman.