TUCSON – At most urban Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division offices, customers begin lining up around 7:30 a.m. in anticipation of an 8 o’clock opening, aiming to avoid a wait. Those who don’t often try to squeeze in MVD visits during lunch breaks, creating a rush that can lead to longer waits throughout the afternoon.

As part of its efforts to improve the customer experience and reduce wait times throughout the state, MVD has started opening its three offices serving the Tucson area at 7:30 a.m. to give more people the opportunity to visit before work and to even out the flow of customers throughout the day.

“We want to provide more opportunities for customers to get their business done quickly with MVD,” ADOT Motor Vehicle Division Director Eric Jorgensen said. “We are committed to improving wait times and making the overall customer experience better.”

MVD will be monitoring the effectiveness of this experiment throughout the summer.

Reducing wait times at MVD offices is a key part of ADOT’s agency-wide commitment to continuous improvement. Other MVD experiments toward this goal include moving customers through the west Phoenix location without calling out numbers.

MVD’s efforts have already yielded process improvements that include printing temporary credentials at customer service windows instead of sending customers to a separate line. Also, customers who need to retake the driving test now go directly to the testing area instead of first waiting in line to re-verify their applications with a representative.

To accommodate opening earlier, employees at the Tucson MVD offices are working alternative schedules. The evaluation includes testing different schedules in order to have offices open longer.

With the new Tucson hours in place for only a couple of weeks, MVD has already noted improvement in wait times at the Tucson Regional office on South Broadmont Drive. In the course of planning, doing and checking results to continuously improve, MVD is prepared to make further adjustments to hours.

“Our approach of experimenting and assessing MVD’s processes has yielded and will continue to yield improvements that benefit customers around Arizona,” Jorgensen said.

For more information, visit azdot.gov/mvd.

PHOENIX – The West Phoenix Motor Vehicle Division office is often a noisy scene when a customer lines up to check in and then takes a seat to wait for an automated system to call his or her number.

On this day, however, it’s unusually quiet and no numbers are being called. After checking in, customers line up along a path through the lobby marked by yellow tape. While one MVD employee walks down the line to make sure customers have what they need to complete their transactions, another directs people to the next available customer service window.

It would be natural to think that the automated system is broken, but in fact it’s been modified to stop audibly calling numbers so employees here can see if trying a different approach reduces wait times.

The initial results are promising: On this day, customers got in and out in 30-35 minutes on average versus the usual average time of more than an hour.

As part of the Arizona Department of Transportation’s agency-wide commitment to continuous improvement, MVD has turned the office at 51st Avenue and Indian School Road, one of its busiest, into a laboratory of sorts as it works toward a goal of reducing door-to-door times at all locations from an average of one hour to 28 minutes. Repurposing the automated number system is one of many ideas that employees will try here in the coming months to identify process improvements that can be used at all MVD offices.

What’s happening at the West Phoenix office may be the most visible way MVD is seeking to becoming more valuable to customers, but this commitment to continuous improvement applies to all facets of its operations.

“Nothing is off-limits as we and others at ADOT answer Governor Ducey’s call to operate at the speed of business,” ADOT Motor Vehicle Division Director Eric Jorgensen said. “We’re ready to experiment with any element of MVD.”

The roadmap for continuous improvement begins with planning. What played out in the lobby on this day began with brainstorming sessions in a large employee training room downstairs that’s become an innovation center for a team made up of staff from the West Phoenix and other MVD offices, MVD leadership and ADOT’s continuous improvement specialists. It’s a place to literally throw things on the wall and see what sticks, as the walls are covered with color-coded sticky notes identifying dozens of processes being studied, along with challenges and potential improvements.

“We are looking at everything from driver licenses to titles and registrations and brainstorming possible solutions to issues with those processes,” said West Phoenix MVD Office Manager Steven Parra, who in addition to his other duties oversees the experimentation here. “It’s exciting to be a part of a venture where we get to actually test the ideas we come up with to see if they work.”

The next stages of continuous improvement are doing and checking. The results of the changes to the automated number system on this day will be studied, as will those of other experiments aimed at reducing customer wait times.

Some ideas will work. Some won’t. Both are part of a process that will lead to the final step of continuous improvement: acting, in this case by identifying ways that all MVD offices can reduce customer wait times.

In addition to innovations that will come from the West Phoenix office, MVD has already made several changes through its continuous-improvement process. These include printing temporary credentials at the customer service window instead of sending customers to a separate line. Also, a customer retaking the driving test now goes directly to the testing area instead of first waiting in line to re-verify his or her application with a representative.

“Our vision to get customers out of line and safely on the road is not just something we say,” Jorgensen said. “What’s happening at our West Phoenix office isn’t the beginning or the end of our efforts to improve at MVD. It’s an expression of how committed we are about better serving our customers and becoming more efficient.”

For more information, visit azdot.gov/mvd.

PHOENIX – In the not-so-distant past, someone retaking a road test at an Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division office had to stand in line – not to retake the test but to re-verify the application, a process that required spending several minutes at a window after taking a number and waiting to be called.

Today, that returning individual will retake the test first. Once he or she passes, a customer service representative will then process the rest of the application.

The change, which saves time for the test-taker as well as other waiting customers, is just one of the ways MVD is innovating to achieve its strategic vision of getting customers out of line and safely on the road.

“We’re continually looking to see where we can save time or even a visit to an office,” ADOT Motor Vehicle Division Director Eric Jorgensen said. “’Out of line and safely on the road’ is the way we’re doing business to benefit the residents of this state.”

Jorgensen, who became MVD director in March 2015, said there are several reasons behind the push to streamline processes and create more value for customers, starting with a philosophy his father shared.

“He would tell us, ‘If you see something that needs to be done, do it,’” Jorgensen said. “That saying has stuck with me, and I use it every day.”

He shares that philosophy with employees, noting that suggestions and feedback from those working at MVD offices have driven process improvements.

Another philosophy that drives Jorgensen is “a good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”

“It’s important to build momentum. Sometimes we have to build the race car while in the race,” Jorgensen said. “We have identified a lot of projects at MVD that will help us build that momentum and carry us to greater things.”

MVD’s vision is part of an agency-wide commitment to continuous improvement that involves every aspect of ADOT operations.

For MVD, finding new ways to leverage technology is another way to get customers out of line. That starts with expanding what can be done through ServiceArizona.com. The website and the 43 ServiceArizona kiosks at MVD offices and courthouses around Arizona offer more than 20 motor vehicle services such as vehicle registration renewal and ordering replacement driver licenses and specialty license plates, with more to come.

ServiceArizona initiatives include rolling out online appointment scheduling for all MVD offices. That’s already happening on a smaller scale for those wishing to convert driver licenses to the new Voluntary Travel ID at select MVD offices.

“We live in a time where technology allows people to conduct a lot of business anytime and anywhere,” Jorgensen said. “We want to do the same with the MVD and reduce or even eliminate the need to physically come into an office.”

An innovative approach is allowing MVD to modernize its computer system over the next few years through a partnership with IBM, which maintains ServiceArizona.com. A portion of all sales through ServiceArizona.com are going toward computer system improvements that will make motor vehicle services more accessible and efficient.

MVD also continues expanding options and convenience for customers through Authorized Third Party providers, with 165 businesses statewide providing services including a growing number offering driver licenses.

Ultimately, getting customers out of line and safely on the road is about helping people get what they need from the MVD in a timely and efficient way.

“Like most people who become public servants, MVD employees ‒ myself included ‒ want to help others, make things better and be part of a solution,” Jorgensen said. “It’s happening here at the MVD. We’re making a difference every day.”

To learn more about the Motor Vehicle Division, visit azdot.gov/mvd.

PHOENIX – To make the most efficient use of taxpayer dollars and provide more consistent and reliable customer service, the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division is examining all aspects of its operations, including whether to consolidate certain offices, to better serve Arizonans.

As a result, MVD is closing its Colorado City office, which is only open two days a week, and expanding service at its Littlefield office from three to five days a week. Employees of the Colorado City office will be stationed at the Littlefield office, increasing MVD availability in that region.

“By merging our resources, we can increase staffing at remaining MVD offices and enhance services to our customers in the northwest region,” Motor Vehicle Division Director Eric Jorgensen said.

The changes, which take effect Monday, May 23, will allow MVD to provide more reliable customer service to residents of the Arizona Strip and to operate more efficiently by reducing facility costs.

Those living anywhere in Arizona can conduct more than 20 motor vehicle transactions online at ServiceArizona.com, which is available via smartphones and tablets as well as desktop and laptop computers. They also can visit an increasing number of Authorized Third Party businesses offering services including driver licenses and vehicle titles.

Those who currently use the Colorado City office will continue to have access to full-service MVD offices in Littlefield and Page for transactions that require an office visit.

MVD is continuously evaluating its operations for potential consolidation and looks at factors including location, lease agreements and what MVD services are used at that particular location.

“We continue to explore ways to best serve our customers in the northwest region and are working to provide efficient, convenient services to our customers across the state,” Jorgensen said.

For more information, visit azdot.gov/mvd.

PHOENIX ‒ The Tucson facility where the Arizona Department of Transportation repairs and maintains its vehicles has significantly reduced the amount of trash it generates by recycling scrap metal, batteries, automotive fluids, paper and more. Converting to LED lighting has reduced energy use.

Along with ADOT’s repair facility in Springerville, the Tucson operation has been recognized through the agency’s Green Shop program, which seeks to minimize environmental impact, cut waste and increase recycling at 22 ADOT Equipment Services locations.

“We’re reducing the cost to the state because we’re keeping waste down,” said Nathan Carroll, the fuel, scales, environmental and training manager for ADOT Equipment Services. “The end result is increasing productivity. For the taxpayer, that’s a good thing.”

The Green Shop program began in 2006 with a best-practices manual offering guidelines on subjects including keeping shops clean and organized for efficient operations and properly containing spills. It has become an important part of daily operations at all ADOT service shops.

More than 40 government agencies contract with ADOT Equipment Services, including the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Arizona Department of Public Safety, police departments and school districts. The shops perform preventive maintenance and major repairs on light trucks, snowplows, watercraft, snowmobiles, school buses and more.

Every two years, one full-service shop and one satellite location are honored following three inspections, one of which is unannounced, to see how operations are following the Green Shop guidelines.

An event to honor the Tucson operation was held April 8. An April 18 ceremony is scheduled at the Springerville facility.

PHOENIX – As traffic demands continue to grow across the state, the Arizona Department of Transportation is becoming more efficient and innovative in operating and sustaining a transportation system that touches the lives of nearly every Arizonan.

In streamlining its overall structure, ADOT is shifting several core functions into the Transportation Systems Management and Operations Division (TSMO). The move allows ADOT to better manage current infrastructure while looking ahead to the use of emerging technologies that can enhance the mobility of people and products.

The TSMO Division includes a variety of traffic safety and operational programs, including roadway-safety improvements, traffic-signal systems, pavement conditions and crash response. It also includes technology used to manage congestion, such as ADOT’s growing network of highway traffic-flow sensors, overhead message boards and closed-circuit cameras operated from the agency’s Traffic Operations Center in Phoenix.

“Governor Ducey has challenged state agencies to adopt practices for daily improvement and this is one of our answers,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “By proactively maximizing the capacity of our entire system, our efforts stretch the investment taxpayers are making in transportation. By focusing on the whole system, rather than individual corridors, movement and safety are optimized along today’s and tomorrow’s highways, especially with emerging technologies that will move us into the future.”

Today’s safety improvements can be relatively simple. An example is adding large freeway-number decals along a travel lane to help guide drivers when they’re approaching another freeway. Synchronized traffic signals are another example. Tomorrow’s technological innovations likely include electronic variable speed limit signs that adjust to traffic conditions.

TSMO Division employees also are involved in coordinating agency resources when ADOT prepares and responds to winter storms like the recent ones that impacted much of the state. ADOT partners with other safety agencies to reopen any closed highways and get traffic moving again as quickly as possible.

The focus on efficiency includes ADOT’s recent move to consolidate the number of its engineering districts around the state from 10 to seven. The agency also has reduced its number of full-time employees from more than 4,500 in 2008 to fewer than 3,900 today. In an age of making the most of limited transportation funding, ADOT has joined the short list of state transportation departments that have made transportation system management and operations part of their organizations.

“We’ve understood for some time that you can’t just build your way out of congestion,” said ADOT Assistant Director Brent Cain, who leads the TSMO Division. “We’re evaluating all of our functions, as well as safety and operational processes, to determine new approaches and efficiencies to maximize the capacity of our existing highways and other infrastructure. We’ll be better prepared for the future, while working even more closely with the Department of Public Safety, local police and fire departments, emergency-response agencies as well as counties, cities and towns. The goal is to bolster the reliability of the current system while we add efficient future improvements.”

One of ADOT’s other divisions also is involved in the agency’s transition. It has taken on a new name. The former Intermodal Transportation Division, which designs, constructs and maintains the state’s highway system, is now the Infrastructure Delivery and Operations Division (IDO).

“Providing system reliability, while developing strategic improvements to our infrastructure is critical to Arizona’s economy,” Assistant Director for Infrastructure Delivery and Operations Steve Boschen said. “This name more accurately describes what our employees do on behalf of our customers. We focus on those who depend on our work to get them where they need to go. It really is about infrastructure delivery and operations.”