Working with Your Staff to Improve Customer Relations & Prepare Staff for ePlan Review Technology Tom Phillips, Building Official, Salem, OR & Tim Anger,

Working with Your Staff to ImproveCustomer Relations & Prepare Staff for ePlan Review Technology

Tom Phillips, Building Official, Salem, OR &Tim Anger, Document Mgmt Supervisor, Osceola County, FL

Webinar for the FIATECH Jurisdictions Committee, Tom Phillips, Salem, OR, Chairman & Robert Wible, FIATECH

March 9, 2010

Working with Your Staff

FIATECH Jurisdictions Committee – Welcome & introduction - Tom Phillips, Salem, OR, Chair

Successful Approaches – – City of Salem, OR - Working with Staff to Improve

Customer / Stakeholder Relations

– Osceola County, FL – Working with Staff to prepare them for ePlan technology

Next Committee Webinar – Intro to the ICC Replicable Building Guideline

Accountability & Predictability

SALEM, OREGON’S EXPERIENCE IN BUILDING TRANSPARENCY AND TRUST

Tom Phillips, City of Salem, Oregon

Inefficient permitting process hinders economic growth

• Permitting delays increase costs• Delays reduces returns on investments• Investors may seek other opportunities• Increased cost and delayed returns on

investment are built into rents paid by all tenants

• Discouragement of new construction leads to tighter real estate market

Competition between jurisdictions for new development dollars

• Improved permit processes that are efficient and predictable can be a cost effective tool in addition to or in lieu of other inducements such as preferential tax rates or regulatory relief.

Efficient permit processes can permanently increase local government revenues

• Temporary acceleration of property tax collections.

• Result in a permanent increase in government tax revenues, with a permanently changed system.

Statesman Journal

February 24, 2008Editorial: Developers vital in Salem core’s renaissance

“Dealing with the city is easier, attracting more investment.”

“This kind of local commitment speaks well for Salem,

“…It’s good to be able to attract outsider’s money by persuading them of this areas strengths”.

Statesman Journal

“However, attracting local investments still would be a hard sell if Salem’s city staff and processes remained as rigid as they used to be”. Dealing with city hall has become far easier and more pleasant in the past few years. That has encouraged local developers to set aside past grudges and commit to multi-year projects”.

“…Salem is changing. For the better”.

Government: “Here to help…”

• Professionalism: “Close enough…” • Flexibility: “One size fits all” • Risk-taking: “Worst case scenario” • Policies & Procedures: “Tablets of

Stone” • Equality: “If we do it for you…”

“Be proactive….not reactive”

Create a culture of trust Improve the organizational structure Streamline your processes Promote an appropriate regulatory

environment Create processes that fits the majority

Building Relationships

Building & Safety Staff Other Divisions and Departments Stakeholders Advisory Group Citizens and neighborhood groups

Services that Serve

Customer “approved” processes Build flexibility into your processes Predictable turn-times Customized permit services Money-back guarantee Project Coordinator Program

Transparent Budget

Accountability for each program Develop revenue & expenditure “silos” Move towards “no subsidies” Data driven decisions… Be willing to share with “whosoever”

Establishing Methods of Accountability

Performance measures Benchmarking Decision-making model Flexible policies Problem-identifier/Problem-solvers

“Making a Better Wheel…”

“Drilling down…” Refining policies and procedures. Lean Six Sigma Removing redundancies and “extra stupid”

processes.

An FIATECH Presentation

Preparations for successful integration

ePlan Review

Tim Anger  Supervisor of Document ManagementBuilding Office, Osceola County Growth Management Division

 407-742-0276 (w)407-742-0202 (f)

[email protected] 

Question?

www.osceola.org

Osceola County Growth Management Division

“With Osceola County being so large and the development moving to the south, how do we effectively provide services without being a hindrance to the developer, contractor, or even the homeowner?”

Answer! And more questions

We knew that the answer was ePlan Review However it brought even more questions…

– How are other jurisdictions handling this issue?– What formats are they accepting?– What about seals and signatures?– What is the stance of the Boards?– What are the hardware requirements?– Will we still need the paper?

But no one was truly leading the way

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Determination

Complement existing permitting system Wanted a web-based system for document /

plan submissions Reduce the required number of plan

submissions from thirteen (or more!) to zero Increase reviewer accountability

– Tracking of all:• Review activities• Workflow responses• Task completion times

ePlan Review

Agent

I. T.

Growth Mgmt.

www.osceola.org

Osceola County Growth Management Division

Planning Phase

Business process and workflow documentation for Plan Review

Identified hardware requirements– Dual monitors– Upgrades to computers

Determined a core team for testing and training– Growth Management– I. T.

CHALLENGES Indentify ePlan usage

– Narrowed the scope of the initial implementation

Streamline the process for County-wide use– Planning / Zoning– Development Review– Public Works– Infrastructure Projects

Education and Empowerment– Employees– Customers

www.osceola.org

Osceola County Growth Management Division

Requirements “““We didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, we just wanted to add a little tread so that it could run faster!”

add a little tread so that it could run faster!”

Complement existing permitting system

Electronic submissions Increased

communications Increase reviewer

accountability Decrease review times Eliminate paper Ease of use

www.osceola.org

Osceola County Growth Management Division

Applicant

Intake

Review

Acceptance

Issuance

Linear Review

Multiple sets of plans for reviewers Lengthy review times Waiting of others to complete tasks Paper shuffling from one to another Old style of “Doing Business”

Intake Reviewer 1 Reviewer 2 Reviewer 3 Reviewer 4

Concurrent Review

Web-enabled content Single set of plans Simultaneous review Instant collaboration Open communication Applicant participates Twenty-First Century

style of “Doing Business”

Intake

Reviewer 1

Reviewer 2

Reviewer 3Reviewer 4

Reviewer 5

Biggest Issues

Some of the issues that we had to overcome– Electronic signature– Tangibility– Monitor Envy– Fear

Employee quotes– “I am an engineer, I review on paper!”– “I like holding the paper. It just seems more

real.”– “My monitor is not big enough.”– “Where is the seal and signature?”

www.osceola.org Osceola County Growth Management Division

Expedited Work

Commercial and Residential increased productivity

Greater accountability with review staff Business not limited to “normal” hours

– Allowed plans to be submitted 24 / 7 / 365

10 Days4 Days

4 Days

< 1 Day

Commercial Projects Residential Projects

Benefits

Significant contractor savings– Reduced paper plans– Elimination of permit runner– Saving of hundreds to thousands of dollars per

project

Enhanced contractor communications Digitally submitted revision Approved plans downloaded once fees are paid

www.osceola.org

Osceola County Growth Management Division

Press Release

Embassy Suites (300 rooms, meeting center) Paperless submittal, review and issuance Return/Value on Investment (ROI/VOI)

– Eliminated printing of over 700 pages (100 lbs)– Review time = Weeks 4 days

• Simultaneous vs. linear

– Electronic Stamping = 1-2 days ½ day

www.osceola.org

Osceola County Growth Management Division

An FIATECH PresentationTim Anger  Supervisor of Document Management

Building Office, Osceola County Growth Management Division 

407-742-0276 (w)407-742-0202 (f)

[email protected] 

QUESTIONS

FIATECH Jurisdictions Committee

Membership open to jurisdictions all sizes with fee based on population ($200-$800)

Monthly webinars/conference calls on topics of immediate concern to local and state building and land use/zoning departments

For registration form and more information visit: www.fiatech.org

Next Jurisdiction Committee Webinar – Mid-April, 2010 on “Introducing the new ICC Replicable Building Guideline”