SAPAA Conference and DQ-it

Steve and I traveled to Austin, TX last week for the annual SAPPA Conference. Not only was this a great opportunity to get a feel for the state of the drug testing industry, but it also provided us an opportunity to visit some clients we rarely get to see face-to-face. I was especially pleased with these client visits because of the positive feedback I received about the quality of work Concorde's staff produces. The visits had an added value because the clients I met with provided me with some very interesting suggestions for improving our systems that I honestly never thought about.

For example, I learned from one client visit last Wednesday that Concorde is infamously known for being the 3 AM wake-up call. It turns out that our daily DQF notification e-mail (which was sent at 3 AM) was waking up their Operations staff who would keep their PDAs on in case of an emergency. Needless to say, as I left their office I called our IT department to have the time of the DQF notification e-mail changed to 9 AM. All of us at Concorde work very hard to anticipate our clients needs and stay ahead of the curve, however there are always instances when we do not see things that you see. Therefore, I not only offer, but encourage you to contact me if you are having an issue or would like to submit a suggestion to improve our systems. I do not want you to be stuck using a system that either causes more work for you or doesn't operate the way YOU need it to.

The value of being a Concorde customer is that not only do we listen to your ideas/concerns, but we immediately work with you to develop solutions that will exceed your expectations.

In other Concorde news, I am happy to report that we are about to launch the latest version of our Driver Qualification File system; DQ-it. DQ-it offers a 3 tiered service level for companies of all sizes and oversight objectives. Click here for more information

DQ-it version 1.0 focuses on improving the user interface of the system. For those of you who currently use the IMS system or have seen a Demo of it, I think you can all agree with me that it is not very user-friendly. With DQ-it we improved the site navigation, search tools, and added bonus features to make sending updates easier and allow Concorde to track documents better.

DQ-it Navigation
The main improvement to the site navigation is that we have simplified the layout. In the new DQ-it there are fewer navigation buttons and it is easier to pull up an applicant or site. For example, all of the locations you have access to in the system can now be searched using a drop down menu (in the current version you have to go to a separate page to access a particular site). We also moved the navigation for the employee information directly to that driver's DQF page.

Search Tools
In DQ-it, there is now an easy to use search box on the top left column of every page in which you can enter in a SSN or last name to search for a driver. Underneath the search box is a jump list. This will display a list of names of the last 10 files you have looked at. You can click on any of the names to "jump" right back to that file.

Driver Page
The most noticeable change to DQ-it is the revamped driver page. You can edit all of the driver's information directly from their file page as well as upload a photo of the driver. Another nice feature is that we have reorganized the imaged documents section. All of the boxes are collapsible and as a default will only show the most recent document. All of the historical documents are hidden, but can reappear with a click of a button. We have also put the expired items and missing document notifications that are included in the daily e-mail to also show up on the individual driver page.

MVR Ordering
Now throught DQ-it, you will be able to order Motor Vehicle Records directly through the system. This can be done by ordering a single MVR or running a "batch" of all of your drivers. The completed reports will be sent via e-mail to you as well as automatically added to the driver's file. We have created DQ-it to allow companies to just use the system for ordering and storing MVRs, so if you are not yet interested in full-service DQF management, this is a great option.

Bonus Features
Finally, the most exciting change to DQ-it v1.0 is the modifications we have made to sending updates and new driver files.

Upload Documents
An upload-it-yourself feature has been added so that you can upload a document directly to a driver's file without having to first send it to Concorde. This is a great option if you have 1-2 documents to update. Concorde will still review the file that is uploaded for completeness.

E-mail Documents
If you e-mail documents we have added an e-mail feature that will automatically open an e-mail with the correct e-mail address to send to us and a pre-filled subject line. Using this feature will help us better track your documents.

Fax Documents
A new fax button automates the cover sheet process by pre-printing all of the coversheet information. You use the online tool to select the driver(s) you are sending documents for and simply print out the cover sheet and fax all of the documents to Concorde. This same concept is also used in the "New Driver" action, which basically automates the separator sheet process for all new drivers.

Not only will these new features assist you in your daily DQF role, but they will also be used to improve the tracking and turnaround time of getting your documents and new driver files into the DQ-it system.

Even as version 1 of DQ-it is being launched, we are already working on version 2. Stay Tuned!

You can join me for a sneak preview of the new DQ-it by registering here. The event will be on October 30th at 1:00 PM EST