The Road to Efficiency

he past decade has seen a revolution in the way the government manages travel and relocation. The process isn't yet perfect, but federal agencies have made great strides in efficiency and effectiveness. Here, for the sixth year, Government Executive salutes excellence in federal travel with the Travel Managers of the Year awards. The panel of nine judges selected this year's winners-the Postal Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Secret Service, the Veterans Affairs Department, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health-based on several criteria, including:

• Application of reengineering principles (including process simplification, integration and innovation).
• Verifiable savings.
• Improved customer satisfaction.
• Partnership with the private sector.
• Agencywide application.
• Use of paperless/electronic commerce.
• Excellence in buying or administering travel.
• Replicability

The winners will be feted on June 2 at a ceremony at the Willard Inter-Continental in Washington.

WINNER

Not so long ago, travel expenses at the Postal Service were pro- cessed on paper. They had to be manually calculated, resulting in all the predictable errors and inconsistencies. At least three people worked on each voucher. Reimbursement delays were measured in weeks.

The department customized commercial, off-the-shelf software that automated all phases of expense reporting including submission, approval, cost tracking, verification and payment. The nearly paperless process has been used for more than 80 percent of the Postal Service's trips since fiscal 2002. It Integrates data from the travel card company, other federal agencies, and the Postal Service's accounting system. Data is warehoused and managers can check the status of expense reports and payments.

As of February, more than 67,000 travelers had filed more than 310,000 expense reports worth more than $150 million. Eventually the system is expected to extend to 80,000 travelers and handle $500,000 a day.

Besides being faster and more accurate, today's reimbursement procedure involves fewer people, and travel card delinquency rates have dropped from about 5 percent to 2 percent.

The judges singled out this project for its large scale and because it is based on commercial best practices, providing a fully integrated, end-to-end process for Postal Service travelers and their managers.

"We want to encourage people to take these kind of actions," said one judge.

Contact: Deborah Judy, manager, IT Value, (202) 268-2818 or djudy@email.usps.gov

WINNER

With about 700 relocations a year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stood to save a lot of time and money by automating its systems. And that's exactly what it did.

The organization, which automated temporary duty travel expense management in 1998, brought relocations online in October 2002. The paperless system, which uses Gelco Travel Manager and some customized software, integrates authorization, tracking, vouchering, approval and disbursement, capturing useful budget data.

"It provides NOAA with a user-friendly relo travel process, improved customer satisfaction, comprehensive reporting, verifiable savings, real-time integration, and excellent partnership with the private sector," says project manager Bob Wolin.

All relocation expenses are handled through the Integrated Travel Manager Relocation System: employee and family travel, temporary quarters, house hunting, household goods shipping and storage, real estate sales and so on. The system automatically calculates and reports taxes and reimburses employees and vendors through electronic funds transfer.

NOAA has more than 400 locations using a variety of computer

systems and platforms, but the automation has cut processing times in half (from 30 minutes to 15 minutes) for a savings of almost $350,000 a year.

The judges praised several aspects of NOAA's program, including the fact that the agency worked with a small business contractor; tailored commercial, off-the-shelf software to meet its needs; broadened its existing travel management approach; and achieved "user acceptance of a complex system."

Contact: Bob Wolin, chief, Integrated Systems, (301) 427-1009 or bob.wolin@noaa.gov.

WINNER

With a mandate to protect the president, the vice president, their family members, heads of state and others, the Secret Service can't cut back on travel to trim costs. So the agency reengineered its travel process by creating the Logistics Resource Center, which applies fair, consistent and cost-effective criteria for staff scheduling and logistics.

Agents used to be matched with protection details based solely on whether their home offices were close to their assignments. Now an automated system calculates staffing levels, other resources, and estimated travel costs for officials making assignments.

The system has been up and running since October 2001 for large protective missions, training groups and major investigations, which make up about 50 percent of the agency's travel. The center plans to have the system in place for the whole Secret Service by the end of fiscal 2003.

The new approach saved more than $4.5 million in fiscal 2002, about 20 percent of the travel budget. Better scheduling cut down on delays in getting staff to protection assignments. Employees "arrive at their temporary posts of duty better rested, less stressed and ready to perform their jobs," says Philip Noble, who has worked on the project since its inception."By centralizing travel management, this program allows Secret Service personnel to be used more productively."

Judges applauded this project not only for automating travel functions but for integrating them into mission support, calling the approach "macro management." They noted that it could be adopted by other agencies that have law enforcement roles, and said it is "a terrific tool for anyone who has to assemble a team of people to get a job done."

Contact: Ron Perea, special agent in charge, Logistics Resource Center,(202)406-9116, ronald.perea@usss.dhs.gov.

WINNER

The Veterans Affairs Department reinvented its relocation home sale program with a combination of technology and touch. The result: clearer, more accurate communications with employees who are transferring; more timely processing of requests; less stress for employees; more consistent understanding and application of policies-and an estimated $1.5 million in savings in the first year.

The department improved the program by getting everyone on the same page-the same Web page. It trained relocation services coordinators at more than 300 VA locations, and now conducts regular conference calls and e-mail updates. It centralized move processing, tracking and policies on the Web.

Working with Cendant Mobility, a Connecticut-based relocation services firm, VA implemented the program throughout the department in August 2002.

The result, says program manager Pam Silvis-Zelasko, is that relocation counselors are better educated and distribute clearer, more accurate information. Time spent tracking down details for transferees has been cut in half. Employees are less stressed out.

Savings of almost 12 percent of program costs came from VA's home sale incentive program. In its first seven months, the number of relocation program participants who sell their own homes increased from 46 percent to 72 percent. With about 400 moves a year through the program, and an average savings of $17,800 per home sale, those dollars add up.

VA won a Travel Manager of the Year award in 2001 for revamping its household goods program. This time, judges commended VA for its comprehensive approach and for building on its past successes.

Contact: Pam Silvis-Zelasko, relocation services program manager, (202) 273-5383 or pam.silvis@mail.va.gov

WINNERS

Food and Drug Administration
Travel Manager
Rockville, Md.

Judges granted the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration a joint award for their partnership in improving travel in the two organizations.

The FDA used Gelco's Travel Manager software as a launching pad to reengineer its travel management from authorization through reimbursement. Working with its sister agency, NIH, the FDA developed and adapted a module to handle sponsored travel, that is, travel that is paid for by nonfederal sources. In such cases, the organization that invites a federal employee to participate in a meeting or conference pays the travel expenses.

As of March, more than 3,500 of the FDA's 9,600 employees were using the new system. The agency expects it to be in place agencywide by end of 2003.

In setting up the new process, the FDA eliminated multiple software setups. The agency expects to save $3.5 million a year in administrative costs.

The FDA also developed CD and Web-based training on the software and the overall management system.

At NIH, travel-related complaints from both employees and patients were increasing. To alleviate its problems, NIH decided to ditch the old business structure and seek a performance and fee-based contract. NIH consolidated its many travel management contracts across the country into one, enabling the agency to provide more consistent service and leverage its business volume to get better value. The judges were impressed with NIH's successful execution of a performance-based contracting approach.

In fiscal 2002, NIH spent $24 million on transportation alone for 75,000 trips. The new way of doing things saves money in several ways, including increased use of contract airfares and lower travel agency charges because fewer employees are requesting services by phone and in person. Also, a software module locates unused portions of e-tickets. In fiscal 2002, almost 1,100 unused tickets were located, and the agency got $225,000 in refunds that otherwise would have been lost.

The cooperative approach to improving travel management impressed the judges, who lauded the two organizations for sharing ideas, allocating tasks and combining resources to improve travel management.

Contact: Ellen K. Grant, NIH TMC project manager, Worksite Enrichment Programs Branch, (301) 402-8180 or grante@mail.nih.gov

Contact: Michael Fullem, USDA project manager, (301) 827-2788 or mfullem@oc.fda.gov