FEBRUARY 25, 2004

Land's tech fix shortens wait times

In keeping with her commitment to customer service, Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land today announced the statewide installation of bar code readers in Secretary of State branch offices to collect necessary driver and vehicle information. The decision comes as a result of a successful pilot program.

"Our pilot program has received high marks from branch office employees and customers alike for its speed and ease," Secretary Land said. "I’ve ordered statewide installation because it is a cost-effective way to significantly streamline our overall service. Customers like the faster service and shorter wait times."

Bar code technology is a time-tested method for instantly and accurately collecting data. The bar code readers were first installed at the Department of State’s research and development branch office in Grand Rapids, and the East Lansing, Pontiac Northeast branch offices. Full deployment at all branch offices will be completed by this spring.

The new bar code readers collect and record information from the back of driver’s licenses, vehicle titles and license plate renewal forms. Instead of typing the information, branch office employees merely have to swipe documents over the reader to collect the necessary data.

"Typing a 17-character vehicle identification number not only takes time, it is fraught with error," Land said. "This feature will allow our staff to serve our customers more quickly and more accurately."

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