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Table 15: Client-Centred Service
In an effort to promote citizen confidence in government, produce high levels of client satisfaction, demonstrate value for money to taxpayers and contribute to the achievement of public policy goals, Transport Canada continues to make progress against several initiatives which serve to improve services.
The following key services were made available in 2006/2007:
Electronic Collection of Air Transportation Statistics (ECATS) Phase II
ECATS is Transport Canada's air-transportation data-collection and dissemination software application. A joint government and industry initiative, ECATS enables air carriers serving Canada to submit essential air-transportation data to Transport Canada via two web interfaces, reducing data-reporting costs for airlines, enhancing the timeliness and availability of air-transportation statistics for departmental decision-making, and improving dissemination of air transportation statistics to approved users of the data. Phase I of the ECATS initiative, completed in March 2005, was directed at collecting electronically operational air carrier data from all domestic and foreign commercial air carriers operating in Canada. Phase II of the program extended this initiative to electronic collection of air cargo statistics, general aviation-related operational data and financial information from both commercial air carriers and general aviation operators.
Transportation Portal
The development of a Transportation Portal fits with the Government of Canada's 'Government On-Line' vision of collaboration and service transformation and fits within Transport Canada's external service delivery mandate for the departments own WEB presence. Through the involvement of citizens, industry and government stakeholders, Transport Canada successfully launched an external facing web site incorporating transportation subject-matter information from all jurisdictions which acts as a gateway for Canadians to seamless, subject-driven information on transportation-related matters.
General Aviation System
Transport Canada is responsible for the licensing of all pilots and flight engineers; the licensing and testing standards; and the safety regulations, inspection and monitoring of all Canadian flight training units. It is also responsible for regulating aircraft registration and leasing; maintaining a Canadian Aircraft Register; and maintaining a safety oversight of recreational aviation and special flight operations such as air shows. An on-line transactional system was developed to allow pilots and aircraft owners to change address; to allow TC staff to deliver examinations to flight schools and independent investigators in a secure way. Fiscal 2007/08 will see new on-line functionality to support the Pilot Licensing functions.
Security Regulatory Advisory System (SRAS)
The Department's external stakeholders have requested an electronic means to view security requirements that is timely, accessible and efficient as the current methods of transmittal are outdated and do not meet current expectations.
In response, a WEB-based system was developed in order to grant external stakeholders access to sensitive Transport Canada regulatory and non-regulatory security information, and act as an alternative forum for consulting stakeholders, in a secure and timely manner.
Transport Canada Automated Fingerprint Identification System (TCAFIS) - II
TCAFIS implemented a comprehensive, fully integrated architecture at Canadian national airports to capture electronically fingerprints / facial images, demographic data and scanned personal history documents. As a result, Transport Canada can now forward a fingerprint transaction seamlessly to the RCMP in real time. This has dramatically reduced the turnaround time of processing fingerprints for transportation security clearances for applicants requiring access to restricted areas, and for departmental employee security clearances from an average of 45 days to 60 days down to a few hours. This digitized fingerprinting system enables Transport Canada to collect fingerprints electronically, without the use of any paper documents. This new inkless, paperless environment eliminates costly storage and supplies of fingerprint forms, inkpads and the physical movement and tracking of paper. Given the success of the project, the department is considering extending this solution to regional / local community airports as well as marine ports.
Environmental Information System
Transport Canada is one of the largest owners of federal real property. In fact, the department owns approximately 850 sites (such as airports, ports, wharves and bridges) situated in every region of the country. Information and documentation related to these large capital assets is voluminous and mostly paper-based, with each regional office in the department required to house versions of all documents related to property assets situated in their respective regions. The paper-based system made it difficult for personnel to locate all appropriate documents; and the time taken to send documents to officials in other regional offices and departmental headquarters is unnecessarily lengthy. To improve this situation, a web-based system was implemented that uses geographic information to present records, plans and land-layer information in an easily understood manner, and enables departmental personnel to monitor and manage sites of department-owned land and other capital assets such as buildings, bridges and airports, and helps ensure that the department fulfills its environmental obligations related to these sites.
CSVA
Each year, Transport Canada receives an average of 1200 service requests (requests for certification, exemption, approval, authorization, etc). These requests are considered complex, particularly due to the abundance of related documents and the nature of the changes required between the requestor (air operator or member of the public) and Transport Canada. Currently, service requests from air operators can be submitted in six ways: in person or by mail, e-mail, telephone, fax or courier. This diversity complicates follow-up and increases the risk of error. To improve this situation, on-line service modules were developed which enable air operators in Quebec (including remote regions) to use the Internet to submit their service requests directly to Transport Canada, any time, any place. These requests are processed and sent to the groups involved and then tasks are assigned, taking into account the inspectors' workloads. Air operators are also able to track the status of their requests by using a personal service portal via a secure access.
Civil Aviation Integrated Management System (IMS)
With the ongoing implementation of its Integrated Management System (IMS) initiated in 2003, Civil Aviation has sought to continually improve its program and services to stakeholders. IMS aligns Civil Aviation activities and practices to regulated Safety Management Systems (SMS), systematic, explicit and comprehensive processes for managing risks to safety currently being implemented in aviation organizations. IMS is a fundamental objective of Transport Canada's plan for the continued improvement of a high level of aviation safety in Canada. Among the results is a one-stop integrated access point via the Internet that has been made available to stakeholders, providing information on Service Standards and Fees and linking with the Civil Aviation Issues Reporting System (CAIRS), the official Civil Aviation service feedback mechanism. With this progressive and proactive approach, the organization uses the information received to root out problems and improve its operations. At its 2006 meeting, the Canadian Federal Regulators presented the CAIRS team with the "Regulatory Excellence Award" in the "Innovation" category. The CAIRS considered a benchmark for the Safety and Security Group and other Federal Organizations.
Information Management /Information Technology (IM/IT) EfficienciesIn their endorsement of the Information Management /Information Technology Investment Plan, TC's Management Executive Committee directed the implementation of several IM/IT efficiencies in order to reallocate resulting savings to higher departmental priorities, and to continue to evolve the departmental performance framework to enhance the ongoing monitoring of approved IM/IT investments as well as measurement of results. As result of this work, the department attained savings/cost avoidance in the identified IM/IT efficiency areas amounting to approximately $4.8 million in 2006-07, much of which was reallocated to address other departmental pressures.
TC also worked throughout 2006-07 on enhancing its citizen-focused services and its relationships with customers and suppliers, following the objectives originally set out in the Government On-line (GOL) initiative and now integrated within the departmental IM/IT planning process. Client satisfaction surveys will be conducted in the future to measure how service has improved, but no firm date has been set at this time.