4. Acknowledgements
FirstlyIwouldlike tothankGod for givingme healthand strengthtofinishthisproject.Iwouldalsolike
to thankmy friends,myteacherandfamilyformoral supportthroughoutthe entire durationof
completingthis,withoutthemitwouldnothave beenpossible.
5. Problem Definition
The Trinidadand Tobagolicensingoffice overthe yearshadverylittle change inordertoincrease
efficiencywiththe large volumerequestsorrenewals,applications,transfers,low sanitationstandards
and dilapidatedinfrastructure. Thesevariousproblemsare the rootsof all the complaintsof workers
and patronsalike.
A man whomI know wantedtorenewhistaxi badge whichonlyrequiresanew picture andto change
the date ona piece of plastic,he droppeditoff andreturnedaweeklaterandhe was toldto come back
a weeklater,aweeklaterhe returneditstill wasn’tready.These tripswhichweremade bythe man
shouldnothave happened,applicationsfordriver’spermitorlearner’spermitprocesstakesthe same
amountof time itdidtenyearsago, withthe increase intechnologyitshouldbe done off-site andbe
notified if theyare legibleornotfor the permitbefore theygetthey. Thisalsoappliesforrenewals,if
your permitisexpired,there shouldbe some automatedsystemtohelpwithatimelyreceiptof the
person’sdocuments.
The workersrecentlyhave gone onstrike due to unsafe,unhealthyworkconditions whichshowshow
overdue the systemisforan upgrade.Thishasbeenthe catalystfor the strike andthe highinefficiency
inthe system. The true rootsof the problemwill be investigatedandatechnological solutionwill be
found.
6. Analysis of Problem
In orderto findthe problemthatisslowingthe system, computerisedelementswouldbe addedtothe
existingsystemthatwouldincrease efficiency,consumersatisfaction,tomake happyandproductive
workers
In orderto getto the bottomof the problem, the use of fact findingtechniqueswillbe used.Firstly, an
interview withthe headofficerinthe licence office accompaniedbyaweekof observationof different
departmentsof the same office,questionnairesforworkersaswell apatronsof the office andmyown
backgroundresearch.
1. An interviewwithOffice managerof the Arimabranchof the Licensingoffice
2. 35 questionnaireswouldbe giventoa Randomset of patronsof the office
3. 2 weeksof observationof differentprocessesbutin the same office
7. Questionnaire
1. Age
17-24 25-30 31-35 36-40 41+
2. What is yourethnicbackground
East Indian African Chinese Other
3. Where isyour place of residence?
4. What have youcome to thisoffice todotoday?
5. Have you everdone thisat thisoffice before?
Yes No
6. If yes,howlongdid ittake last time tocomplete the process?
7. How longdoyou thinkitshouldtake?
8. Is itan inconvenience toyoutocome here today?
9. If you were able todo thisawayfrom the office, wouldyou have done it?
10. If no, Specifywhynot
11. Do youthinkthe infrastructure isadequate forthe volume of peoplehere?
8. 12. Do youthinkthe systembeingusedisinneedforan upgrade?
13. If no, specifywhynot
14. Do youhave any suggestionsfor the improvementof the systemhere?
9. Interview
1. Whendidyou getyour license
2. How longhave youhad thisposition?
3. Do youthinkthat your staff iscompetentenoughtohandle the volumepeople comingand
goingdaily?
4. Is yourdepartmentwell-fundedbythe government?
5. Basedon the size of Trinidadandthe level of outputinrecentyears,isitrelativelygoodin
termsof productivity
6. Is the level of productivityinthe departmentunderyourcontrol isadequate?
7. Is there roomfor improvementamongyourranksand the systemasa whole?
8. In foreigncountriesthereare driver’seducationcoursesbeingtaughtinschools,whyhasn’t
it beendone here?
9. Do youthinkit isa goodideato carry out sucha program
10. Why
11. How longdoyou intend tostay inthisfield?
12. What isthe majorproblemthatisfaceddailyby the office
13. Is there anythingthatisholdingbackthe systemthatis outof yourpowerto change?
14. Do youhave any suggestionstoimprove the system
10.
11. Identification of Solution
Afteranalysingthe problemsusingthe three factfindingtechniquesI came up with2 possible solutions
to the office’sproblem
1 Create a website dedicatedforlicense applicationandscheduledatesforpractice andtestsonline,
alongwiththe use of currentexistingdatabasesfromgovernmentsourceswiththe personsconsentto
create a newdatabase of theirinformationtospeedupthe process,thesepersonswhotake partinthis
systemwouldbe able tocheckthe progressof the document
2 Establishadriver’s educationclass inhighschoolsforthose whoare willingtotake it.Thiswill take
some strainoff the system to make itmore efficient.
Vehicle registration process
12. Schedule of Activity
Task Start date Duration Date end
Identificationof
problem
Friday,12
December
2014
2 days December5th
2014
Constructionof
interview Questions
Sunday,14
December
2014
2 days December8th
2014
Constructionof
Questionnaires
Tuesday,16
December
2014
1 day December10th
2014
Carry out observation Wednesday,
17 December
2014
9 days December20th
2014
Reporton interview Saturday,27
December
2014
2 days December23rd
2014
Reporton
Questionnaires
Monday,29
December
2014
1 day December25th
2014
Do background
research Friday,02
January2015
4 days December30th
2014
Reporton research Tuesday,06
January2015
1 day January4th
2015
Analyse observations Wednesday,
07 January
2015
2 days January8th
2015
Identifypossible
solutions Friday,09
January2015
2 days January11th
2015
Evaluationof possible
solutions Sunday,11
January2015
1 day January13th
2015
Selectionof most
feasible solution Monday,12
January2015
3 days January17th
2015
Organizationof project Thursday,15
January2015
10 days January28th
2015
14. Evaluation of possible solutions
Solution1
The creationof the website wouldbe an easy butexpensivetechnological solutiontocarryout,the
simple hiringonthe webdesignerandaprogrammerto make the website wouldcostabout $5,000.
There wouldbe a needfordata entryclerksto enter the hardcopy filesonearlierpersonswhousedthe
systemwould cost$2000-$4000 accordingto the volume of data neededtobe transferred tocreate a
newdatabase . Change inthe infrastructure of the entire buildingwouldbe requiredtoaccommodate
the newsystem,the contractorshouldcome and make an estimate of the jobbutroughlywouldcost
about$ 30,000-$50,000 accordingto the contactor’sgoingrate.New computerswouldbe neededto
processthe newsystem at roughly$12,000 perunit.The training forthe employeeswould costroughly
$14,000.
Solution2
A drivers’educationprogramthatisa more complex andtime consumingsolution,where the old
systemwouldtake alongertime to phased out.This wouldbe a course inhighschoolsto be done on
weekendswiththe participantsonspeciallydesignatedcourses,customteachingcars, anew system
wouldbe requiredtostore the informationof the students.A new Keycardsystemwouldbe introduced
whichcouldbe storedelectronicallyviaabarcode on a smart Phone of a physical cardwouldbe made
available foruse.Thiskeycardsystemwouldbe able tokeepthroughthe entire lifetime of the
individualontheirdevice,physicallyonpersonandwouldbe able tobe notifiedwhenitisdue tobe
renewedinadvance sotheycan putthingsinplace. The olderdriverswouldbe givenakeycard as well
whentheyare about to renewwhichstoreseverythingonthe persononitas well as a picture.The
creationof a database isnecessaryaswell,the licensingoffice wouldneedtoalsoupgrade it’scomputer
system, database keepingcapabilities andhire new staff toworkthe keycard system.Thismaycost
$50,000 -$120,000 to make happen.
15. Selection of solution
The problemof inefficiencyinthe systemwouldbe solvedpermanentlywithsolution2.The solution
wouldtake a longertime tobe fullyfunctional andtophase outthe oldsystem.The majorityof the
respondentsare keentowardsasystemwhere youcanautomaticallyupdate yourinformationaway
fromthe office andmake itveryaccessible fromanywhere if uforgotthe physical licenseathome or
lossit,it will be storedelectronicallyonline.Anothercanbe made veryquickly orusedon phone if
necessary.Thiswill be the bettersolutiontoimplementforthe longrun,thiswill automaticallymake a
database on all the driversonthe road available tothe necessaryauthorities.Thisisa majorsecurity
measure thatwill helpthe police crossreference onmulti platforms,thisisthe secondaryfunctionof
the system.Variousauthenticationmarksanddeviceswould be neededtomake ensure thatfraudis
prevented.Veryfactthatthe systemhas nochangedin the past 10 years,basedon my researchit
shouldbe welcomedwithoutanygripes fromthe public
Justification of Solution
To justifythe selectionof the solutionabove,acomparisonbetweenthe practicalityandthe price was
made withthe firstsolutionabove andwas proposed tothe office forfurtherscrutiny.The firstsolution
isa simple quickfix whichwillnotstandinthe longrun withthe societybecomingmore electronic,the
same physical license would notbe needed.The othersolutionwouldmake the physical license
obsolete,inthisdayandage no one goesanywhere withouttheirphone, asimple appwouldbe kepton
the phone with the verifiedinformationfromthe online database.Thisapplication,program andthe
16. hardware neededtocarry thisoutis more expensive butthe nextgenerationof electronicswouldmake
it muchmore cost effective.The personal keycardwouldcost$1500 for 5 year and $2000 for 10 year
card. The programbeingused the source code isbeingusedbypolicemeninthe US,if possible we may
be able to purchase and make some minormodificationsforabout$12,000 plusthe programmerto
changerthe code.Police cruiserswouldneedtobe fittedwithcomputerstocheckthe keycard data
base to see theirbackgroundwouldcost$8,000 perunit. The developmentof the applicationwouldcost
$2000-$5000, and wouldcost$5 to downloadtoyourphone or mobile device
Witheverysystemthere isgoingtobe a wayaround it,variousvalidationchecksonthe informationin
and on the keycard wouldbe putin place.The firstoptionthere wasnovalidationcheck,onlyuptothe
discretionof the authorityfigure viewingit.Eachkeycard wouldhave a custombarcode alongwitha
special holographicstripwithmetallicinkusedonbankchequesthatare scannedwithMICR. Fraudat
the managingof the database isa veryreal possibility,camerasateachclerkwouldbe placed,keystroke
recorderswouldbe fittedintothe computerkeyboardsandonscreenrecordingof theiractivity,these
devicesare relativelycheaporevenfree andcostwill be negligible. The creationof the database would
be a verycomplex andtime consumingperiodbutwouldbe the bestsolutioninthe longrun.
17. Entity Relationship Diagram
License office
Database
Driver
School
Id_card_
no.
Student
name
Class
Birth_pa
per_no
Student_
database
Driver_info
Class of
license
Data_entry
_staff_no.
18. Flow chart
Driver
keycard
Renewal of
Old permits
Student
driver
permit
Application
for permits
Database
Website
Paymentfor
and activation
of keycard
Licensing Office
Immediate
pick up
19. Appendix
7
2
10
99
6
15
5
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
upgrade facilities computerized solution a less time consumming
process
same day processing
Public proposed solutions
Male Female
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Drivers license rewnewal vehicle registration learners permit
What patrons haveto do at the office based on the
questionnaire
Male Female
20. Summary to interview
The informationgatheredfromthe interview isthatthe systemhasbeena verylongprocesseversince
the managerof the office enteredandwaslike the whenhe gothislicense. The office isnotproperly
fundedbythe governmentandbecause of thattheyare understaffedwhichholdbackthe processingof
variousitemsisslowed. There wasverylittle flexibility of the systemandcouldnotbe interpretedin
more waysthan 1 fordifferentitems.Fromthe answersitcouldbe deducedthatthe bestsolutionthat
an online database thatcouldbe accessedfromanywhere thathasinternetaccess.
Example of key card and electronic license
