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EMISSIONS-TEST WOES WEIGH ON INSPECTORS

Published in the Home News Tribune 1/30/00

By DORE CARROLL

GANNETT STATE BUREAU TRENTON -- It's bitterly cold. Customers are yelling. Equipment is freezing. And the state keeps changing the rules.

When things went awry with the new auto emissions testing equipment at the Flemington inspection station, the assistant manager -- who had a college degree and some computer experience -- quickly became a troubleshooter.

"I know a lot about computers, so all the employees started coming to me. As the assistant manager, I'd get there at 5 a.m. and not leave sometimes until 6:30 p.m. What I was doing went way beyond my job description," said the 26-year-old, who asked that his name not be published.

After enduring a month of the state's problem-plagued auto inspection system, the young manager quit, overwhelmed by the stress of long hours and constant computer meltdowns.

"The stress level wasn't worth it," said the manager, who worked at the Flemington station for five years. "I resigned. I just walked away. I was fed up."

Vehicle inspections long have been an unpleasant chore for New Jersey motorists, and lane technicians have never been in an enviable position -- earning hourly wages, dealing with angry drivers and working outdoors through heat waves and deep freezes.

Since the state switched to a computerized system and tougher tailpipe emissions test Dec. 13, auto inspections have turned disastrous for everyone involved, including the lane employees.

Motorists have languished on lines for hours because testing equipment has frozen and malfunctioned, and glitches are rampant in the computerized system.

Parsons Infrastructure & Technology Group, the private company hired by the state to conduct the new tests, has failed to make speedy repairs and improve inspection time. Gov. Christie Whitman's administration has come under fire for allowing the problems to escalate, and she has ordered an investigation by Attorney General John Farmer Jr.

Private garages that made large investments for the new testing equipment claim business is suffering. Democratic legislators are calling for a bipartisan commission to probe the matter, and the independent State Commission of Investigation has agreed to review the manner in which the state awarded Parsons' $400 million contract.

And throughout, the work environment for employees in the tunnel-like inspection bays from Randolph to Cherry Hill has deteriorated. Frigid weather is nothing new, but long hours, stalled computers, highly frustrated customers and changing directives from the state all are taking a toll on the lane employees.

"They're frustrated. They put up with a lot of abuse. If the equipment goes down, it's not their fault," said Barbara Michaux, manager of the Kilmer inspection station in Edison. "They have to keep their cool. They're called idiots and hamburger flippers, but they've got to bite their lip to the customer. Then they come in and complain to me," said Michaux, who has worked at Kilmer for 10 years and now trains new employees.

Parsons has said staffing levels were partly to blame for the excruciating delays, and it said it is working aggressively to hire hundreds of new employees. When waiting times soared in the last week of the year, Parsons placed part of the blame on high absentee rates.

Service Employees International Union Local 518, which represents about 450 lane technicians, has complained about split schedules and overtime pay.

Steve Burke, a union representative for the state's central region, said some new employees not prepared for the long hours and difficult work have stopped showing up. A few managers quit or requested demotions to the inspection lanes because the stress was too great, he said.

And with new directives on the emissions test coming from Whitman's office on several occasions, lane technicians also have been confused about which test they should be conducting on a given day.

Instructions early this week to change back to the curb-idle tailpipe emissions test using the new computers were replaced quickly by a directive to revert back to the manual inspection -- without computers -- at 15 locations starting tomorrow. The state's other 17 stations would continue giving the new treadmill emissions test -- unless lines get longer than 45 minutes; then inspectors should switch to the tailpipe test.

Assemblyman Anthony Impreveduto, D-Hudson, Bergen, an outspoken critic of the emissions test, said the employees believe they have not been treated fairly.

"Certainly, morale is down. The workload is a lot," he said. "They're forced to work lots of overtime because there aren't enough people. Parsons should be hiring the number of people it said it would."

Transportation Commissioner James Weinstein said inadequate staffing levels and training are among the problems with Parsons' system. The state has tallied nearly $700,000 in fines against the company as a result of continued long waiting times.

Parsons spokesman Carl Golden said the company continues to hire and train new employees and plans to have up to 300 more workers in the stations in coming months.

"People have been yelling at inspection lanes for as long as anyone can remember. That's nothing new," Golden said.

Union President Nick Minutillo said there is not enough technical assistance from the software manufacturers.

"There were too many glitches in the software. Instead of doing customer service, we were constantly fixing these problems," the former Flemington manager said.

"It is the headache of the century," he said during a telephone interview from his Flemington home Friday. He now works at a water-treatment company.

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-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), February 22, 2000