Article

Government kiosk cuts red tape

Processing hundreds of applications for various permits became overwhelming for the City of New Orleans' Department of Safety and Permits. Kiosks helped solve the problem.

November 11, 2004

Processing hundreds of applications for various permits became an overwhelming problem for the City of New Orleans' Department of Safety and Permits. Inspectors and permit officers were often forced to turn away applicants who lacked required documentation. This was after many applicants had waited an hour or more to meet with department personnel. The result was unhappy citizens and equally unhappy employees in the Department of Safety and Permits.

The City of New Orleans contracted with Imagine Software, an independent consulting firm, to build a kiosk-based application to solve the processing problem. According to Peter Bodenheimer, project manager for the Mayor's Office of Technology, City of New Orleans, the ideal kiosk solution would walk citizens through the paperwork process. Kiosks users could then obtain missing documentation prior to meeting with the inspector or permit officer, saving everyone time and easing frustrations.

Partnering for success

The City of New Orleans chose 5point to supply the kiosk hardware for two reasons, Bodenheimer said. 5point worked within the purchasing process of the City of New Orleans, and the company's hardware was a good fit with the Dell computers the city was already using.

"It made it much easier for us to put together a complete, supportable solution that we could manage using internal resources," explained Bodenheimer, noting that the city didn't want an "off the shelf" government service offering.

"The application was provided in concert by Imagine Software and Out the Box Web Productions, and is running on 5point's standard eXPO series Modular Kiosk," said Ed Crowley, 5point's

The City of New Orleans' e-government kiosk helps process permit applications.

vice president of sales and business development. Crowley explained that the kiosk is designed and branded specifically for the City of New Orleans. It features a 17-inch LCD with resistive touch, an industrial keyboard and trackball combination, a 112 mm direct thermal printer, and Dell's small form factor PC. The components are housed in a metal and stainless laminate enclosure designed to be rugged yet elegant.

Consistent customer service

In July, the City of New Orleans installed two kiosks in the lobby of the Department of Safety and Permits. Various screens explain the permit process and list required documentation. Users can view a list of frequently asked questions, pre-qualify online and receive a reservation number and estimated waiting time. (To view this application, visit The City of New Orleans' Office of Safety and Permits Website.) Permit fees are paid directly to Safety and Permits personnel, who issue the final permits.

Checking in people using the kiosks enables the mayor's office to gather statistics and create reports. This information is used to assign staff based on workloads and peak usage times. More inspectors are out in the field during less busy office times. As a result, the turnaround time for issuing permits has decreased. According to Bodenheimer, the new system "puts a more consistent customer service process in place." He admits that the intangible benefits such as user satisfaction and worker productivity, while valuable, have been somewhat difficult to assess.

Self-service government catches on

According to Crowley, the government market for kiosks is growing. "The government market has rapidly become a popular market for self-service initiatives. The City of New Orleans is certainly an early adopter in this evolution of self-service government."

In fact, the City of New Orleans would like to further streamline government operations using kiosks. One reason is the rapidly growing kiosk user adoption rate; approximately 2,000 people use the Department of Safety and Permits kiosks each month. This has prompted another department to jump on the self-service technology bandwagon. The City Planning Commission will add a kiosk to its lobby, to operate in a similar fashion to the two used in the Department of Safety and Permits.

Thanks to kiosks, the City of New Orleans government is much more user-friendly. "The portrait of a municipal bureaucracy uninterested in improving their services to citizens has been shattered and a level playing field has been created for all interactions with Safety and Permits," Bodenheimer said.