CUSTOMER SERVICE Instill positive proactive attitude in the staff project review team, throughout the entire process, to help the customer make his or her project a reality. Provide Opportunity for Customer Feedback by Project Provide an opportunity for customers to evaluate and comment on their customer service experience on an individual project basis. Where feasible, provide customers with option to provide comments electronically. Kiosks in lobby, comment cards, and databases and systems allow for electronic customer feedback. Enhance customer feedback by developing an electronic customer feedback program to survey customers once a Certificate of Occupancy or Certificate of Completion is issued. Develop a Comprehensive Customer Satisfaction Strategy. Reward Excellent Customer Service Implement recognition and rewards program for excellent customer service including timely, accurate staff reviews. Include assessment of customer service skills as part of employee performance reviews. Eplause, Department and Division WOW Awards, and Mayor s Coffee. currently included in all employees performance reviews. Service Targets for Project Review Customer service skills are Establish service targets for project review, e.g., the average or maximum time for staff review and comment. Residential: Alterations and Additions are processed over the counter; New Construction 10 working days. Commercial: Alterations 5 working days, New Construction 15 working days. Commercial: New Construction Corrections/ Revisions 10 working days. Sub-permits: In person are processed over the counter; Fax and Fast Track 48 hours.
Regular Training Program Establish and maintain a regular training program for process and permit technicians (staff who assist customers in preparing applications). Goals of the training program to: 1) teach best customer service practices; 2) promote higher quality for first submittals; and 3) empower employees at lower levels to make more decisions. Get training program from HR. Ownership helpful and take the customer to Zoning Customer service forums consisting of permit technicians, and plans examiners from all reviewing divisions have been established, and meet regularly. The goal is to improve communication amongst reviewing divisions, expand overall knowledge, identify concern and share best practices regarding the permitting system. Providing continual communication and putting knowledge gained from the forums into practice will promote a higher quality of first submittals by the applicant, and give staff the ability to make better decisions.
PRE-APPLICATION REVIEW Provide for each pre-application project review to include all applicable departments. Everyone to work with the customer to try and make the project a reality. Development Review Committee Form a development review committee to include representatives of all departments that are a part of the development review process. Where feasible, include representatives of outside permitting agencies. Development Review Committee, Planning and Zoning Commission. Optional Pre-Application Review Meetings Offer pre-application review meetings with the development review committee. Schedule the review of potential projects at the option of applicants to discuss project requirements and review/approval timeline. For vertical construction multi divisional pre-reviews can be scheduled from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Monday through Friday by contacting the Division of Building Safety. DRC offers pre-application conferences as part of their regularly scheduled meetings.
MINIMIZE COST Minimize customer costs especially during the pre-application and preliminary review process to keep customer costs down. Customer Education Program on Permitting Process Implement a customer education program using one or more of the following: classroom instruction, informational videos, brochures or the publication of other marketing material. Residential & Accessory Use Permitting Process, Permitting Process for Commercial, Industrial & Multi- Family Construction, Minimum Requirements for Plans Submittals for Residential Building Permits, Commercial Permitting Packet. Fast Track Permit has a tutorial on how to use the process for contractor services and each type of permit the can be obtained on line. Offer Expedited Review Process Provide an expedited review process for targeted projects or offer the option of an expedited process at an added cost to the applicant. Currently, all Green projects are expedited under s Orange to Green program. Evaluate the possibility of incentivizing the use of electronic plans review/submittals by providing an expedited review. Implement Master File Program for Commercial and Residential Building Permits Implement process to allow an approved set of master file drawings to be used to permit individual buildings of the same type with only a review of site specific conditions. Master filing is available for residential structures through the Division of Building Safety. Develop a master filing program for commercial replicable buildings (i.e. Target, 7-11, Burger King, WAWA etc... )
Application Checklist Provide checklists to aid customers in the preparation of applications to promote higher quality for first submittals. Residential & Accessory Use Permitting Process, Permitting Process for Commercial, Industrial & Multi- Family Construction, Minimum Requirements for Plans Submittals for Residential Building Permits, Commercial Permitting Packet. Electronic Submission and Review of Plans Implement electronic submission and review of plans to reduce customer costs related to the production, submission or resubmittal of plans. In order to reduce the number of plans submittals, DRC allows the applicant to submit draft plan revisions in.pdf format directly to the reviewing division requiring the revision. Currently, we are heading the efforts to implement electronic plans submittal and review for vertical permitting. The project will eliminate paper submittals by allowing residential and commercial building permit applicants to submit the construction plans and documents on a CD or DVD to the permitting office. Once the CD or DVD is received the construction plans and documents will be uploaded to the LDMS permitting system, and electronically routed to all reviewing divisions for review. In January 2013, we will be processing several projects to test the system and in March 2013 we will be going live. Further enhancements to LDMS to allow applicant to electronically submit their application(s), construction plans and documents via the web or other electronic media. Projected implementation May 2013. Reduced Paper Copies Reduce the number of copies required for the submittal of paper application packages. The implementation of an electronic plans submittal process will reduce the number of submittal packages.
ENSURE THE OMBUDSMAN ROLE After pre-application review, provide one point of contact to guide customer throughout the entire approval process. Single Point of Contact: Problem-Solver Provide a staff person with problem-solving skills to serve as a single point of contact for customers throughout the entire development review, and permitting process (from project concept to building permit and inspection). Use staff person to facilitate communication between applicant and review staff and to anticipate and resolve project issues if possible. Permitting Services (Customer Services Team) Permitting Services Advocate (Tim Boldig) Customer Contact List Prepare a customer contact list for each project to include the owner, applicant, architect, planner and engineer. Provide contact list a courtesy copy of correspondence to project manager to help ensure timely and effective communication. This information is available and can be accessed through s Fast Track for all building permits. During the application process, email addresses are obtain and used to provide status reports to the applicant and other interested parties during the permitting, and inspection process.
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE Establish aggressive timelines for project approvals. Again, this saves the customer time and money. One-Stop Shop Implement a one-stop shop approach to bring as many review functions as possible together within the same operating unit. s Permitting Services now has a customer service team that provides customer guidance, answer development process related questions, and seeks to offer complaint resolution for applicants in various stages of the review process. Additionally, many of the county divisions that review construction plans are located in a central location to provide our customers with a One Stop Shop approach. Standard Applications Use standard template for applications to foster familiarity and ease of use. Develop common elements, e.g., same terminology or format, to be used in application forms within the same county. Evaluate the possibility of consolidating permit applications to provide consistency with other jurisdictions within. Standard Comment Language Use standard comment language boilerplate wording for review comments to promote consistent, clear review comments. As part of our LDMS permitting system, every division responsible for reviewing residential and commercial plans submitted for permits, developed and utilizes standard review comment in order to provide consistency amongst their plans examines.
Online Access to Review Comments Provide online access to information on project status and reviewer comments. Applicants submitting for vertical construction permits can view their project status and comment online through the s Services Online (https://fasttrack.ocfl.net/publicportal/oc/searchpermits.jsp). Applicants submitting for DRC approvals receive an email at the end of each review cycle identifying whether or not their project has been approved or if it has deficiencies. If the project has deficiencies, they will be noted in the email. Mobile Technology Use mobile technology to schedule and conduct building inspections provide remote access to approved plans and project files. In the late 80 s Division of Building Safety implemented an Interactive Voice Response System which allowed inspections to be schedule from any type of phone system. At the time the system was implemented, it was not specifically considered for mobile technology. However, when used in conjunction with a mobile phone, it performs many of the same features. Inspection scheduling is also available through Fast Track under Contractor services. Additional mobile applications for inspection scheduling are under review.
MINIMIZE APPROVAL STEPS Minimize the steps for project approval depending on the type and size of development request; (Planned Unit Development) (Subdivision) (Permitted Conditional Use) etc. Establish Performance Standards for Project Approval Adopt land development regulations that allow planned developments to be approved through an administrative and technical review when meeting outlined performance standards. Amend the Planned Development (PD) District Code to allow for up to a 15% deviation from any performance standards used for the purpose of providing development criteria for a particular land use. Performance criteria is considered to be, but is not limited to, lot width/size, building height, setbacks, alternative parking arrangements, or other criteria the County Administrator may deem appropriate. Concurrent Review of Applications Provide option for concurrent review and approval of applications, e.g., review and approval of site plan and building permits at the same time. Current commercial permitting process allows applicants to submit site plans, and building plans individually or concurrently for building permit review. Issuance of Conditional Permits Authorize the issuance of conditional permits in special circumstances to allow customers to proceed with site development activity pending the completion of certain tasks. Division of Building Safety offers an Early Start Permit for interior alteration which allows the permit holder to do interior demolition, and begin construction up to the first inspection. Our permitting methodology allows for many variations of permit submittals; applicants can phase their projects and submit for a site-work-only permit, or a site and foundation permit, or a permit to build the entire project. Allowing projects to be permitted in phases provides the applicant an opportunity to address any special circumstance that may arise during the review process.
PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS Commit to regular evaluations of the development review and permitting process to ensure an efficient and value-added process. Implement process improvements, to include technology upgrades and innovations, as appropriate and feasible. Third Party Advisory Group Engage local and regional parties to help evaluate the need to improve the efficiency of the development review and permitting process. Regulatory Streamlining Task Force, Professional Resource Group, Planning and Zoning Commission, Development Advisory Board, Homebuilders Association, Construction Industry Council, and Associated Building Contractors, Open for Business. Review and Update of Land Development Regulations Establish a process for the periodic review and update of land development regulations to include the participation of industry stakeholders. The Florida Building Codes are updated every three (3) years by the State of Florida and the process does allow participation by industry stakeholders. (www.floridabuilding.org) Staff maintains a running list of potential updates to the land development regulations, and periodically submits them to their manager, who has the authority and responsibility over the regulation, for consideration. Customer Wait Times Track and report wait times for walk-in customers. Lobby wait times are being used by management to ensure acceptable service levels. Wait times are also being reported to the Home Builders Association for residential and commercial, at regularly schedule meetings.
Project Review Times Track and report project review times. Measure: 1) overall review time; 2) time application is in customer hands, e.g., preparation of resubmittal; and 3) time application is under staff review. Comprehensive customer service metrics are being developed and will be displayed through the use of dashboards on the county s Intranet, and website to provide management and customers alike, a comprehensive overview of the permitting process. The metrics will generally include customer service wait times, overall review times, and the amount of time it takes from plan submittal to permit issuance.
POST PROJECT APPROVAL After project approval is achieved, minimize the time and steps for project permit amendments and/or revisions. Project Revisions Implement a simplified review process and reduced fees for minor modifications to approved plans. Provide administrative authority for in the field revisions to approved plans where appropriate. Residential revisions are processed over the counter. Commercial revision turnaround times have been reduced as recommended by the Regulatory Streamlining Task Force from 15 days to 10 working days. There are no Building fees associated with the processing of revisions. As recommended by the Regulatory Streamlining Task Force, a standard operating procedure has been established providing field supervisors with the authority to resolve conflicts between inspectors and plans examiners in the field before requiring revisions of the construction documents.