Www.usps.org



BOC Passport Process Overview

Author: Dan Bartell

I. Introduction

This is intended to be a working document which lays out the overall strategy and progress on automating the BOC passport process. It will reference lower level “How To Use” documents which will address at the working level how to use the processes within the system.

The intention of the changes to the passport system are to simplify the current process, guarantee the integrity of the data, make sure that proper procedures are followed, make sure that individuals who use the system have proper authorization, and to retain the information used for certification in permanent records.

Comments and input are needed and welcomed.

II. How things work in a paper environment

In order to automate a process you need to understand how it works in the current paper intensive environment. So here is my view of how the process works.

An individual decides they want to become certified at the IN (Inland Navigator) level. How this happens will not be addressed here. However, of note, the information center displays found at have been modified to display certifiers in a squadron as well as bridge and committee chairs. In addition tools have been created which allow squadron and district bridge officers, as well as certifiers, to locate certifiers and passport candidates within their respective squadrons and districts. These tools are described in the document “General Purpose BOC tools”. The document is available at eddept/tools/BOC/docs/ on the web server, hereafter referred to simply as the Server.

The Server is where the USPS Website and all the BOC software processes described here reside. It is distinct from the USPS Headquarters computer (HQ) which is the permanent repository for membership and class/seminar completion information. Copies of the HQ data are loaded on the Server every morning. Some of the data on the HQ machine may be uploaded to the server (“fetched”) when a current copy is needed.

The desired path forward is for the individual, here after referred to as the candidate, to purchase the “03-67-100 BOC Inland Navigator Starter Kit” which includes the US Sailing Manual, Certification Application, IN Candidate Guide, Workbook, and Passport. This can only be purchased through the Educational Department ordering system which means that it must be ordered by a Squadron Educational Officer (SEO), Assistant SEO, Chairman of the Local Board (CLB) or Commander (Cdr). The $30 “Kit” is billed to the squadron’s account. The mechanism for payment by the candidate to the squadron is not within the scope of this document. Currently with shipping and, where applicable, tax the cost is between $35 and $38.

The continuing path forward is for the candidate to work with a certifier (with the aid of the SEO if necessary) to fill in the information in the Guide check list and build a paper record of their progress towards IN certification. This paper record consists of a number of things described in the next section. Finally when the record is complete the whole packet is sent to a Regional Director (RD) or Assistant Regional Director (ARD) for approval. If approved the RD (I will use RD to indicate either a RD or ARD) creates a passport record and checks off all appropriate classes, seminars, and skills on the BOC tracking system and then checks off the completed box for IN. This triggers a completion notice which is sent to HQ and to whoever generates the certificates.

Once the candidate has achieved IN certification, they can begin working on their Coastal Navigation (CN) certification, and then on to Advanced Coastal Navigation (ACN) and Offshore Navigation (ON).

This flow is specifically oriented towards a process where the candidate grows into IN. It does not lend itself very well to someone who already has all the requirements. For instance, I did not decide to apply for IN until after I had completed the Basic Power Boat (BPH) skills test and the Fire Extinguisher training (FE) and Pyrotechnic Displays training (PD) at a district rendezvous. I personally completed all the requirements for IN including purchasing the “Kit”, sent in my records to a certifier who I assume forwarded them to the RD, and then had to wait for a considerable period of time before hearing anything. Getting my records together was a problem because I did not have the paper USPS certificate with the stickers on it and I did not have a certifier in my squadron who could use DB2000 to create a transcript. I could have generated my own as SEO but a guiding rule is that you can’t verify your own credentials. All this is to point out that what should be a simple process has become very complicated. This will be addressed below.

III. Documentation needed for a RD or ARD to issue a Passport

The intention of the online passport process is to make it easy to issue a passport. By the time a RD is ready to approve a passport application; they should have online access to verify all information and should require a minimum amount of paperwork to process the application.

In order for a RD to approve a certification, five types of documentation, in either paper or online records, need to be available:

• Class completion documentation

• Seminar and Module completion documentation

• Skills demonstration documentation

• Waiver documentation

• Proof of payment

Each of these is addressed below.

Note: From here on when I use “certifier” in a standalone context it means any certifier, Master Certifier (MC), Advanced Certifier (AC), Certifier (C), RD, or ARD.

In addition, you will see the term “X-member”. When a member fails to renew their membership they become an X-member and are no longer in the membership database nor in DB2000. However, there is X-member database on the Server where they can be found for up to 2 ½ years. Many of the BOC displays indicate when a candidate or certifier is an X-member. After approximately 2 ½ years they are deleted from the X-member database and cannot be found again unless they are re-instated.

A. Class Completions

The current paper class completion documentation consists of a number of possible paper records. The check list/workbook in the candidate guide has a space for courses to be signed off by the Instructor or certifier and seminars and skills to be signed off by the Instructor. In addition, for endorsements, instructor is also required. Date met is also a required entry. I had a problem with this because I did not have the paper (with stickers) certificate from USPS which the certifier asked me to send. In addition, a number of my instructors are no longer USPS members. I wound up sending a screen capture from DB2000 along with the check list.

In the electronic world, class completion information is available online. It can be view through the membership display for any current USPS member online using the information center. It can also be viewed through DB2000. The latter however presents a problem since it is generally only available on an individual squadron basis and the RD and responsible certifier will not normally have access.

What I did was add a “Candidate Review” (CR) process to the passport software. This process fetches course completion data from the HQ machine to the Server. The data is then displayed for use by certifiers. The CR process, which pulls all the data together, is described later in this document. It will also be covered in the document “BOC Passport Candidate Review Process”. It eliminates the need for paper documentation for class completions.

B. Seminar/Module Completions

The current paper documentation process is the same as described above and is sent to the RD in the form of the workbook. The check list/workbook however calls for instructor sign off. This can present a serious problem since the instructor may no longer be a USPS member, or there may not be a record of who taught the seminar.

Electronically, seminar and module completions cannot be “fetched” to the Server from the HQ machine. This may change in the future but for now it cannot be done. The data is available in DB2000. DB2000 however is not generally available to the RD and certifiers in other squadrons. To get around these two issues a Seminar/Module capture has been created. Details will be found in the document “BOC DB2000 Workbook Capture”.

Essentially what it provides is a mechanism to allow a certifier or bridge officer with DB2000 access to create and upload a Seminar/Module transcript for the candidate to the Server and to store it in a “workbook” database. This data is then combined with class completions as part of the CR process, more below, to eliminate the need for a seminar/completion workbook paper trail. A candidate’s transcript record may be created even if they do not currently have a passport record. Once the record is created, it will remain on the Server and can be accessed even if the candidate ceases to be a USPS member. This is important because a passport may be processed for an X member with the expectation that they will be reinstated.

A note on the DB2000 workbook capture process: Since it is nearly impossible to fake the record created in the “workbook” database, an individual may use this process to create a workbook for themselves without compromising the passport process.

One further note, on the online workbook record: The record also contains class completion information and can be used in lieu of the “fetched” class completions by the CR process. You may wish to use it if the “fetch” process is inoperative or is taking excessive time.

C. Skills Completions

The current way to submit a skills completion is via an ED-C1 form. One form is required for each skill. In practice, at a rendezvous I attended upward of 50 people took the FE and PD training. You added your name to a sheet and were told that if you didn’t remember your certificate number you were out of luck. I have no idea where the sheets went or how they will be used but I seriously worry about “the dog ate my homework!” and “now where did I put that?” syndromes. (I must confess I am becoming more and more familiar with the latter.) While better manual methods such as issuing each candidate their own copy of the ED-C1 can improve the process all manual methods are subject to losing a paper record.

Skills should be recorded and stored. The candidate might not apply for IN for several years and then where are the paper records? Consider also that PD is not required until the CN level but is frequently taken in combination with FE. Will the paper list be readily available when needed?

A skills database and the mechanism to manage it have been created and details can be found in the document “BOC Skills and Waivers – ED-C1,2,3 Process”. The skills ED-C1 process allows data entry of a single skill in a format similar to the manual ED-C1. It also has a bulk capture ability which makes entry of multiple candidates at the same event easy. If they are in the squadron of the certifier who enters the skills it becomes even easier. Data may be captured and displayed for candidates even if they do not have a passport record or are X-members. This is important. It allows skills to be recorded and much like the HQ class/module/seminar records it will be retained even if a member fails to renew and then is reinstated years later.

Passport skills tracked are BPH, NAV, FE, PD, First Aid (FA), CPR, US Sailing Bareboat Cruising (BB), and US Sailing Offshore Passage Making (PASS). In addition, BOC Training completion is a skill tracked for BOC certifiers along with FA and CPR. Additional skills may be easily added.

Entry of skills records for BPH and NAV are tightly controlled. They must be entered by an AC who is at least an IN for BPH and a CN for NAV. BB and PASS may only be added by a RD.

Skills records are used as part of the CR process which will be discussed later and move us one step closer to eliminating much of the retained paper. Part of the CR process will allow the RD to view skills in complete details.

The skills database has been seeded with any skills that could be extracted from the existing passport records and certifier records. Skill taken from the certifier records were BOC Training, FA and CPR.

Note: Online skills entry does not eliminate the need for the paper ED-C1 form as a working document. Online skills records are created only when all the skill components have been complete. The paper ED-C1 is used as a component check list. If the candidate does not pass all the components, the paper ED-C1 acts as an ongoing working document which indicates what additional components of the skill remain.

A strong recommendation: Request that the RDs instruct their certifiers to enter any skills completion data stored on paper which is not currently in the system into the skills database ASAP.

D. Waivers

Paper waivers are created using either the ED-C2 Skill Waiver form or the ED-C3 Seminar Waiver form and are submitted as part of the package sent to the RD along with any supporting documentation. The RD reviews the waivers and either accepts or rejects each waiver.

After the RD accepts the packet and completes the certification, I assume the whole packet winds up in a filing cabinet in the RD’s house. Consider that if the RD passes on unexpectedly, their children may just trash the whole cabinet.

Part of the design is based on there being two parts basic levels of waivers: Those which are obvious and those needing extensive explanations. An obvious one might be a waiver for the weather seminar which says “Candidate is the WPIX weather forecaster and has a PHD in meteorology”. The other extreme I will leave to your imagination. The forms and database indicate which requirement is being waivered; a maximum of 255 characters of explanation/list of documentation, and a check box to indicate the certifier has reviewed the required documentation. The certifier certificate number will be included in the record. An acceptance check box will be included which can only be completed by a RD. After the RD accepts a waiver, their certificate number, the date of acceptance and any comments they make will be recorded as part of the waiver record. Note: I choose 255 in order to keep it brief. If more than 255 characters are needed, it should require a written waiver. The “obvious” example above only requires 70 characters.

In the CR process, waiver information will be available and completion of a skill or seminar which is waivered will not be allowed until the waiver is accepted. During the process the RD will be able to email the certifier directly from the Server if needed. Such emails could be a request for documentation or clarification.

Waiver records will be retained on the server after acceptance and provide online history information.

The online waiver process will still require some paper flow but should keep it to a minimum.

The online ED-C2 skills waiver and ED-C3 seminar waiver have been implemented and as part of the online skills process and are described in detail in the document “BOC Skills and Waivers – ED-C1,2,3 Process”. It is important that anyone using the system carefully read the waiver section of that document.

E. Payments

A check for the $20 processing fee, made payable to “USPS” with the candidate’s certificate # in the memo field, must be included as part of the packet sent to the RD.

If the candidate wants endorsements, a fee of $10 is required for each endorsement and must be added to the amount of the check.

Note: Once an endorsement is approved and paid for, it is good for all subsequent passport levels.

The payment process cannot be automated and must remain a manual process. Since the paper passport must be sent to the RD, this is not an additional task.

IV. Passport Processing in an automated environment

Here is how I envision the steps leading up to a RD accepting a certificate application.

1. A candidate contacts a certifier about certification

2. The certifier has two options

a. If they have access to DB2000 for the candidates they create a seminar/module workbook record after examining the candidate’s educational history.

b. Otherwise they ask someone with access to DB2000 for the candidate to create a workbook record which the certifier can review after its creation.

3. They access the BOC system and use the CR process to see what classes/seminars/modules have been completed and to see if any skills have been recorded. Note: The CR process and online workbook make interpretation of the confusing set of DB2000 module/seminar names much easier.

4. They council the candidate on what courses/seminars they need to complete and who to contact to complete the required skills. They also tell the candidate to order the IN kit through their SEO.

5. If waivers are to be prepared they create an online skills/ED-C2 record or an online ED-C3 record. When they are completed, the process emails the forms to the RD. Upon receipt, the RD, if they accept the waiver can approve the waiver online and a notice is emailed to the certifier or they can reply and send the certifier further instructions.

6. Certifiers who are qualified to perform skills testing create online skills records using the skills/ED-C1 process for the candidate. This can occur either before or during this period.

7. When the candidate has completed all the requirements, the certifier refreshes the online workbook, if necessary, uses the online ED-C4 application to begin certification. The online ED-C4 process, see the document “BOC Passport online ED-C4 Process”, will ask the certifier to select the RD from the list for their region, will create a passport record is none exists, will enter the certifier as the submitting certifier for the specified level in the passport database, will enter the RD as the approving certifier, and will email the RD a notification that the ED-C4 has been submitted. The certifier then sends the RD a copy of the ED-C4, the passport, any waiver documentation required and any payments which are required in the form of a check made out to USPS. There is a timing issue here concerning waivers. They all should be resolved before sending fees to the RD. Otherwise there is a potential for checks getting misfiled or lost.

8. The RD receives the email and uses the CR process to check the status of all submissions. If they determine that additional waiver document is required, they may decide to wait for the materials to arrive.

a. If they approve of the “electronic” package, they use the CR process to approve all requirements and then complete the level on the passport display.

b. Otherwise they use the CR process to complete any acceptable requirements but do not complete the level

9. They email the certifier of the results, and if the candidate was approved the signed passport is returned to either the candidate or the certifier.

Note: The certifier can use the CR process to determine what has been completed or accepted at any time.

When the level completion is performed, the completion is sent to HQ and is recorded on the HQ databases and will appear in DB2000. A certificate will be issued upon completion.

V. The CR Process

The Candidate Review Process pulls together all the available data for a candidate. It may be invoked from the passport pages or directly from link on the BOC tools page.

The CR process fetches class completions from the HQ databases, reads the workbook record captured from DB2000, if one exists, and reads all skills and waiver records.

Note: If the candidate is an X-member the fetch from HQ will not provide any data. In that case the CR process must rely on the data in the seminar/module record.

The process looks at each field on the passport display in turn and evaluates the criteria for field completion. An example of the passport page is shown at the end of this document along with an example of a CR process page.

The process begins in the IN section with the Seamanship (S) field and works to the right and downward in respect to the fields on the passport page. A brief explanation and example of how each type of field: Class, Seminar, Skill, and Endorsement follows.

Note: If no information concerning a required class/seminar/skill is available, the item is displayed in a grayed out format.

Using Seamanship class (S) as an example, the process checks for a S completion date in the record returned from the HQ machine or, if there is no record because this is an X-member, checks the online workbook data for S since that date is returned with the candidates DB2000 workbook capture. HQ/workbook course dates always have the date of the first time a candidate passes the course. If they have taken a later version of the course, that can only be determined by examining the module dates. If an S date is present, it is added to the CR display and if the S box on the passport record is not checked, it provides a check box to set the S field. If the S field is checked and if an S completion date cannot be found, the CR process displays an error message for the field. Note: If an original S completion date exists and a later module date exists, both are noted on the display.

Using GPS as a seminar example, the process first checks for information about the seminar “GPS1” and if it finds it puts it on the CR display. If GPS is not checked on the passport record, it provides a checkbox to allow checking of the field. If “GPS1” is not found it checks for Piloting (P) or (AP) completion dates from the HQ data or, if there are none, from the workbook data. If the P or AP completion date is after 2005 (the new course), the CR process accepts it as the equivalent of “GPS1” and notes it on the display. If a completion still has not been found, the workbook is checked for either a “PI_001” or an “AP_001” (the new course) completion date which would indicate a “GPS1” equivalent. Finally if no appropriate date is found the waivers are checked for a GPS waiver. If one is found and it has been approved by a RD it is treated as an equivalent. Otherwise it is noted as an open waiver and no check box is generated. If GPS is checked and no date or equivalent or waiver can be found, an error message about the field is displayed.

Using BPH as a skill example, the process checks the skills records for a BPH completion. If one is found and BPH is not checked on the passport, a check box to allow checking the skill is provided. If a BPH skill is not found a check for a BPH waiver is made and is processed as an equivalent as above. If BPH is checked but no skill or waiver is found, an error message about the field is displayed.

Using Sail (SA) as an endorsement example, the process checks for a SA completion date in either the HQ or seminar/module data. It does not have to check for “SA_101” and “SA_102” complications because completing the two modules will complete SA. If a SA completion is found, a notice of “Qualified for a Sail endorsement is generated”. A check box is not generated because a fee must be paid before the endorsement can be checked. If SA is checked and no SA completion can be found, an error message about the field is displayed.

As an aside, it became clear two SA endorsement checkboxes needed to be displayed. One is SA (IN and CN) and one is SA (ACN and ON). The former is now referenced as SA-IC and the latter SA-AO. This was needed because of the different eligibility requirements. These endorsements have been added to the passport display and passport database.

This may seem to be very complex, and, in fact, it is. The logic the CR process has to perform is the same as that used when a RD has to make decisions about certifying a candidate. When the CR process gets done building its display page, all the information needed to check off items or for verifying that all the information is correct on items already checked is available. The RD should not have to consult paper records for anything except for complicated waiver requests. All data, if entered, has already been checked for validity and has been created by certifiers who were qualified to create the records.

There is no reason that the RD be the only one using the CR process to verify courses, seminars and skills. It is there for all certifiers to use. However, only the RD may use it to check off completions.

VI. Impacts on the current passport online process

A number of fields have been added to the passport database and passport display. Fields to be added are sending certifier and approving certifier at each certification level. This will have no impact on current operations.

The second change which should be made is that only a RD should be able to modify fields on the passport page. This cannot be done however until the RDs and certifiers are made aware of the new processes.

VII. Impacts on the current certifier online process

In order to support the changes being made to the passport process, a level field has been added to the certifier database which is refreshed as part of a nightly run. The level field is set to the current certification level of a certifier. Levels are: None; IN; CN; ACN; or ON. This is used to determine what skills an AC can verify.

FA and CPR are required both by ACN and ON passport level for an AC certifier levels. Both are currently entered independently but are actually the same skill. They both have to be tied to the same skills record. Chris Windeler suggested an approach of not tying them together. In his view FA and CPR are a passport skill which does not need to be renewed but a certifier requirement for ACs which does. In this view the passport FA and CPR fields would be skills checkboxes without dates but the certifiers FA and CPR fields would have renewal dates. I like this idea but would like to get agreement before implementing it. More changes to the certifier process need to be made but I am addressing the passport process first. For instance when the expiration date on FA or CPR is 6 months away an email could automatically be sent to the certifier letting them know they must renew the skill to continue as a certifier. When the date passes, they would be marked as no longer active and the appropriate RD would be notified.

IX. The path forward

I am in the process of implementing everything in this document and writing all the documentation listed. This will take more time than I had originally thought because as I got into it the scope increased.

All paper records have to be loaded onto the skills database if they were not captured by the initial load process. If this is not done, they may be lost. This is a task the RDs need to have their certifiers do as soon as possible. This is the only way to create permanent records since HQ is not storing this data. It will also allow elimination of inactive passport records without losing any recorded skills.

The RDs need to try out the CR process and recommend changes. Once we have enough input they need to begin using it and require their certifiers to use the process.

The workbook capture process needs to be trialed and any needed changes made. It is a critical part of the CR process.

Once we reach this point the current passport process needs to be changed so that only RDs can make changes on the passport page. All other changes will come through the online process and will be pulled together through the CR process.

Finally the ED-C3 waiver process needs to be put in place. While this is important, it is low on my priority list.

After that I can move on to the certifier side of the house. Some work has already been done there. Certification level has been added to the database, FA and CPR skills have been tied together with passport FA and CPR skills, and BOC Training completions have been captured as a skill. The last two items make it possible to remove inactive certifiers without losing their skills information.

Also of note related to certifiers. By adding submitting certifier and processing certifier to the passport database, we will be able to count and report on certifier activities.

[pic][pic]

[pic]

CR page part 1

[pic]

CR page part 2

[pic]

CR page part 3

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download