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Chapter 9: Transportation
Use Imaging to Store Vehicle
Title Records
Summary
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) currently uses microfilm to store
all records related to each vehicle’s title history. However, technology
now exists that would reduce the amount of time it takes to research a title
history, as well as the amount of time and space it takes to copy and store the
original documents. TxDOT needs to replace the existing microfilm system with
the new imaging technology.
Background
On request, TxDOT researches a vehicle’s title history to verify
present and past ownership since the vehicle was first registered in the state.
The public, the courts and law enforcement agencies request title histories for
a variety of reasons, including verification of current ownership, replacement
titles, certified copies of titles, salvage title certificates and title
reinstatements.[1] Requests for histories are
made in writing or by telephone to the Vehicle Titles and Registration (VTR)
Customer Information Services or other VTR branches, which send them on to the
Vehicle Data Management (VDM) branch.
To complete a title history, a VDM employee needs to know the document number
that appears on the vehicle title or a vehicle identification number. The
employee then locates the appropriate roll of microfilm in the file cabinet,
finds the appropriate pages on the reel and prints the information. By reviewing
these pages, the VDM employee determines the next roll of microfilm that must be
pulled to document the previous title and owner. The employee re-files the first
roll of film and pulls the next roll from the file cabinet, following the same
process back to the original registration.
During fiscal 1999, VTR received 75,931 requests for information that
resulted in 274,936 photos from their microfilm library. With five employees and
a manager processing these requests, each VDM employee is able to handle 61
requests per day or eight requests per hour.[2]
Use of Microfilm
A company in San Antonio microfilms vehicle titles and associated paperwork
and correspondence for the VDM. The vendor sends VTR a copy of the microfilm and
retains the original paper documents. VTR has one week to notify the vendor that
the film is of acceptable quality, at which time the vendor destroys the paper
documents and sends the original microfilm to VTR. VTR stores the original
microfilm at a General Services Division (GSD) location for security in case
something happens to the duplicate, and uses the duplicate film in their daily
operations. VTR maintains both the original and the duplicate copy for 16 years
plus the current year.
VTR’s three-year budget for microfilming with the vendor totals $4.2
million. VTR receives between 60 and 90 boxes of documents, about 450,000 pieces
of paper, each week. These documents are picked up by the microfilm vendor each
week and taken to San Antonio where they are microfilmed. The vendor delivers
one original and one duplicate microfilm copy of all of the documents to VTR
each week. VTR has about 62,500 reels of microfilm stored on site with about
that number of originals stored off site at a GSD
location.[3]
Imaging Technology
Technology is now available that can capture an image of a title or
correspondence and store the image on a computer, allowing anyone, anywhere to
pull up the image if they have the proper security clearance. This technology
also allows users to access the image over the Internet. The technology exists
to have the system search for previous records based on an identification number
such as the vehicle identification number or the vehicle title document number.
This search feature would enable VDM staff to review complete vehicle histories
at one time rather than performing multiple searches. The search time for
documents tied together by a static unique number would take seconds instead of
the current average of about eight
minutes.[4]
Imaging technology comes with security to control access, backup processes to
store data for long periods off site, and the storage capacity to maintain a
large volume of records for many years. The hardware and software needed for
imaging has many variables and, based on the functions desired, would have
different cost factors. VTR could implement a system that would be capable of
imaging 450,000 documents per week using two document identifiers for a
first-year cost of about $980,000. Second- and third-year costs would be $60,000
per year.[5] These estimates assume that the
employees currently handling the microfilm process would handle the imaging of
documents as well as responding to title history requests.
Several districts and divisions in TxDOT currently use imaging to support
operations. For example, TxDOT’s Motor Carrier Division (MCD) has been
operating an imaging system for several years. MCD employees scan 100,000
documents per month and use nine indexes to store and retrieve information. Cost
of the system was $850,000, including training, and yearly maintenance is
$53,000. MCD estimates that it would take 20 more employees to handle the work
without this technology.[6]
Recommendation
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) should
implement an imaging system to replace the current microfilm process.
TxDOT should determine the amount of previously microfilmed documents, if
any, that should be converted to images. In addition, TxDOT should determine
number of indexes necessary to retrieve information and the desired response
time to its customers, and should include this information in its request for
proposal.
As TxDOT begins imaging documents, it should phase out its microfilm library.
Fiscal Impact
The current microfilm contract is $4.2 million for a three-year period, or
about $1.4 million per year. This cost would no longer be incurred after the
imaging system is in place. The cost of hardware, software and implementation
for an imaging system is estimated at $980,000, with yearly maintenance costs
totaling $60,000. The cost in the first year would be offset by savings of
$700,000. The savings would total about $1.4 million per year beginning in
fiscal 2003. The fiscal 2002 estimate assumes only a half year of savings due to
implementation of the new system.
This estimated net savings represent the amounts of the State Highway Fund
revenue that could be redirected to other TxDOT programs or budget items.
|
Fiscal Year
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Savings to the State Highway Fund
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Cost to the State
Highway Fund
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Net Savings/(Cost) to the State Highway Fund Available to
Redirect
|
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2002
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$700,000
|
($980,000)
|
($280,000)
|
|
2003
|
$1,400,000
|
($60,000)
|
$1,340,000
|
|
2004
|
$1,400,000
|
($60,000)
|
$1,340,000
|
|
2005
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$1,400,000
|
($60,000)
|
$1,340,000
|
|
2006
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$1,400,000
|
($60,000)
|
$1,340,000
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[1 ]Interview with Joel Lehman,
branch manager, Vehicle Data Management, Vehicle Titles and Registration
Division, Texas Department of Transportation, Austin, Texas, April 11, 2000.
[2 ]Interview with Joel Lehman,
branch manager, Vehicle Data Management, Vehicle Titles and Registration
Division, Texas Department of Transportation, Austin, Texas, April 11, 2000;
Texas Department of Transportation, Microfilm Summary of Fiscal Year 1999
Statistics provided by Joel Lehman; and letter from Kirby W. Pickett, P.E.,
deputy executive director, Texas Department of Transportation, to Clint Winters,
Research and Policy Development, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, August
21, 2000.
[3 ]Telephone interview with
Linda Waldon, microfilm supervisor, Vehicle Titles and Registration Division,
Texas Department of Transportation, Austin, Texas, July 28, 2000, and Terry
Clements, title history supervisor, Vehicle Titles and Registration Division,
Texas Department of Transportation, Austin, Texas, August 18, 2000, telephone
interview with Joel Lehman, branch manager, Vehicle Titles and Registration
Division, Texas Department of Transportation, Austin, Texas, June 28,
2000.
[4 ]Telephone interview with
Scott Winzler, manager, FileNet, Austin, Texas, June 28, 2000, and telephone
interview with Scott Winzler, manager, FileNet, Austin, Texas, June 27,
2000.
[5 ]Telephone interview with
Scott Winzler, manager, FileNet, Austin, Texas, July 7, 2000.
[6 ]Telephone interview with
Mark Ferrari, technical manager, Motor Carrier Division, Texas Department of
Transportation, Austin, Texas, June 28, 2000.
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