The DMV’s rollout of a new computer network has faced criticism on multiple fronts.
The agency says wait times have gone down, but customers like Joanna Renson of West Hartford have not noticed, “I know it takes a while and I understand that, but I think it's been slower."
So Governor Malloy has taken a new approach with his leadership team.
New commissioner Michael Bzdyra has been with the agency four years...most recently as deputy commissioner. He says he will hit the ground running, given his experience.
He says he knows the bugs in this new system...and the players at software maker 3M that hold the key to fixing them, “So we're working, holding 3M’s feet to the fire, as we speak, we have weekly and sometimes daily calls following up on the severity one defects, those kinds of things, to make sure they get fixed."
And we held Bzdyra's feet to the fire on the third and final phase of the $26 million DMV modernization...the introduction of new drivers' license software.
His predecessor expressed doubt to the Troubleshooters last summer it would ever get rolled out. Bzdyra is noncommittal, “…once phase two, the registration and title piece is stabilized, and settled, then we'll look and see what we need to do for phase three."
Bzdyra’s replacement describes herself as an outsider to state government. New DMV deputy commissioner Judeen Wrinn detailed that she has worked for corporate titans Voya Financial, ING, and Aetna. In spite of never having worked for a public sector behemoth like the DMV, she believes her experience has the potential to benefit both customers and employees.
Wrinn notes that fixing flawed system rollouts like the one facing our DMV is one of her strong suits, “…when you're in this kind of situation and it's intense, you have to have a sense of urgency that we have to make a difference, customers have to see it improve, as soon as possible. At the same time, not everything is gonna get fixed overnight"
For sure, DMV customers' patience has been tested, with long lines, inaccurate records, and drivers mistakenly ticketed. Some said to us a change at the top could help...but people like Ben Congdon have a wait and see attitude, “…if she's competent in managing people has good management skills and good computer skills then she'll be an asset."
