Deploying CVISN at a border crossing led to a 32 percent improvement in inspection efficiency and also saved shippers $228,120 per year.

Evaluation of CVISN at the Nogales Port of Entry in Arizona

Date Posted
08/24/2012
Identifier
2011-B00743
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Evaluation of the Integration of CVISN at the Nogales Port of Entry

Summary Information

This study evaluated the integration of Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) at the Nogales Port of Entry. CVISN is designed to support safety information exchange, credentials administration, and electronic screening. Data collected from roadside inspections and weigh stations (i.e., ASPEN reports from inspectors and data collected from transponders and WIM scales) are forwarded to that state's Commercial Vehicle Information Exchange Window (CVIEW) system. These data are compiled within the state's SAFETYNET database and made available to the SAFER system for interstate use. At the national level, the SAFER system creates carrier and vehicle standardized snapshots of safety information. The carrier credentialing data and safety snapshots are then made available to roadside inspectors and roadside operations computers. If a vehicle has appropriate safety, credential, and weight information, and they are equipped with a transponder they can be cleared to bypass an inspection station. If a vehicle, however, does not have appropriate information (or if the vehicle is randomly selected), then the driver is notified to stop at the station for a manual inspection.

METHODOLOGY

The CVISN system at the Nogales Port of Entry uses "superbooths" that contain the communications equipment needed to interact with vehicles and the CVISN network. The Nogales CVISN was evaluated between 2005 and 2007. Daily counts of commercial vehicles processed and cleared were collected to reveal any statistically significant differences in performance before and after the system was implemented.

The data collected were aggregated by month and the percentages of commercial vehicles that were cleared for entry were computed.
  • During 2005, the superbooths processed an average of 18,321 commercial vehicles per month and cleared an average of 15,222 commercial vehicles per month.
  • During 2006, the superbooths processed an average of 18,482 commercial vehicles per month and cleared an average of 15,871 commercial vehicles per month.
  • During 2007, the superbooths processed an average of 16,723 commercial vehicles per month and cleared an average of 14,401 commercial vehicles per month .
The percentages of commercial vehicles cleared for entry during 2005-2007 were subjected to a series of t-tests to detect statistically significant differences.

FINDINGS

The results indicated that the percentage of commercial vehicles cleared for travel increased each year, and the increase between 2005 and 2007 proved to be statistically significant. Specifically:
  • Shippers saved an estimated $228,120 per year
  • The port operated with a 32.2 percent improvement in inspection efficiency.
  • CVISN provided automated clearance for 3,802 vehicles per year that otherwise would have been subject to traditional inspections.
  • In addition the port saved roughly 1.9 FTE (full time equivalent) in inspection staff time.
Goal Areas
Deployment Locations