By Tonybizjack
Six months after California launched its new driver's license program, the company that won the $63 million contract is still struggling to fix production problems that have left tens of thousands of motorists waiting months for a new license.
Department of Motor Vehicles officials repeatedly have said they and their contractor, L-1 Identity Solutions of Massachusetts, are getting a handle on the situation.
But a Bee review of internal e-mails shows that problems actually got worse last month, when the production backlog at L-1's Sacramento factory reached its highest level since the card's October launch.
Department of Motor Vehicles officials repeatedly have said they and their contractor, L-1 Identity Solutions of Massachusetts, are getting a handle on the situation.
But a Bee review of internal e-mails shows that problems actually got worse last month, when the production backlog at L-1's Sacramento factory reached its highest level since the card's October launch.
The problem involves the design of the license itself. Touted by the state as the most advanced identity card anywhere, California's new license is packed with security features to foil the most sophisticated counterfeiters.
The new cards contain hidden photos visible only by ultraviolet light. Drivers' signatures are in laser-engraved raised lettering. Each card has tiny perforations in the shape of a bear, seen when held to a light.
None of the design elements is new, state officials say, but the California license is the first anywhere to use them all at once.
Earlier this month, after the backlog briefly ballooned to 850,000 cards, DMV officials asked L-1 Identity Solutions to overhaul its efforts.
L-1 officials declined Bee requests to discuss the issue. DMV officials said L-1 is making some changes.
In a recent interview, DMV Director George Valverde declined to predict when the agency would be back to delivering licenses in a timely manner. "We are bringing (the delay) down, but it is not going to happen overnight," he said.
That's hardly satisfactory for Bob Amburn of Rancho Murieta. He paid his license fees on Nov. 17, but he didn't receive his new license until Saturday, four months later.
Amburn spent hours on the phone with the DMV, he said, and got so frustrated that he recently wrote a complaint to the governor.
Amburn spent hours on the phone with the DMV, he said, and got so frustrated that he recently wrote a complaint to the governor.
"This vendor deal obviously was not worked out correctly," he said. "If they have problems they can't solve, then this wasn't ready for sale."
The delays have frustrated a few legislators too.
"We've heard about people standing in line an hour at DMV offices, then hearing: 'Sorry, can't help you,' " said Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, who has asked for an explanation from the DMV. "You pay your money and expect to get a product on a timely basis. DMV has come up well short of that."
"We've heard about people standing in line an hour at DMV offices, then hearing: 'Sorry, can't help you,' " said Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, who has asked for an explanation from the DMV. "You pay your money and expect to get a product on a timely basis. DMV has come up well short of that."
Police stop just one worry
Some drivers, driving on expired cards, have expressed concerns about what will happen if they are pulled over by police. They complain about the lack of a clear statement from the DMV about what the problem is and what drivers with expired licenses should do.
Some drivers, driving on expired cards, have expressed concerns about what will happen if they are pulled over by police. They complain about the lack of a clear statement from the DMV about what the problem is and what drivers with expired licenses should do.
DMV officials said police can check state computer files that will show if drivers have paid their license renewal fees, even if the driver doesn't have a new card in hand.
Some drivers also said they worry that they may not be allowed to fly if they arrive at the airport with an expired identity card. A federal Transportation Security Administration spokesman told The Bee that airport agents will accept temporary California licenses.
DMV officials say they have begun issuing automatic 90-day temporary licenses to everyone renewing their license or receiving a new one. They also set up an e-mail address and phone number for drivers to contact if they have been waiting six weeks or more for their license.
As of last week, 3,000 people had e-mailed the DMV, officials said. Yet, some drivers told The Bee that they had not received a response.
Annie Joe of Rocklin, who paid for her license renewal months ago but has yet to get a card, said her e-mail bounced back as undeliverable.
"It's no wonder DMV has a less than stellar reputation with Californians," she wrote in an e-mail to The Bee.
"It's no wonder DMV has a less than stellar reputation with Californians," she wrote in an e-mail to The Bee.
Technical errors cited
Citing security precautions, DMV officials have declined to describe the production problems in any detail, nor say in what ways the resulting cards were deemed substandard.
But heavily redacted documents reviewed by The Bee indicate DMV's contractor, L-1, has run into multiple issues at its factory with printers, engravers and laminating machines. There also have been problems with the process that creates photos viewable only via ultraviolet light. At times, human error allowed production runs of substandard cards. Workers have been reprimanded for poor performance.
Citing security precautions, DMV officials have declined to describe the production problems in any detail, nor say in what ways the resulting cards were deemed substandard.
But heavily redacted documents reviewed by The Bee indicate DMV's contractor, L-1, has run into multiple issues at its factory with printers, engravers and laminating machines. There also have been problems with the process that creates photos viewable only via ultraviolet light. At times, human error allowed production runs of substandard cards. Workers have been reprimanded for poor performance.
Although DMV officials said they and L-1 conducted successful test production runs, hiccups began immediately after the October launch, delaying the first several deliveries to DMV by 12 days – even as officials were trumpeting the new cards at a news conference at their south Sacramento field office.
Those initial cards delivered to DMV "were 100 percent unacceptable," DMV official Shamim Khan said. "So we returned them."
Faced with demands to produce up to 40,000 new cards each day, and DMV requests to redo thousands more, L-1 expanded factory production to nights and weekends, yet fell further behind.
At one point, 21 percent of cards being produced did not meet standards and had to be remade, records show. In some cases, batches of remade cards also failed to meet standards.
DMV officials repeatedly expressed frustration to L-1, sometimes firing off e-mails by the hour. "Where is the quality control?" an official complained in November.
Further problems elicited another lament: "I can't believe that there is a machine that allows these types of errors."
L-1 managers repeatedly apologized. "We understand the seriousness of this and the risk of problems and embarrassment that this type of error poses for DMV," an L-1 official wrote.
L-1 managers repeatedly apologized. "We understand the seriousness of this and the risk of problems and embarrassment that this type of error poses for DMV," an L-1 official wrote.
Another L-1 official, however, added: "It's not as easy as it might seem."
Difficulties a sore point
DMV informed L-1 in December that the company had breached its $63 million, five-year contract. As a result, DMV has not made payments to the vendor, Valverde said. "We have not paid a single dime and will not until they meet our standard."
Under contract terms, state officials say they can deduct 5 percent, or $3 million, for nonperformance.
L-1, one of two companies that bid for the job in 2009 (the two have since merged), is hardly a newcomer to the identity card industry. California officials said L-1 produces drivers licenses for 44 states.
The company also provides advanced security programs on an international level and lists among its customers the U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, and the United Arab Emirates.
DMV officials say they have maintained a good relationship with L-1, but letters suggest the two entities disagree over the difficulty of producing the new California card.
DMV officials point out the card's security elements have been produced successfully elsewhere, although not all in one card.
"It's state of the art, but it's demonstrated technology," Valverde said.
L-1 official Bob Eckel offered a different perspective in a letter to DMV. Calling the card "the most advanced in the nation," he wrote: "It is important to note that the security features that the DMV has requested as part of this contract are new innovations. As such, it will take some time to identify and resolve the root cause of the failure modes."
DMV officials said they have been briefing the Governor's Office. Simitian, the Senate budget subcommittee chairman, said he also is watching the project after constituents called to complain.
"A member of the public should not have to come to their senator to have a driver's license renewed," Simitian said. He has asked DMV for an update this spring.
DMV officials – noting that 3 million of the new licenses have been issued – say they're confident that their card design is realistic and that production glitches can be worked out.
"We had heart-to-heart talks," Valverde said. "Are we over-reaching? We have come to the conclusion that no, we are not."
Read more: http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/03/20/2317144_p2/california-drivers-still-waiting.html#ixzz1MKKop1O2
"We had heart-to-heart talks," Valverde said. "Are we over-reaching? We have come to the conclusion that no, we are not."
Read more: http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/03/20/2317144_p2/california-drivers-still-waiting.html#ixzz1MKKop1O2
