by Cassandra Isackson
Director, Minnesota DOT Office of Aeronautics
Published in Midwest Flyer – June/July 2017 Issue
Are you my customer? Do you know the products MnDOT Aeronautics provides? If you fly, and/or land in Minnesota, you are using some of our products for sure. MnDOT as a whole is working “to earn trust and increase transparency through a customer-centered organization in which we engage customers, listen to understand, and balance the diverse needs of all to achieve the best possible outcomes.”
At Aeronautics, we’re learning the Customer Centered Culture (C3) principles and applying them to our products. C3 provides another lens with which to look for quality and process improvements. We’ve identified 3 things to work on first, and we need your helpful advice:
1. Aircraft Registration – to improve and simplify the aircraft (including drone) registration process so it is quickly and accurately completed on the first try.
2. Capital Improvement Program (CIP) – to identify the various users of the CIP System, determine what each user needs, and make recommendations for a future CIP System to ensure appropriate and adequate aviation system funding.
3. Airport Layout Plan (ALP) Guidelines and Review – to revise ALP review guidelines, to reduce MnDOT approval time, to reduce errors on submitted ALPs, to clarify submittal process, and create accountability and consistency within the review.
Our first focus groups, held in May, gave us a good start on identifying positive outcomes for each of the work teams. The conversations were direct and helpful. We’ll be expanding our outreach and asking you questions about your needs as we visit aviation events around the state this summer. Please invite us to yours. Check http://www.dot.state.mn.us/aero/events/flyins-and-events.html for a list of other events around the state.
We are also getting ready to host a booth at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2017. Please stop by to say “Hi” in Building C at booth numbers 3170 and 3171. There will be folks to talk to from MnDOT Aeronautics and from airports around the state. Please fly safely with a goal towards zero aviation deaths in Minnesota.
