Ahmedabad RPO Case

Analysis

1.Current Status of
Performance
Ahmedabad

RPO 2nd busiest in

the country
Receives 2,35,000 applications in
a year
Approved staff strength of 103
Staff strength as of Jan 2002 57
RPO employs casual workers at Rs.
120/day

1.Current Status of
Performance
Highly

centralized system, very less

automation
Average application turnaround at
Ahmedabad RPO is 151 days
Police verification takes 57% of total time
Processing time for each application 37
minutes
Submission of application form though
RPO Counter, Registered post, Speed post
counter, Registered agents, DSP office

2.Problems in the existing

process
Backlog

of more than 100,000 pending

applications
Only 55.30 % of staff requirement is fulfilled
Very high application turnaround time 151
days average
Extensive delay in police verification process
86 days average
Under capacity in terms of staff requirement
in areas of writing and indexing
Much time taken to check and process
individual applications

3.Causes of the
problems
Very

less automation in place, all the

processing activities are done manually,
thus lot of time wasted in processing the
applications individually
Manual handling of PVSR process where
much time is used up in communicating the
details
Under capacity of staff at police verification
sites, PVSR process gets delayed
Highly centralized and rigid system which
hamper the processing speed of applications

4.Process re-design
options
Custome
r

PSVR
Process

Police
Station

Obtainin
g the
form

Emp: 2

Police
Chowky

Submitti
ng the
form
Process at RPO
Scrutinizi
ng

Dispatc
h of
PPF

Detaile
d Entry

Indexin
g

Emp:
11
CT=5

Emp: 0
CT=3

Emp:
0
CT=2

Emp:8
CT=4

Diary
Sectio
n
Emp:
2
CT=
3

Linking
at
branch
es

Grantin
g

Writin
g

Emp:1
2
CT= 2

Emp:0
CT= 2

Emp:
2
CT= 6

Value Stream Mapping of existing system

Pasting
and
Laminati
ng
Emp:
11
CT =
5

Option 1: Extra manpower during

peak months
1.

2.

Table 6 of the case shows peaking of workloads

in the months of May, June, July, and August.
Average number of applications received for
these months is 25,279 against an overall ninemonth average of 20,989. Manpower
requirements for this peak load servicing should
be thought of early to avoid backlog build-up.
Application fee collection could be outsourced
to bank, so that the employees allocated for it
could be allocated to different activities.
Applicants can pay the fees right after filling the
form and attach the proof with the application.

Option 2: PVSR Re-alignment

1.
2.

3.

This is a critical activity which consumes

57 per cent of the total time.
Reduce the three-tier process into a
two-tier process. For example, the
applications may be directly sent to the
respective police stations instead of police
headquarters.
The processes at RPO can be completed
till writing stage rather than waiting for
PVSR results. Applications with clear
results could be dispatched and others
could be withheld.

Option 3: Workload Distribution

The

opening of a passport office at

Surat will dramatically reduce the load
on Ahmedabad office as it will cover a
region with high growth in passport
application.
Writing section has only 2 persons
allocated when it needs only 11.
11 employees are allocated to the
indexing process while only 8 are
required to handle 200,000
applications/annum.

Option 4: Automation Going Online

Currently,

there is no automation used in any

of the stage. Implementing a online system
will help in redesigning the existing process
and improve the efficiency. Using this system:
1. Citizens can submit the online form. This will
reduce the burden of application form counter at
RPO
2. They can book the slots of RPO office before
coming. This will help to reduce the wait time and
to manage the queue
3. They can check the status of their application and
verify at which stage the application is being
processed/stuck.

Option 4: Automation Going Online

The

same processing software can be extended

to the police station thus reducing the delay at
the police station end.
If the police can directly input its observation on
individual application, it will also reduce data
entry efforts.
The Income Tax Department and the Election
Commission already maintain databases for
citizens. The Police Department may use these
databases as well as their own criminal records.
Then, the PSVR process would shift from verifying
and establishing police record to automatic
availability of information and clearance

Login in the system

Pay the fees online using third party gateway

Submit the form online

Automatically send PPF for Police

Verification

Data population
in police
database
Information
verification
against
available
sources
(internal/extern
al) the
Update
system with
status of PPF

Online slot booking for document

verification

Scrutiny

Check status of
PPF

Granting

Writing

Pasting, Laminating, Signing and

Dispatch

Process flow diagram of online system

Thank You!