Reducing Processing Time of Reports of Survey

Reducing Processing Time of Reports of Survey

By CW4 Leslie Carroll

Leaders at all levels can contribute to reducing the processing time of surveys - from the Lieutenant assigned as the Survey Officer to the S-4 maintaining the Report of Survey Register. Using the following guidelines, your unit may reduce your total processing time and allow the process to be more efficient.

INITIATOR

The processing time of a survey begins with the initiator discovering the loss or damage of a piece of equipment. The time on the survey does not begin at the moment the item was lost nor does it start when the form is initiated. I must stress this - the processing time of Reports of Survey begins with the discovery of the loss or damage.

The date of discovery MUST be mentioned in Block 11 of the Report of Survey in order for the correct date to be used in the computation of processing time. Too often the date of loss or damage is the only date listed and is assumed to be the date of discovery.

Situation: CPT Stone, a company commander, just received on 8 December 2000, a requirement from CIF to do a Report of Survey against one of his soldiers that PCS'd on 4 April 2000. Apparently the soldier did not clear his records properly at CIF prior to PCS'ing and CIF still showed the soldier as having a Wet Weather Parka.

Incorrect Solution: CPT Stone has his supply sergeant type a DA Form 4697 with the following Block 11:

Figure 1. Incorrectly Completed Block 11 of DA Form 4697

Correct Solution: As you can see in the example above, the only date listed in Block 11is the date that the soldier PCS'd - leaving the approving authority with nothing else to use as the date of discovery. Also, the memorandum from CIF requesting the Report of Survey is not listed as an exhibit; thereby leaving all others except the initiator clueless as to why the survey was not initiated until 8 December. If a computation of processing time was done on 10 December using the above example, this survey would already be late with 251 days of processing time.

Helpful Hint: The commander should also check the clearance records kept at the company to find out how this soldier "slipped" through the CIF out-processing step. Copies of the CIF cleared hand receipt should be kept with the copy of clearance papers to keep CIF honest and to prevent the wrong soldier from being charged or CIF employees losing track of equipment or files and blaming the first soldier they can. A copy of this could be used as an exhibit to the Report of Survey allowing the approving authority to make a simple decision to write-off the loss with no further investigation required. The processing time of the survey can then be reduced to 20 days or less depending on how long it took for the commander to initiate the survey.

Figure 2. Correctly Completed Block 11 of DA Form 4697

Another Helpful Hint: The goal of the initiator should be to have the survey as complete as possible, so that the survey does not have to go to a survey officer for further investigation. Assigning a survey officer adds time since the individual is not cognizant of the discovery and has to review the entire investigation from the beginning. The initiator already has investigated the discovery and understands the situation. The Appointing Authority may need only one question answered in order to make a ruling and the initiator may be able to do that in less time than assigning the task to a survey officer.

ACCOUNTABLE OFFICER

Units should hand carry all Reports of Survey to the appropriate accountable officer. The number of days that is taken by the accountable officer is part of the 15 days given to initiate the survey. Allowing the survey to stay with the accountable officer more than three days is unacceptable.

If the survey is for damaged equipment, there is no requirement for a document number and therefore no requirement for the accountable officer to sign. So, don't waste time attempting to process and leave blocks 14-16 blank.

APPOINTING AUTHORITY

The Appointing Authority should ensure that Reports of Survey are processed as soon as possible after being initiated and take a more active role throughout the entire process. Battalion or Brigade S-4's usually place surveys in the Appointing Authority's Inbox. Not only should placing the survey in an Inbox be avoided, but also the initiator should hand carry the document to the Appointing Authority. This is done so that all questions can be answered on the spot and any additional statements made and attached as necessary.

A more active role during the survey officer's investigation will aid the investigator and also help to keep the processing time in check. Do weekly counseling sessions with the officer to guide them in completing their survey during the time allotted.

SURVEY OFFICER

The survey officer is given 30 days to perform his investigation and make his findings. The survey officer will find it difficult to complete the investigation and findings within this period of time. Ensure your survey officers understand that the 30 days allotted includes not only the investigation but also completion of findings and recommendations submitted to the Approving Authority. Here are some hints that could help.

Once a Survey Officer is assigned, schedule weekly visits with the Appointing Authority to help guide and track the officer in the performance of his duties. Delay any other duties until the survey is completed by D'ing them on all duty rosters and ensuring they are not permitted to take leave or pass.

The two major duties of the Survey Officer are to determine proximate cause and then assign an appropriate financial liability, if applicable. Survey officers should avoid getting caught in unnecessary sidebars and concentrate on the objective. They should approach an investigation the same way that a traffic cop approaches the scene of an accident - initially determining the cause of the accident and not concentrating on who is to blame. Culpability will easily be placed once proximate cause is found.

Most survey officers are unaware of how to begin a survey. Appointing Authorities can help guide them by initially directing them to possible causes of proximate cause based on experience and personal knowledge and then steering them to investigate these possibilities first. Mentoring by the Appointing Authority throughout the investigation will help them considerably. Help them to divide the investigation into steps and set time limitations on each. Monitor their progress with the weekly updates.

APPROVING AUTHORITY

The Approving Authority should have the survey officer brief them immediately upon completion of the investigation. Do not allow surveys to sit on anyone's desk for a lengthy amount of time. Scheduling an appointment with the survey officer forces them to read the survey with the officer right there to answer any questions.

The Approving Authority is also the agency that keeps the Report of Survey Register (usually maintained by the S-4). The register is the document used to determine the processing time. If the form is not used correctly, inaccurate data will be passed to higher. A little work is required in this area but time that is well spent.

The Report of Survey Register, DA Form 1659, is misleading as to the correct computation of processing time. The regulation spells out the computation of processing time as the difference between date of discovery and the approval date with notification times subtracted form the total. Yet the Report of Survey Register does not record the critical dates of discovery or notification dates as explained in AR 735-5. A way to make the processing time compute correctly is to add additional column headings and line out one entire column to prevent misunderstandings. Make the following changes to the form to unconfuse those that maintain or inspect the register. Saving the changes made to a computer saves the steps from being repeated.

1. Add "See Back of Form" to the TOTAL PROCESSING TIME Column. Doing this will prevent the time being incorrectly computed by subtracting the DATE SURVEY PREPARED from the DATE APPROVED as assumed by the format of the form.

Figure 3. Suggested Comments in TOTAL PROCESSING TIME Column of Register

2. For ease of computation, we will track critical dates using Julian Dates (0001 - 0365). Add the following columns to the back of the form:

Column 1 Julian Date Discrepancy Found (See Block 11). Use this column to record the Julian date of the discovery. This is the date when the clock really starts, not the date survey prepared.

Column 2 Julian Date Individual Sent Notification. Time spent notifying individuals of recommendations of financial liability are not counted in the total processing time. This column allows this time to be tracked, computed and subtracted later.

Figure 4. Added Columns on Back of Report of Survey Register, DA Form 1659

Column 3 Julian Date Returned or Julian Date Max. Time Achieved. If responses are not received in the maximum time, have the survey officer do a MFR and attach to the survey. Continue to process the survey without delay.

Column 4 # Days to Notify (Col 3 - Col 2). Subtract the Julian date in column three from the Julian date in column two. This is the amount of time that will be subtracted from the total processing time at the completion of the survey.

Column 5 Julian Date Approved. Place the Julian date that the Approving Authority signs the survey. The total processing time ends at this point. The time spent notifying individuals of the final decision, reviews, and remission requests should not be used in determination of total time.

Column 6 Total Processing Time (Col 5 - Col 1 - Col 4). To compute total processing time, subtract the Julian Date in Col 1 from the Julian Date in Col 5 and subtract the days spent in notification recorded in column 4.

Reducing processing time of surveys is not difficult. Lessening time spent can be as easy as the hints explained or by simply adjusting the columns on the survey register. Your unit can now be the shining example at all logistic briefs instead of being singled out as the unit that has the longest processing time.