Pennsylvania epermitting System. Digital Government: Government to Business (G to B) Category. Contact: Phil Tomassini, CIO

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1 Pennsylvania epermitting System Digital Government: Government to Business (G to B) Category Contact: Phil Tomassini, CIO Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Project Initiation Date: May 15, 2011 Project Completion Date: October 31,

2 2 Section 2. Executive Summary PennDOT issues Highway Occupancy Permits (HOPs) for driveway, local road and utility construction activities which impact traffic patterns on Pennsylvania roads. Most of the applicants are businesses, including utilities, developers and consulting engineers representing big box stores, timber companies, drilling companies, etc. Prior to October 31, 2011, submitting an HOP application was a slow, manual, paper-based process. Further, each of PennDOT s 11 engineering districts had, over the years, developed their own internal processes for reviewing and approving HOPs. Applicants had no way of knowing the status of their application or who to contact about it. Unfortunately, the problems with the HOP process were not isolated; other PennDOT business areas and permit-issuing agencies faced similar issues. Newly elected Governor Tom Corbett identified the elimination of permitting backlogs and making the permitting process more efficient as one of his 50 Ways to Rebuild Pennsylvania. He explicitly directed PennDOT to eliminate its permit backlog and ensure that state government works efficiently for the people. PennDOT Secretary Barry Schoch took it one step further and made automating the permitting process his number one priority for the department. In May 2011 PennDOT kicked off the epermitting project to automate the HOP process and implement a customer friendly, transparent solution. PennDOT assembled an interdisciplinary project team which took an agile approach to gathering requirements and developing the system. The project team of 33 (15 were assigned full time) included central office personnel and a permit manager from each of PennDOT districts. The project team worked with numerous business partners throughout the process to ensure that the requirements were customer driven. The project was so inclusive that by the time it was implemented over 1,500 participants had been trained, including almost 600 business partners. The epermitting system is innovative in that it is Web-based, uses common components, and is designed to be leveraged by other permitting processes. The epermitting system was deployed on October 31, 2011, on time and within budget. The system allows businesses to submit HOP applications electronically and track their application throughout the entire review process. The system also provides automated workflow, including concurrent application review, facilitating communication among reviewers and timely completion of the review. The system provides management reports to ensure that statewide performance metrics for timely review are met. More than 6,417 permits have been issued electronically as of May 1, 2012 providing benefits to both external businesses and PennDOT employees. The epermitting system has allowed PennDOT to reduce the average turnaround time for processing HOP permits by 60 percent, from 25 days to 10 days.

3 Section 3. Business Problem and Solution Description PennDOT issues approximately 15,000 HOPs to businesses, utility companies, land developers, municipalities and homeowners each year. Most applications are reviewed by multiple engineering specialists to ensure the application addresses traffic flow and signal issues, pavement and bridge structural issues, and sound road design principles (e.g. drainage, curves, elevation.) Until October 2011, HOP applications were submitted in-person or mailed to the applicable PennDOT District Office. Applications were then hand delivered or mailed internally among PennDOT staff, leading to extensive time delays, lack of transparency and customer frustration. As a result of the paper-based, manual process, each of PennDOT s 11 engineering districts had developed its own process for receiving, reviewing and issuing permits. To make the permitting process consistent, streamlined and transparent, PennDOT decided to develop an Electronic Permitting System, or epermitting. The HOP process was chosen as the first permit process to use this new solution. A major goal of the project was to leverage PennDOT s existing IT assets and create reusable components, processes, and best practices so that other PennDOT permit processes, as well as other permit-issuing state agencies, could leverage the same framework. PennDOT had significant challenges in creating the epermitting system. First, the department wanted to implement the solution in a timely manner to address one of the governor s key initiatives. Second, the system had to incorporate 11 disparate permitting processes and consolidate them into an efficient, consistent electronic permitting solution. Reusability of processes, components and infrastructure were identified early in the project as key criteria for success. The project also placed a strong emphasis on governance to ensure that the automated solution would meet the needs of both PennDOT and its business partners. The governance structure utilized a Project Execution Management Team comprised of midlevel managers from the business area as well as IT, and a Project Governance Committee comprised of senior and executive staff, ensuring that all issues were addressed expeditiously. An Advisory Committee consisting of PennDOT business partners was also formed to help identify and prioritize their requirements. To ensure a consistent project lifecycle, a dedicated IT Project Manager was assigned to the team and full time business analysts were used to gather internal and external requirements. Understanding the scope of effort it would take to automate this process, it was vital to streamline the development efforts and take advantage of existing solutions within the organization. PennDOT was successful at integrating several existing components, most importantly its internal security model and its electronic document management system. 3

4 More than 60 PennDOT district office employees and 30 business partners participated in testing the solution. To ensure a smooth rollout, the department provided training to over 1,500 participants, including almost 600 business partners. This broad-based approach to design, development, testing and training allowed the project team to move forward without delay while meeting the needs of district and central office staff, as well as HOP customers. After six months and thousands of person hours of development, testing and training, the epermitting was implemented on October 31, For the first time ever, HOP applicants were able to submit their applications electronically to PennDOT and track the progress of their request. The project was completed utilizing both internal and consultant support. The project cost totaled $1,331,441, which includes consultant support, hardware and software. Because of the project s emphasis on reusability, the hardware and software can also be leveraged for other types of permits. The epermitting system is designed to allow PennDOT to track multiple metrics at both the statewide and district office level. These metrics will help PennDOT monitor its responsiveness to applicants and proactively identify possible resource needs in specific districts. One metric that has delighted PennDOT customers is the average turnaround time for processing HOPs permits has been reduced from 25 days to 10 days. The epermitting system is innovative in that it is Web-based, uses common components and is designed to be leveraged by other permitting processes. The new epermitting solution provides transparency and feedback to the applicant as their application goes through the process. The epermitting system architecture represents the department s most significant step to date in moving towards a service-oriented architecture (SOA). Based on looselycoupled reusable services and solutions, the system provides the agility and innovation that business demands while minimizing the total cost of ownership (TCO). Built on an industry leading Java platform, with DB2 as the primary data store and FileNet as the multimedia repository, the system is engineered to handle the Department s permitting needs well into the future. The system has the capability to plug into the department s DW/BI (Data Warehousing/ Business Intelligence) platform to provide performance metrics and business analytics required for intelligent decision making. The reusable assets built during the first phase of the project alone are expected to reduce the level of effort to automate an additional permit type by 1,200 hours. The technical team continues to focus on building reusable assets as the epermitting solution matures, 4

5 which should further reduce the cost to implement the solution for other permit applications. Section 4. Significance For PennDOT, the new system s flexible, automated workflow includes concurrent reviews and approvals, resulting in a significant reduction in the review timeframe (i.e. from 25 days to 10 days). Permit approvers no longer need to deal with multiple paper copies, each with comments. Additionally, the reports that are generated by the new system have greatly enhanced management oversight of the program, ensuring that statewide metrics for timeliness and quality are met. For our applicants, epermitting provides ease of application completion through the use of edits, validations and dropdowns throughout the electronic application. It also provides complete application process transparency since customers see the status of their application, to whom it has been assigned and an estimated PennDOT response date. For the first time, applicants are provided with a date for when they can expect a response. The system also automatically sends notifications to the applicant at milestones in the review process. Additionally, it eliminated the use of paper since all documents can be attached electronically. Previously, applicants submitted 4 paper copies of each so that PennDOT could route paper to the appropriate reviewers. This pilot has significant impact for retail store developers, utilities and engineering firms who must obtain permits prior to starting construction projects. The successful implementation of the epermitting pilot enabled PennDOT to comply with a key priority of the governor by eliminating its permitting backlog, and increasing efficiency. The epermitting system aligns with seven of 10 of NASCIO s 2012 state CIO priorities. 1. Consolidation / Optimization: 11 HOP permitting processes were consolidated into one system and the system was designed to leverage HOP epermitting into a broader permitting framework. 2. Budget and Cost Control: epermitting reduces costs for HOP applicants and PennDOT by streamlining the process and reducing rework. 3. Governance: PennDOT used a structured governance methodology, systematically incorporating external business partners and PennDOT field staff in the project. 6. Security: epermitting leveraged and streamlined the PennDOT business partner security model for user authentication. 8. Shared Services: epermitting uses common components, designed for reusability, and is scalable since the epermitting framework was designed for use by other permit applications. 9. Portal: The online epermitting application is accessible 24/7 through a portal. 10. Mobile Services/Mobility: HOP applicants can apply wherever they have access to the Internet. 5

6 Section 5. Benefit of the Project Timely issuance of Highway Occupancy Permits is critical to Pennsylvania s economic development efforts because the permit must be issued prior to development of new drilling, retail or business locations; prior to expansion of utilities to new homes or businesses; and prior to major utility improvement projects. With the implementation of epermitting, the average timeframe for issuance of the permit was reduced from 25 to 10 days statewide, reducing the risk of project delay. Another timesaver is the ability to immediately print the approved permit instead of waiting for it to arrive in the mail. Additionally, these permit applications are extremely complex, and frequently include site construction plans, traffic studies, environmental assessment of drainage and water runoff, etc. All of these are now submitted electronically as attachments to the application. The new system also provides ease of application through the use of system edits, validations, and dropdown lists, greatly reducing the risk that incomplete applications will be submitted. Although there were few metrics prior to automation, we know that applicant errors were reduced. Now, 91% of the HOP permits are approved in one cycle and 98.6% are approved in 1-2 cycles. The system has greatly improved accessibility of services for businesses, as well. Applicants can access this Web-based system 24/7 to submit an application, check on its status and who is reviewing it. The security model s user authentication maintains confidentiality by ensuring that applicants can only see their own submissions. Recently, PennDOT conducted a customer satisfaction telephone survey with 15 applicant companies representing the heaviest users. The results were quite positive. All participants confirmed that the system is very user-friendly and the turnaround time for permits is greatly improved. PennDOT received high marks for the system design, improvement of the HOP process and timeliness of reviews. The most welcomed feature mentioned is the transparency, having the capability of knowing the status of a permit application and who the PennDOT reviewer is so they can call to discuss it if needed. Overall, the quantitative results are: Question Scale of 1(very bad) to 5 (very good) Average Response In general, do you like the system? 4.12 Does it improve the process for you? 4.38 Have you noticed quicker turnaround times for reviews/permitting? 4.81 Beyond the obvious efficiencies realized by automating a paper-based process, allowing for concurrent reviews and enabling applicants to print the permit, PennDOT has benefitted tremendously from the improved management oversight and 6

7 accountability provided for this highly decentralized program. Deadlines are set for each application, and epermitting automatically adds timestamps when an application is routed for review or acted upon. The system captures reasons for returning the application to an applicant and provides an explanation to the applicant via an notification. It logs workflow steps and approval times for each review. It also measures the number of times the application was returned to the customer and compiles cycle times from application receipt to permit issuance. With this data, PennDOT now generates a variety of reports and reviews metrics to troubleshoot and resolve problems The epermitting system s data rich tools help applicants and PennDOT engineering districts manage projects within their jurisdiction. The search capabilities of epermitting enable PennDOT users to see all applications and permits in a specified engineering district, county, municipality, or company and even sort by application type, date or status. EPermitting allows for electronic storage and archiving of permits and associated material (e.g. traffic studies, construction plans, etc.). With the automation and transparency of epermitting, PennDOT can provide quality assurance reviews that encourage consistent performance across all 11 engineering districts. From a technology perspective, the epermitting system is innovative in that it is Webbased, designed and built using rapid development techniques, is scalable and uses common components. It will be used as the technology framework to automate additional permit application processes, including: Posted and Bonded Road Permits, Bridge Occupancy Permits, Airport and Heliport Permits, and the Traffic Signal Approval Process. For the Posted and Bonded Road Permit Project, using the epermitting common components will reduce the level of effort by 1,200 hours. These savings will be realized in the other permitting projects, as well. Overall, the epermitting system allowed PennDOT to reduce the time to complete HOP permit reviews and to exceed the department s original goal to complete HOP reviews in 20 days. By increasing operational efficiency and management oversight, the implementation resulted in clear cut service benefits while creating a flexible technology framework for other permitting and workflow automation projects in the future. 7