[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 100 (Friday, May 23, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28242-28243]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-12776]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Transportation Security Administration


Notice of Intent To Request Approval From the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for Three Public Collections of 
Information; Aviation Security Customer Satisfaction Performance 
Measurement Data Collection Instruments

AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration (TSA), DHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: TSA invites public comment on three new information collection 
requirements abstracted below that will be submitted to OMB for 
approval in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act.

DATES: Send your comments by July 22, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed or delivered to Yani Collins, Office 
of Strategic Management and Analysis; Transportation Security 
Administration Headquarters; West Tower, Suite 1045N; 400 Seventh 
Street, SW.; Washington, DC 20590-0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yani Collins at the above address or 
by telephone (571) 227-1620; facsimile (571) 227-1927; or e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), a Federal government agency may 
not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a 
collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control 
number. Therefore, in preparation for submission to obtain clearance of 
the following information collection, TSA solicits comments in order 
to:
    (1) Evaluate whether the proposed information requirement is 
necessary for the proper performance of TSA functions, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of TSA's estimate of the burden on those 
who are to respond;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology where appropriate.

Purpose of Data Collection

    In its effort to provide world-class customer service as it 
provides world-class security, the Transportation Security 
Administration seeks to administer three instruments to collect data on 
the satisfaction of passengers who experience TSA's aviation passenger 
and baggage security processes. TSA intends for the instruments to be 
consistent across all airports to maximize the utility and customer-
friendliness of the data collection efforts. TSA will use the data 
collected from these instruments to continuously improve security and 
customer service.

Description of Data Collection

    TSA intends to collect data via the following instruments:
    (1) Statistically Valid Intercept Surveys. TSA intends to conduct a 
statistically valid passenger survey at commercial airports nationwide. 
The survey will be administered using an intercept methodology, in 
which passengers will be handed survey forms soon after they experience 
TSA's aviation security functions and be invited to mail the form back. 
Passengers who receive surveys will be selected randomly such that the 
sample of passengers that receive surveys at each airport over the 
survey period is representative of all passenger demographics--
including passengers who travel on weekdays or weekends; those who 
travel in the morning, mid-day, or evening; those who pass through each 
of the different security screening locations at the airport; those who 
are subject to more intensive screening of their baggage or person; and 
those who experience different volume conditions and wait times as they 
proceed through the security checkpoint. The surveys will also be 
representative of passenger identity factors such as gender, frequency 
of travel, and purpose of the trip as business or leisure.
    Participation by passengers will be voluntary. TSA Headquarters 
will supply independent administrators to each site to distribute the 
survey forms. The administrators will not be TSA employees and will 
handle the forms and data independently of TSA to ensure the validity 
of the results, as well as be subject to quality assurance and 
monitoring from TSA Headquarters. The form will include up to ten 
questions about aspects of the passenger experience plus approximately 
four demographic questions.
    Dates, times, and screening locations will be chosen within each 
airport in order to provide a statistically valid representation of 
customer satisfaction over the survey period. TSA intends to conduct up 
to two surveys annually, each with a target of 500 returned forms, at 
each of the major airports that are TSA hubs (which are defined to be 
Category X, I, and II hub airports, up to 119 in all). We estimate an 
annual total of 119,000 respondents (2 surveys per airport x 119 
airports x 500 returned forms per survey) and, based on an estimate of 
a five-minute burden per respondent, a maximum total annual burden 
system-wide of 9,917 hours. There will be no burden on passengers who 
choose not to respond.
    (2) Informal Surveys Conducted by Airport Staff. TSA staff at 
individual airports also wish to conduct informal surveys to collect 
performance data for improved customer service throughout the year, 
most often to test passenger response to service improvements 
implemented in response to identified service problems. The results of 
these surveys will not generally be as statistically rigorous as the 
intercept survey described above, but will be subject to guidance from 
TSA Headquarters regarding respondent selection, survey distribution 
frequency, and the handling of the completed forms. Therefore, the 
results will not be used for any formal performance measurement nor 
published outside of TSA, but will be valid to enable localized service 
improvements at each airport. Participation by passengers will be 
voluntary. TSA Headquarters will provide a list of approximately 25 
approved questions, from which airports may select a subset, and a 
Headquarters-designed and -approved template for the survey form.
    Surveys will be conducted at the discretion of the TSA airport 
staff, subject to a limit (as imposed by TSA

[[Page 28243]]

Headquarters and pending approval of the Office of Management and 
Budget) of a five-minute burden per respondent and an aggregate burden 
of 100 hours per airport per year. Assuming that all 119 major hub 
airports and half of the 310 smaller airports (or 155 in all) employ 
this process, aggregate systemwide burden will not exceed 27,400 hours 
per year. There will be no burden on passengers who choose not to 
respond.
    (3) Complaints and Compliments at the Point of Service. In response 
to passenger requests to provide customer-initiated feedback right at 
the point of service, TSA also intends to make available to airports a 
Customer Comment Form, which will collect open-ended feedback and, if 
the passenger desires, contact information so that TSA staff can 
respond to the passenger's comment. TSA Headquarters will design the 
form and make it available to airports. Airports will distribute it 
upon request to passengers who indicate that they wish to make a formal 
complaint, compliment, or other comment.
    TSA airport staff will collect the forms back from passengers, 
categorize comments, enter the results into an on-line system for 
storage and reporting, and respond to passengers as necessary. We will 
also provide an e-mail address, phone number, and mailing address for 
passengers to return the forms to either airports or TSA Headquarters. 
TSA may consider adding a postage-paid business reply frank to the 
cards so that they can be returned to TSA at the passenger's 
convenience and at no cost to them. TSA will also continue to provide 
mechanisms on its web site and the TSA Contact Center for passengers to 
make comments independently of airport involvement.
    Based on the number of comments that have been made at the airports 
and reported to TSA Headquarters via the Performance Measurement 
Information System through the first quarter of Calendar Year 2003, 
total projected volume is approximately 25,200 comments per year 
systemwide. Assuming an average burden of 10 minutes per comment per 
passenger who chooses to make one, total burden is estimated to be 
4,200 hours annually.

Use of Results

    TSA Headquarters and individual airports will use all of these 
results to evaluate and improve customer service, both via formal, 
rigorous performance measurement and via targeted responses to problem 
areas identified at individual sites. These data collection efforts 
will have no impact on non-TSA airport administration staff, although 
TSA may seek to partner with airport management at some sites to share 
relevant data with one another. Results of the Statistically Valid 
Intercept Surveys (1) and Complaints and Compliments at the Point of 
Service (3) will be used, along with other inputs, to create a Customer 
Satisfaction Index for Aviation Operations (CSI-A), a key TSA 
performance measure. TSA will use both the CSI-A and other customer-
oriented performance measures to evaluate the impact of policy or 
process changes on customer satisfaction and public confidence.

    Issued in Arlington, Virginia, on May 15, 2003.
Susan T. Tracey,
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer.
[FR Doc. 03-12776 Filed 5-22-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P