Monday, Dec. 20, 2010 | 1:10 p.m.
CARSON CITY – The state Industrial Relations Division signed a contract in 2008 for $243,000 for a new computer system to issue health and safety permits.
The Versa System was selected, but now it’s not working. And there is an estimated backlog of 5,000 boiler and elevator permits to be issued.
The division, which enforces Nevada’s occupational safety and health standards, wants to use $195,000 in its permit fees to replace the ineffective system, which takes seven times as long to process a permit as the old system.
The Legislative Interim Finance Committee wasn’t happy with the solution but Friday approved the transfer of the non-general funds.
Senate Majority Leader Steven A. Horsford, D-Las Vegas, said, “The bottom line is we paid $243,000 and there is nothing in the contract for liquidated damages.”
He said he didn’t understand why the contract was devoid of a provision to permit the state some recourse if things went bad.
Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, said the state paid the money and still it is not going after Versa Systems. “I don’t want to let the company off the hook,” she said.
Horsford said the issue will be turned over to the attorney general’s office to take possible legal action.
Assemblyman David Bobzien, D-Reno, called this a project “gone awry” and said there was a lack of quality assurances.
Division Administrator Don Jayne said the contract decisions were made before he got there and were decided by others in the state Department of Business and Industry.
Grant Reynolds, IT manager for industrial relations, said “none of us were here when the contract was put together.”
Those officials who approved the first contract with Versa Systems were not identified.
But Jayne and Reynolds said things would be done differently this time.
Versa will be replaced by Jurisdiction Online Boiler and Pressure Vessel Product.
The division said the historical average is $100 per permit so there is about $500,000 waiting to be collected.
Before Versa, the division said it took two minutes to process an elevator or boiler permit. It now takes 14 minutes to do the same task. And this is requiring overtime and the possibility of hire more staff.
“Under the prior system a permit could be issued by going to one screen and tabbing into five areas for entry, while Versa requires viewing 19 screens and 57 mouse clicks to enter the required information,” said the division in its request to the finance committee.
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