Post by motdave on May 9, 2006 22:07:36 GMT
VOSA
Vehicle & Operator Services Agency
VOSA Service Management Team
Private Vehicles Directorate
Unit 8, Woodlands Court
Ash Ridge Road
Almondsbury Business Park
Bristol BS32 4LB
E-mail: compmot@vosa.gsi.gov.uk
Our Reference MCC/IB/C.600
3rd May 2006
To the Authorised Examiner
DISRUPTION TO THE MOT COMPUTERISATION SERVICE
I am writing to you to apologise if you were affected by the disruption to the MOT Computerisation Service during the week commencing 24 April 2006, answer the questions which have arisen and outline how we intend to move forward with the MOT Service.
What caused the failure ? We continue to investigate this issue in detail but it happened as a result of communication problems which led to tests being stuck on Testers Smart Cards subsequently slowing down the system. We know however that it was not caused by the software release that was introduced over the weekend of 22/23 April. Siemens implemented several fixes during the week, the system was operating normally from Wednesday 26 April but it took time to clear the backlog. Most garages were operating normally by Friday 28 April.
Will similar failures occur in the future ? Action taken by Siemens is aimed at ensuring that any potential future system disruption is kept to an absolute minimum. Independent reviews of the system are being planned which should help identify areas where improvements can be made. We are continually looking at ideas for taking the service forward, one of which is a new simplified process which will replace the current ET procedures. We hope to have this in place as soon as possible. Until then VOSA is committed to declaring ET as soon as possible once any disruption is identified. In this case ET was declared before 9.30 on the day the issue first arose.
Why did the back-up system not take over ? The back-up system is designed to take over when there is a major database failure which was not the case in this instance. Because this disruption was caused by problems communicating with the database itself, the problems would also have occured if the back up database had been used instead.
Why was it not possible to contact the Service Desk ? Because of the sheer volume of callers contacting the Service Desk, it is not always possible to get through to talk to an agent. VOSA regularly updates the message at the inital point of contact to inform callers of the latest position and give information which may be of help for instance advise testers to Synchronise Smart Cards.
VOSA and Siemens will be meeting to discuss the lessons learned. One of which is the need to improve the understanding of ET procedures within garages and we will be writing to you shortly with clearer instructions.
If you feel you have grounds for complaint or have suffered financially as a result of the events of the last week, please write with full details to the address at the top of the page. Once again, I apologise for the difficulties this disruption has caused you.
Alex Fiddes
Director of Private Vehicles.
Vehicle & Operator Services Agency
VOSA Service Management Team
Private Vehicles Directorate
Unit 8, Woodlands Court
Ash Ridge Road
Almondsbury Business Park
Bristol BS32 4LB
E-mail: compmot@vosa.gsi.gov.uk
Our Reference MCC/IB/C.600
3rd May 2006
To the Authorised Examiner
DISRUPTION TO THE MOT COMPUTERISATION SERVICE
I am writing to you to apologise if you were affected by the disruption to the MOT Computerisation Service during the week commencing 24 April 2006, answer the questions which have arisen and outline how we intend to move forward with the MOT Service.
What caused the failure ? We continue to investigate this issue in detail but it happened as a result of communication problems which led to tests being stuck on Testers Smart Cards subsequently slowing down the system. We know however that it was not caused by the software release that was introduced over the weekend of 22/23 April. Siemens implemented several fixes during the week, the system was operating normally from Wednesday 26 April but it took time to clear the backlog. Most garages were operating normally by Friday 28 April.
Will similar failures occur in the future ? Action taken by Siemens is aimed at ensuring that any potential future system disruption is kept to an absolute minimum. Independent reviews of the system are being planned which should help identify areas where improvements can be made. We are continually looking at ideas for taking the service forward, one of which is a new simplified process which will replace the current ET procedures. We hope to have this in place as soon as possible. Until then VOSA is committed to declaring ET as soon as possible once any disruption is identified. In this case ET was declared before 9.30 on the day the issue first arose.
Why did the back-up system not take over ? The back-up system is designed to take over when there is a major database failure which was not the case in this instance. Because this disruption was caused by problems communicating with the database itself, the problems would also have occured if the back up database had been used instead.
Why was it not possible to contact the Service Desk ? Because of the sheer volume of callers contacting the Service Desk, it is not always possible to get through to talk to an agent. VOSA regularly updates the message at the inital point of contact to inform callers of the latest position and give information which may be of help for instance advise testers to Synchronise Smart Cards.
VOSA and Siemens will be meeting to discuss the lessons learned. One of which is the need to improve the understanding of ET procedures within garages and we will be writing to you shortly with clearer instructions.
If you feel you have grounds for complaint or have suffered financially as a result of the events of the last week, please write with full details to the address at the top of the page. Once again, I apologise for the difficulties this disruption has caused you.
Alex Fiddes
Director of Private Vehicles.