DBI says new permit-tracking system will log detailed actions; commissioners press for planning benchmarks

San Francisco Department of Building Inspection staff told the Building Inspection Commission on Dec. 18, 2013 that a new permit and project tracking system is in user acceptance testing and is being refined to include detailed, stepwise logging of actions.

"In the new system, the way it's been designed is every action that's been taken is recorded in the system," IS project director Hema Nikanti said, noting a round of testing would continue through the end of the week and a third round of testing was scheduled for January. She said citizen advisory group testing produced useful feedback on the public-facing interface and that staff will implement many suggested changes.

Commissioners said the system's value depends on accurate and complete data entry and pressed for explicit benchmarks from planning about likely review durations so applicants can know when to expect responses. "Do you guys have some benchmark? I mean, when should a customer start calling?" one commissioner asked. Commissioner Walker suggested the commission should support asking planning to provide estimated response times and that the tracking system should be able to flag displacement-notice cases for easy public access.

Nikanti and department staff said they will pass concerns about planning benchmarks back to the Planning Department and that the tracking system is flexible enough to record notices, geographic areas and project metadata. Commissioners requested that testing continue, that training follow the January testing cycle, and that DBI return with proposed timeline standards or an update on planning's willingness to publish benchmarks.

The system's next testing round is scheduled for the third week of January; staff said training will follow user-acceptance testing.