SPRING 1979 Ro L ME 16, NUMBER 1 MVB Improves Efficiency with Word Processor
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ISSN 0382·2141 PUBLI ED BY TH E BRI ISH COLUMBIA MINI TRY OF TRAN PO TATION, C MMUNICATION AND HIGHWAYS SPRING 1979 rO L ME 16, NUMBER 1 MVB Improves Efficiency With Word Processor Always looking for ways to improve its operation, the Mo tor vehicle Branch has come up with a time and money-saving word processing machine. Clerks in the driver safety and improvement section were typing 3,500 letters a week and completing 600 to 700 computer cards a day, with each card requiring the driver's licence num ber, full name, name code, effective date, and file number of each letter. June Byers, Administrative Officer in charge of the section, believed what was needed was a machine that could take names and addresses and merge them with a basic letter which had already been keyed onto the program disk. June told factory representatives the machine had to be compatible with the computer system where you could type in a master letter, have merging capabilities, and also be able to store and recall. That was two years ago, and today, because of Ju ne's resource ful thinking, the Motor-vehicle Branch has its word processing machine. Suspension data is keyed into a terminal, stored on a disk, and the office assistants are now producing twice the work they did before. Clerks type letters of suspension, letters of reinstatement, pro bation letters and assessment letters. First the name and driver's licence number is typed on the letter, then to avoid a computer oriented letter, a person's file is reviewed and any variable factor is noted on the letter so as not to lose that personal touch a dic Debbie Norman prints the leiters while Supervisor June Byers tated letter might give. The letter is then merged with the body . looks on. of the letter taken from the disk. The machine sorts alphabetically and numerically and there are 75 letter vari ations on a disk. A typical keypunch command might be file, print-Letter No. I, merge, sort, and automatically justify print-and the machine would then put the letter together. June started with the Motor-vehicle Branch on a temporary basis in 1963 working short stints in the addressograph section, the mail order of licence-plates during the issuing period, helping with cash sheets in the issuing office, assisting in the general office for a brief period and finally coming to rest as a permanent typist in Driver Improvement. From 1971 to 1976 she wor ked in driver record s and Donna Perry prepares a new file. Pat Chornoby shows the type of letter the n returned to safety and improvement to be processed. section. Jun e is a grad uate of the AETNA Driver Improvement Group Leadership Training Program, sponsored by the well kno wn AETNA Insurance Comp any in the Un ited States. She is on her third year of Executive De velopment Training Program at the University of Victoria and is a graduate of Public Service Com mission's Public Administr ation Course. "I approached the over-all problem with the idea of making the change in two phases-phase one would be to ac quire the equipment and have the staff key in the name and address and in ph ase two, which we hope to have shortly, we will be able to dr aw the driver's record up to the screen, make the decision as to Nancy Duke sorts the files into various Mae Woo keys nam e, address, driv er the type of letter which should be sent, types of letters before entering names and licence number, and oth er variable in and tell the machine to print the appro addresses on word processing equipment. formation onto disks. priate letter," she says. 2 ~ ----- -- --- ---- -. MINISTER'S MESSAGE T HE ROAD RU NN ER & CA RRIER Vo lume 16 Spring 1979 No. I 0(:{ 0(:{ 0(:{ Published Quarterly by the Ministry of Transportation, Communications and Highways Victoria, British Columbia Ray Baines, Executive Editor Arthur 1. Schindel, Editor Now that the Government is well into the First Session C. N. Shave, Co-editor of the Thirty-Second Legislative Assembly after receiving a lIew mandate, I wish to remind all personnel of th e Ministry that a rededication to the service of the people Field*Correspondents* of British Columbia should be uppermost ill everyone's mind. Brendan Gordon .G eotechnical Operations, Burnaby W. S. Boughey .. ..Victoria Last year in the rcorganizutional plan for government m inistries the Premier honoured me by increasing my Herb Gutteridge Regional Electrical Crew Eric Eastick Centreline Marking, Cloverdale respo nsib ilities to include {Ill expanded Ministry of Trans portation, Communications and Highways, as well as a Doug Jones Burnaby Directorship of the British Columbia Ferry Corporation Tony Larsen . Chilliwack George Harper Burnside and the development of a transportation system to sen'e the needs of the Province, Ed Hemmi ngsen .Port Alberni As anyone familiar with government can understand Hector McLeod .. Nanaimo these responsibilities cannot be successfully discharged D. L. Oliver Courtenay by one person. A dedicated staff, working as a closely Paul Connor North Vancouver knit team, is the only way we can overcome the manv David T. Kao Dock Distri ct problems which inevitably arise within a large and com Glyn Briscoe New Westminster Maureen Recknagle McBride plex organization like ours. I do not have to emphasize that team work is necessary for success. You call be sure Dave Schleppe __ .. Kamloops that as Minister I will do everything I call to see that the Mark Coe WilIiams Lake Barry Kimble 100 Mile House machinery is ill place for this team approach. III the past Fred L. Stuart __ .. Salmon Arm three years we have achieved considerable success ill M. J. Newlands Revelstoke our programs and I wou ld like to see this trend ill pro ductivity, accomplishment and attitude continued, I will Les Johnson Vernon J. T. Hallam .. Kelowna support our staff ill all their undertakings as decisions are made and I ask ill return for their sup port, W e are all W. R. Coates Penti cton here to provide a first rate service and a good product Brian Niehaus .. Merritt to the people of British Columbia. Bob Corder . .Lillooet R. Haworth .. .. Grand Forks ALEX. V. FRASER I Joy Mailey .. .. .. Rossl and Minister S. J. Dixey Nelson C. W. Smith New Denver ~~-~-------~-- Fred Ryckman Creston N. K. Molander :_Cranbrook Allan Edgar Fernie C. M. Frank Golden As you know the integration of the former Ministries of Energy, Transport and Communications and Highways and W. R. Rowe Smithers Public Works added about 1.000 employees, as well as more and Stan Gladysz .. Pouce Coupe varied activities, to the Ministry. Energy, Transport and Com Willie Smith Fort St. John munications published its own in-house mag azine called the Car Harman Delyea Terrace rier and Highways has for many years had its Road Runner, Shirley Hrechka .Prince George Senior officials decided that the two publications should be inte Clyde Smaaslet Prince George grated to best serve the combined staffs of our new Ministry and Al Hepp . Quesnel this is the first issue in that form. The choice of a name was a B. A. Cleary Vanderhoof problem. Long-time readers of the Road Runner did not want Dave Foster .... .. Burns Lake to see that name dropped or changed after 17 years. At the same Doug Lamb Prince Rupert time the newer and younger Carrier had its loyal following and Whayne Chappell Terrace support. For this reason we have decided to simply combine the D. R. Norstrom Dease Lake two na mes, with Road Runner coming first in deference to its age. The magazine will of course now contain personnel news plus feature stories and regular departments on the activities of all the sectio ns of the expanded Ministry. As there are many COVER PHOTO more people in the Highways sect ion than in the other two, High ways personne l news will occupy more space . However, because Omnipresent Mount Baker rises snow-capped on th e eastern of the diversit y and importance of activities carried on by Trans horizon. This photograph is evidence of spring ill the Lower portation and Co mmu nicat ions we will try to pro vide balanced Fraser Va lley, Aldergrove-Trans-Canada H ighway, and the end cove rage of all th ree sections in our features and departments. of winter patrols, .1'11011' removal, and salt for another year. R. J. BAINES -Photo by Jack Brown, Executive Editor 3 PROMOTIONS DAN DOYLE, P.Eng., Regional Main BILL KOPACH won a promotion MONA SHARPE has won through tenance Operations Manager at Nanaimo. through competition to Engineering Assis competition the position of Regional has won through com tant 3 in the New Den Radio-Telex Operator, petition the Regional ver District office, Sep Region I, Burnaby. Highway Engineer tember 1978. He has She has worked in the position in Region 5, been working for the regional office since Terrace. Dan began Ministry for eight April 1974. Mona and with Highways in 1969 years. Bill is married her husband, Neil, in the Engineers-in- and has a 9-month-old have recently bought a A Training Program: he son. Favourite pas new home and spend worked on construction projects for three times are ski-ing and hockey, although he most of their spare time remodelling. years. He spent the next five years as enjoys most other sports. H is "greatest District Highways Manager, first at Me ambition" is to build his own log house .