Monthly Archives: November 2008

11.07.08
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ANNUAL EXCELLENCE IN TECHNOLOGY AWARD WINNERS -5


Most Innovative Use of Technology

B-SMART, Department of Buildings (DOB)

Before B-SMART implementation, DOB stored operational information across disparate environments and systems throughout the agency, including mainframe, network servers, and desktop platforms, creating challenges in the aggregating and reporting of data. B-SMART, launched in early 2008, now ensures quick access to many metrics and criteria – including application processing data, complaints, stop-work orders, violations, and more – and improves the agency’s ability to report on them efficiently while drawing from multiple data sources.
Best Wireless Project

Sanitation Automatic Vehicle Analysis and Tracking, Department of Sanitation (DSNY) & Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications

The Sanitation Automatic Vehicle Analysis and Tracking (SAVANT) application enhances operational efficiency and augments the City’s ability to utilize resources in emergencies better. SAVANT relies on in-vehicle Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technologies to collect data about vehicle maintenance and route operations. NYCWiN-supported cellular modems transmit this data back to an intelligent, back-end system.

Ultimately, the data collected directly from the vehicles on their routes provided DSNY supervisors and managers with reports and alerts. They can improve real-time decision-making, increase DSNY responsiveness to customer service issues, enable better distribution of resources, and develop better emergency responses to weather conditions.

The launch of SAVANT also advances Mayor Bloomberg’s initiative to implement AVL/GPS technologies on City vehicles. This application is also an example of the successful utilization of NYCWiN, which supports the mobile connectivity required on all parts of DSNY routes throughout the five boroughs.

Best GIS Application

NYC*SCOUT Map, Mayor’s Office of Operations

The Street Conditions Observation Unit (SCOUT), a team of inspectors who drive each City street once per month to report conditions to 311 that negatively impact quality of life, was launched by Mayor Bloomberg in 2007. SCOUT inspectors utilize hand-held devices to transmit and enter reports into the 311 Customer Service Center. The SCOUT program aims to improve street-level conditions in City neighborhoods and further the responsiveness of the City government. However, at its inception, SCOUT condition reporting was neither available across agencies or to customers, nor could it display for the public the areas covered by SCOUT inspectors.
The NYC*SCOUT Map, drawn according to community districts, now publishes the areas and streets covered by SCOUT on the web. As the SCOUT team inspects each section throughout the month, each is color-coded to report coverage. The map also displays condition-specific occurrence, marking repeated adverse conditions with a graduated circle with a drill-down capability. By clicking on the process, users can view the list of SCOUT conditions reported and, by clicking on each state, will receive its respective complaint number.

Source: Press Release # 004
Date: Thursday, November 6, 2008
dfs.ny.gov

11.07.08
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ANNUAL EXCELLENCE IN TECHNOLOGY AWARD WINNERS -4


Best IT Collaboration Among Agencies

Citywide Performance Reporting, Mayor’s Offices of Operations & Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications
Launched on NYC.gov in February, Citywide Performance Reporting (CPR) is an online performance-tracking tool that measures service delivery by City agencies and identifies trends positively or negatively.
The application represents data collection from over 40 City agencies and organizations in an easy-to-use online “snapshot” format. It addresses performance measures under PlanIT’s eight citywide themes – Citywide Administration, Community Services, Economic Development and Business Affairs, Education, Infrastructure, Legal Affairs, Public Safety, and Social Services. The application provides early warning for areas that need attention by highlighting a decline in performance. CPR measures performance by comparing current data to the previous year’s period, thereby holding agencies accountable for year-over-year improvement. To analyze long-term trends, users can access year-to-year trend data by clicking on the “Fiscal Year-To-Date” value, covering reporting periods from July 2002 to the present.

Best In-House Developed Application

Parks Enforcement Patrol Performance Measurement & Vehicle Out of Service System, Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR)

The Parks Enforcement Patrol Performance Measurement System is a web-based application that effectively tracks and manages the functions of the Urban Park Service. This application includes features that efficiently track such department statistics as productivity, daily operations, employee profiles, and Urban Park Ranger programming notes (programs, animal conditions, and staffing).

All source data for these performance metrics have been manually collected, compiled, maintained, and analyzed in ledgers and individual logs. This new application dramatically improves DPR’s business process by reducing the time UPS staff spend preparing summaries and reports and increasing their time in the field. This application’s benefits also extend to the public as a more efficient deployment of officers means safer parks for all New Yorkers.

The Vehicle Out of Service (VOOS) system services over 2,000 vehicles across hundreds of locations, allowing DPR to manage its fleet better, create a permanent record of repair jobs, and enable more reliable avenues of communication between the repair shops and customers. Reducing the costs and time associated with managing the agency’s fleet, VOOS has also freed up to 50% of the time previously required to coordinate a paper and fax system of reporting and driving vehicles in the field. VOOS promises to reduce total agency-wide vehicle out-of-service time by two days per year, putting 11 additional cars into the fleet and resulting in over $84,000 yearly cost savings. Source: Press Release # 004 Date: Thursday, November 6, 2008 dfs.ny.gov

11.07.08
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ANNUAL EXCELLENCE IN TECHNOLOGY AWARD WINNERS -3


Demonstrated Excellence in Project Management

Director George Daus, New York City Police Department (NYPD)
Serving with the Police Department since 1992, George Daus has been responsible for overseeing and managing some of the most innovative IT implementations the NYPD has ever experienced. From inception to completion, Mr. Daus has led the development of numerous information systems and applications – including the Criminal Complaint and Arrest Processing System and the Autopound Intake System – each of which increased the effectiveness of the NYPD in protecting and defending the people of New York City. Setting the tone for application development at a time when automating paper-driven processes has become necessary, Director Daus has championed the use of technology as a way to standardize policing procedures.

Commissioner’s Award for Technology-Driven Business Transformation

Seth Diamond, Human Resources Administration (HRA)

As Executive Deputy Commissioner of HRA’s Family Independence Administration, Mr. Diamond manages approximately 8,000 staff members across 100 locations. Mr. Diamond has been the primary sponsor of several technology initiatives to increase food stamp accessibility in the City. Inventive in his conception, design, and planning for these projects, he has been exceptionally resourceful in acquiring funding and resources, successfully obtaining USDA grants and other funding streams, enabling HRA to implement creative technology innovations.

Best Application Serving an Agency’s Business Needs Electronic DD5 – Investigative Case Management System, New York City Police Department (NYPD)

Before implementing the Electronic DD5 – Investigative Case Management System, the NYPD Detective Bureau’s 3,500 detectives and supervisors relied upon typewriters and carbon paper to assign, create, update, review, and dispose of approximately 200,000 criminal investigations annually. After each research, the bureau used typewriters to draft the necessary reports and managed this caseload in paper file folders, catalogued on paper index sheets, and physically maintained within the premises of each respective unit.
With thousands of registered users now on the Electronic DD5, over 3,000 DD5s are written and entered into the case management system daily, along with 7,000 new or updated reports sent to the Real-Time Crime Center. Similarly, the bureau searches through and views over 20,000 cases daily, utilizing the Electronic DD5’s centralized search engine, which indexes DD5s in real-time and provides Google-type searching and alerts, increasing efficiency and cost savings.

Source: Press Release # 004

Date: Thursday, November 6, 2008

dfs.ny.gov

11.07.08
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ANNUAL EXCELLENCE IN TECHNOLOGY AWARD WINNERS -2


Key project teams from the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, Police Department, Fire Department, Department of Transportation, and the Office of Emergency Management worked with a vendor to complete the network build-out and application pilots.

NYCWiN is included as a Foundational IT Initiative as part of PlanIT, which maps critical applications, programs, and initiatives to enhance City services and their delivery in key mission areas. PlanIT outlined the steps needed to achieve a single-city information technology enterprise, the principles of security and rationalized consolidation to ensure its integrity, and the enhancements required to optimize its performance.

These other outstanding projects were chosen as 2008 ETAP winners in the following categories:

Demonstrated Leadership in Management of Information Technology Richard Siemer, Human Resources Administration (HRA)

Richard Siemer has consistently proven his dedication to the public sector throughout his 27-year career. As Deputy Commissioner and CIO for HRA’s Management Information Systems, Mr. Siemer’s ability to lead collaborative operational teams and program staff has contributed to the successful implementation of HRA’s Model Office. A primary objective of the Model Offices is to provide a customer service area that streamlines processing times.

His responsibilities also extend to the support of voice telephone-related activities, where he has instituted new and innovative applications, like the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology. IVR has enabled customers and vendors to access information and make inquiries regarding the status of applications for services, and information lines and help desks offer them in multiple languages. Also, day-care vendors can submit attendance via telephone, facilitating their billing and payment processes. Mr. Siemer has also worked to roll out Voice-Over IP (VOIP) to all HRA locations – accruing significant cost savings to the City in telephone expenditures.

Source: Press Release # 004

Date: Thursday, November 6, 2008

dfs.ny.gov

11.07.08
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ANNUAL EXCELLENCE IN TECHNOLOGY AWARD WINNERS -1


DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSIONER COSGRAVE ANNOUNCES ANNUAL EXCELLENCE IN TECHNOLOGY AWARD WINNERS

  • New York City Wireless Network Chosen as Overall Winner
  • Award Winners Reflect Improved Efficiencies and Cost Savings through Technology Enhancement

Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) Commissioner Paul J. Cosgrave named the 2008 Excellence in Technology Awards winners in a ceremony held last night at the Brooklyn Marriott. The Excellence in Technology Award Program (ETAP) honours the very best of New York City’s IT staff and projects each year. It is presented at the annual New York City Technology Forum sponsored by Government Technology Executive Events and the Center for Digital Government. The 2008 ETAP winners include nearly 40 New York City agency staff members. Each award-winning program aligned with one of the citywide themes outlined in PlanIT, the City’s first-ever comprehensive technology strategy for coordinated, effective, and efficient citywide IT implementation.

“In 2008, the City has continued its fine work implementing comprehensive, targeted, and cost-saving technology solutions. While the impact our best IT innovations have is substantial from the prior year, it’s even more impressive when you take a wider view,” said Commissioner Cosgrave. “Throughout the Bloomberg Administration, I can attest that we have not only served the public but also transformed for the better the way we do so. I congratulate all today’s winners and encourage them to continue developing innovative technologies to the benefit of all New Yorkers.”

The Overall ETAP for 2008, chosen as the project that exemplifies the best attributes of leadership, technical implementation, innovation, and teamwork of all the nominations received for the year, was presented to the New York City Wireless Network (NYCWiN). A broadband wireless data network transforms how the City delivers its services to employees, residents, businesses, and visitors. NYCWiN enables a wealth of mobile and fixed wireless solutions configured to support the mobile workforces of both the City’s public safety and public service agencies. Providing high-speed wireless alternatives to many agencies’ paper-based business processes, the network affords the reliability and the security needed to eliminate the City’s reliance on public carrier networks and centralize the disparate wireless data networks currently supporting many City applications. Similarly, it contributes to interoperability and data transfer between agencies’ applications, reducing the redundancy of collected data, streamlining citywide data policies, and an eventual decrease in recurring maintenance and license fees. Source: Press Release # 004 Date: Thursday, November 6, 2008 dfs.ny.gov

11.06.08
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ANNUAL EXCELLENCE IN TECHNOLOGY AWARD WINNERS -6


Green IT Award

Automated Child Protective Services Worker Recruitment Process & Online Job Applications System, Administration for Children’s Services (ACS)
The Administration for Children’s Services previously relied on more than 2,000 pieces of mail per month to recruit applicants. It then required them to apply for vacancies through mail or personally deliver their resumes. To increase the ease of applying for a position, the Automated Child Protective Worker Recruitment Process – an Internet-based online recruitment and application process available through the ACS website – provides improved access to information for persons seeking employment.

Job seekers can complete an online application using the Online Job Applications System while verifying their job qualifications. It is then processed by a new applicant tracking system that handles many of the past paperwork checks required. Therefore, this new system leads to quicker responses to new applications and faster hiring decisions for those interviewing for positions.

As a result of the Automated Recruitment Process, ACS has gone “green” by eliminating its monthly mailings and reducing paper, printing, and postage costs. Likewise, the Online Job Application System has conserved 156,000 individual pieces of paper while saving money by removing the need for the time-consuming, expensive scanning of applications to date. As a direct result of these two innovations, ACS has received over 45,000 applications. Over 70% of these current applicants have entry-level qualifications for the job. Due to these electronic initiatives, the agency’s hiring processing time was reduced by 50%. The expected drop in the CPS turnover rate should save hundreds of thousands of dollars in recruitment, hiring, and training costs.

Special Recognition Award (2)
Edward J. Allocco, New York City Police Department
Jonathan Werbell, Office of the Mayor

IT Service and Support Awards

“Excellence in IT Service and Support” was awarded to 59 individual staff members and managers from 35 agencies for their work on various technology projects over the past year.
The annual New York City Technology Forum (November 6-7, 2008), now in its 11th year, is an event for and about state and local government to foster discussion and dialogue on best practices in the use of IT as a strategic tool for managers, executives, and policymakers. IT staff members from agencies across the City will be making presentations throughout the two-day event, including Electronic Records Retention, IT Governance, Enterprise Architecture, the Greening of IT, Emergency Management Tools/Technologies, and Strategies in Open Source Technologies.

Part and parcel of the NYC Tech Forum is the Excellence in Technology Awards Program, established in 2001 to salute the best technology projects implemented by City agencies over the previous year and the IT staff responsible for them. Agency heads throughout the City are invited to submit nominations, with a citywide screening panel reviewing each submission and selecting a winner in each category. A single entrant is chosen from the nominations to receive the Excellence in Technology Award. Previous Overall ETAP winners are:

  • 2007: New York City Automated Personnel System
  • 2006: DataShare/Integrated Justice Project
  • 2005: Real-Time Crime Center (NYPD)
  • 2004: CityServ – Citywide Enterprise Email Solution
  • 2003: New York City 311 Customer Service Center
  • 2002: Henry Jackson (OEM) & Lawrence Knafo (DoITT), for Outstanding Technological Leadership in response to the September 11 Attacks
  • 2001: Virtual Agency Project (Department of Finance)

Source: Press Release # 004 Date: Thursday, November 6, 2008 dfs.ny.gov