Centricity brings a suite of Cityworks Ready Software to the Cityworks users base. Built upon the Cityworks API's to provide flexibility to upgrade your Cityworks and not be "version locked", the Centricity suite of software for Cityworks is robust, cloud based technology that will allow your organization to be more flexible and productive.
PORTAL
A public-facing PLL portal that allows external customers to submit applications to an organization. This product integrates with Cityworks PLL and is compatible with versions 15.7 and 15.8. API based, hosted in Azure Cloud, allows upgrades to Cityworks without breaking the PLL Portal.
This is a Cityworks Ready integration that takes 811 Utility Locates request emails and converts them into WOs in Cityworks with accompanying GIS polygons This product integrates with Cityworks AMS and is compatible with versions 15.5, 15 6, 15.7, and 15.8.
Centricity Inspector allows Cityworks users to complete Cityworks PLL inspections in the field. This product integrates with Cityworks PLL and is compatible with versions 15.6, 15.7, and 15.8.
Communities are often faced with large strategic and operational projects as well as emergency response activities. OpX provides a streamlined experience that assists with the management of operational work activities and, associated data, as well as guiding the execution and reporting of infrastructure projects and emergency activities.
BY DINORAH SANCHEZ, CITYWORKS SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTTrimble’s recently created Owner & Public Sector brings together Trimble Solutions from across the company into one group that puts stakeholders and project owners first and brings their vision of connected infrastructure management together.
BY TIFFANY MALLOY, CITYWORKS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Infrastructure owners are faced with an opportunity to modernize their organizations and expand their use of technology to empower digital asset lifecycle management.
BY BECKY TAMASHASKY, SECTOR VP OF PRODUCT VISION, ASSET MANAGEMENT, TRIMBLE O&PSCityworks collects a large amount of data, and that data must be able to be queried, communicated, and shared amongst different systems. For many, eURLs are an essential component of their workflows and allow them to share and utilize data. The use of query eURLs brings additional enhancements and capabilities not found within other eURL types.
BY CARL ALEXANDER AND DINORAH SANCHEZ, CITYWORKS SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTSFor electric utility organizations, managing the risk of trees growing near power lines is a top operational expenditure (OpEx) item and often comes with significant financial and reputational risk. Trimble Vegetation Manager helps keep electric utilities safe and dependable by simplifying utility vegetation management.
BY GREGOR WILKE, SALES ENGINEER, TRIMBLE UTILITIESHawaii Department of Transportation - Harbors is using Cityworks to ensure that their harbors remain healthy and sustainable. By mapping their storm drain systems and leveraging Cityworks AMS, HDOT created an effective storm drain management plan, allowing them to ensure that they are within compliance with EPA regulations.
BY TIFFANY MALLOY, CITYWORKS CONTRIBUTING WRITER & STEVE DALE, HMP PROJECT MANAGER
Northville Township, MI, is always looking for ways to improve the service they provide to their community. The Township, with the help of Ritter GIS, worked together to expand the use of Cityworks and leverage new integrations.
BY RENE WISELY, COMMUNICATIONS & GRANTS MANAGER FOR NORTHVILLE TOWNSHIP, PHOTOS BY GABBY IRIARTEBefore implementing Cityworks in 2016, the Central San operations crew worked from printed field maps. That changed with the Cityworks mobile app. Here’s what they did to ensure widespread adoption of the new technology.
BY IAN MORALES, GIS ANALYST, CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICTThe St. Johns County Utilities Department uses Opera tional Insights to create an effective utility management program and maintain assets ranging from general utilities to manholes. With Operational Insights, they’re able to create maintenance schedules and plan ahead to avoid asset failures
BY TIFFANY MALLOY, CITYWORKS CONTRIBUTING WRITERTim Gallagher is general manager at Trimble Utilities. We had a chance to sit down and talk about a variety of topics relating to the utilities industry including, asset lifecycle management, infrastructure funding, sustainability, new technology, and the future of public & privately owned utilities plan for the future.
BY WESTLEY COTTAM, CITYWORKS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Our POWER team has been guiding clients to build award-winning asset management solutions for over 25 years.
Minimize Risk. Maximize Satisfaction.
As a platinum-level implementation partner, we can help you get Cityworks into production faster and easier through our proven methods of project delivery.
Our dedicated Cityworks consultants provide real-world experience in the
gas, water, wastewater, public works, and permitting industries to maximize the benefits for your organization.
efficient and transparent processes for permitting, licensing and code enforcement activities
A citizen-focused solution for managing permits, business licenses and code enforcement activities can help local governments and utilities improve e ciency and better serve their communities.
Cityworks PLL—permits, licensing, and land—allows for increased transparency from application to project completion through its customizable Public Access App.
POWER Engineers is a Cityworks Platinum Partner
With POWER’s help implementing Cityworks PLL, your organization can benefit from proven strategies to fully leverage existing functionality and create any configuration you envision for your program’s success.
We can help you improve processes for:
Public and Contractor Portal
Online Payments
Mobile Field Inspections
Plan Review Integration
Code Enforcement
Construction and Building Permits
Planning and Zoning
Well Permits
Management
Easement and Right of Way
Events
Learn more about Cityworks PLL solutions and POWER’s custom options for your specific needs.
Becky Tamashasky | Sector VP of Product Vision, Asset Management, Trimble O&PS
George Mastakas | Vice President, Enterprise Solutions
Greg Walters | Director of Customer Success
Matt Harman | Vice President, Sales
Sheldon Bagley | Vice President, Product Development
Jed Call | Executive Director, Marketing
Magazine Staff
Westley Cottam | Editor
Tiffany Malloy | Editor
Rylee Jo Ashcraft | Sr. Graphic Designer
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Marketing and Communications
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CITYWORKS, A TRIMBLE COMPANY 11075 South State Street, Suite 24 Sandy, UT 84070 801-523-2751 www.cityworks.com
The information contained in this document is the exclusive property of Azteca Systems, LLC, a Trimble company. This work is protected under United States copyright law and other international copyright treaties and conventions. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as expressly permitted in writing by Azteca Systems dba Cityworks. All requests should be sent to Attention: Contracts and Legal Services Manager, Cityworks, 11075 south State, Suite 24, Sandy, UT 84070, USA.
The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.
TRADEMARKS: Cityworks®, Cityworks Logo, Empowering GIS, GIS Empowered, the Three Layer Map Logo, Enables the Power of Where, @cityworks.com, cityworks.com, mycityworks.com, Azteca Systems, the Azteca Systems logo and Azteca Systems products referenced herein are either trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of Azteca Systems in the United States, Canada, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Trimble® and the Trimble logo are a registered trademarks of Trimble, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
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Cityworks is an ArcGIS® pure-play, meaning we recognize the ArcGIS geodatabase as the only authoritative asset database. This translates to seven key characteristics that define our technology solutions.
ArcGIS is the authoritative system of record with no writing or syncing to other asset data tables.
FULLY CONFIGURABLE Cityworks can support any geodatabase design for your assets—including linear, dispersed, or condensed.
We build on the geodatabase with well-known and understood data structure elements. Your organization owns and fully controls its data.
Cityworks relies solely on ArcGIS feature services to update the authoritative asset data to ensure data integrity.
Any application can access an ArcGIS web map without constraints, allowing you to find and view asset data at a glance
Our software supports a single sign-on identity. All associated apps will support the preferred identity storehouse— ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS.
Cityworks uses ArcGIS tools for data analytics and powerful visualizations to support decision-making.
At a recent Cityworks Converge User Summit, we asked attendees if their organizations were “considering moving to a cloud-hosted environment.” Here are their responses.
38% Are in the process of or planning on moving to the cloud
31% Have already moved to the cloud
31% Currently don’t have plans to move to the cloud
Check out this Converge User Conference presen tation by the City of Suffolk, VA, and explore how they migrated from an on-premises system to a cloud-based system.
Honolulu, Hawaii, is not only a prime des tination for vacation goers but is also a key port that lies at the crossroads of trans-pacific shipping and trade. In the Hawaiian language, Honolu lu literally translates to “sheltered harbor” or “calm port”. Turn to page 42 to find out how Hawaii Depart of Transportation - Harbors is using Cityworks to ensure that their beautiful seaports are clean, safe, and sustainable.
Snow removal is an essential service for any commu nity that experiences a winter climate. We often take for granted the hard work that men and women across the country put in to keep our roads safe from ice and snow. Without these necessary snow removal crews, our cities would not be able to function.
1. The earliest evidence of a man-made snow removal tool is a 6,000-year-old snow shovel found in Russia.
2. The first snow plow was deployed in the winter of 1862 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This rudimentary snow plow was attached to a cart that was pulled by a team of horses.
3. A single snowstorm can drop up to 39 million tons of snow.
4. On average, there are around 105 snow-producing storms per year that affect the U.S. These storms typically last two to five days and have the potential to cause hazardous travel.
5. Cityworks and ArcGIS help snow removal crews track their work activities and assist in mak ing data-driven decisions that ultimate ly keep communities safe and thriving. Watch this video to find out more.
“GIS is the foundation of everything.” —Jack Dangermond, founder of EsriImage credit: University of Vermont Libraries Center for Digital Initiatives
Infrastructure owners have the opportunity to modernize their organizations and expand their use of technology to empower digital asset lifecycle management.
BY BECKY TAMASHASKY, SECTOR VP OF PRODUCT VISION, ASSET MANAGEMENT, TRIMBLE O&PS
Currently, infrastructure owners are faced with the challenge of modernizing both their physical and digital assets. They are at a crossroads where they must work to meet the demands of their customers, while simultaneously balancing an aging workforce, labor shortages, and the necessity of up-skilling workers.
In addition to that, the passing of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, along with increased pressure from government regulations and community watchdogs, is pushing organizations more than ever to ensure that community assets are safe, sustainable, and efficient — while concurrently meeting expect ed levels of service.
Managing these competing pri oties is a challenge, but also a signi facant opportunity—an opportunity to introduce new technologies and transform work management across their businesses.
This can be as simple as imple menting Esri ArcGIS and Cityworks solutions to maximize spatial intel ligence, introducing specifications for digital site plans for greater quality control and data fidelity, or mandating 3D models that
effectively improve the entire asset lifecycle management process. Or, perhaps it’s leveraging public-facing portals to assist with the develop ment and construction process, along with aggregating data from remote monitoring and LiDAR to monitor critical infrastructure.
Now is the time for stakeholders to make the investment to modernize their GIS and asset lifecycle man agement strategies and allocate re sources to broaden the capabilities of their teams. With federal funding already available—or swiftly be coming available—it has become easier for organizations to expand their use of technology to manage critical asset data and meet the growing expectation of technology adoption by both internal users and citizens.
The greatest asset for any organization is their human capital and the teams that keep their com munities running and organizations ticking. But when there is a short age of staff to support business needs, the right solutions can help
streamline processes and bridge the gap left by resource constraints.
Adopting the right technology also helps eliminate communica tion and data silos, which in turn fosters greater community connec tivity and ensures that key infra structure is being managed and maintained throughout its lifecycle.
Every single asset—whether it is a residential housing development, a water valve, or a sidewalk network— has a life of its own with a corre sponding lifecycle. If we consider the complexity of a drinking water network, before this vital infrastruc ture is able to provide potable water it must go through multiple stages to become operational.
First, it is planned and designed, likely through a collaborative effort between city staff and consulting engineers. This “design” stage includes multiple iterations and reviews of the plans before a final version is submitted for approval.
When this is completed, the construction phase begins and generates new volumes of data about the asset, along with numer
ous vital activities—such as inspec tions, which correlate the design to the actual asset and confirms that the infrastructure is ready for operation.
This is followed by the op erational phase of the lifecycle, where the asset not only needs to be operated, but also properly maintained in order to adequately serve the community. This phase includes work orders that alter the attributes of the asset until its eventual retirement.
Numerous resources are invested in the infrastructure to accomplish this with the goal of extending the useful life of the asset, reducing the risk that is cre ated if the asset fails, and prepar
ing for its consequent expiration and replacement.
Each asset produces copious amounts of data as it goes through the various stages of its lifecycle. Many organizations have moun tains of asset data they don’t know how to utilize—or worse, their data becomes “dark data” that is lost or siloed between the differ ent stages of an asset’s lifecycle, especially as it travels through multiple departments and dispa rate business systems.
The best way to combat dark data is to bridge the gap between each of the phases of the asset lifecycle and connect data through technology.
Empowering digital maturity within your organization can help ensure that data is transparent, accurate, and properly utilized to inform decision-making and budgetary needs. Aggregating data provides all users across an organi zation with a complete vision of the status of their infrastructure. This connected asset lifecycle platform approach empowers owners to leverage data to its fullest extent.
We must never lose sight of the direct impact that infrastruc ture owners have on the well-be ing of their communities and the everyday residents that use those assets. At the end of the day, good data leads to better decision-mak ing, which fosters stronger and more resilient communities.
“We must never lose sight of the direct impact that infrastructure owners have on the well-being of their communities and the everyday residents that use those assets.”
Communities are often faced with large strategic and operational projects as well as emergency response activities. OpX provides a streamlined experience that assists with the management of operational work activities, and associated data; as well as the execution and reporting of infrastructure projects and emergency activities.
BY DINORAH SANCHEZ, CITYWORKS SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTLocal governments and utility organizations can optimize their project data and work flows and take full advantage of Cityworks OpX by combining the app’s various components, includ ing OpX Projects, OpX Contracts, and OpX Budgets. This enables organizations to:
• Enhance project and con tract details—helping them make better decisions in a shorter time frame.
• Optimize financials—allowing them to gain a streamlined view of financial standing between estimated and actual costs, with the added ability to
associate revenue from per mits, and improving baseline budgets for activities.
• Utilize location intelligence— enabling them to visualize and locate assets related to specific projects and contracts, allow ing them to better strategize and coordinate.
Smart communities are not something that is off in the distant future. They’re happening now. Thousands of jurisdictions are applying ArcGIS technology for planning and engineering, operational ef ciency, data-
performance, and civic inclusion.
smart community
Depending on what needs to be tracked, users can configure projects to organize and group ac tivities, track costs, manage project documents as attachments, and easily capture project updates or notes via comments.
In the event that some or all of the projected work activities are carried out through one or multi ple contracts, OpX allows various contracts to be created and easily related back to the project. In ad dition, contracts’ estimated and ac tual costs are fed into the project’s financial values and breakdowns, keeping stakeholders informed throughout the various phases of the project.
Activity-based budgets can also be created to forecast things such as how many work activities are expected to be completed in
a fiscal year, as well as the antic ipated costs per activity (per day and year). For example, OpX can be used to project the number of traffic signs that are expected to be replaced or the amount of hydrants that will be flushed, etc. Additionally, these various work activities can be tracked and split up by districts, community areas, and specific work orders.
Most OpX Project users are familiar with tagging work orders or service requests to aggregate costs and organize activities. OpX Projects now extends this func tionality to Cityworks AMS inspec tions and Cityworks PLL cases, via the “Project” and “Project Name” fields, respectively. For PLL users,
the “Project Code” field remains the same, however, the “Project Name” field works with OpX, making it easier to aggregate fees as revenue and group project activities.
Cityworks has long been utilized to track projects, operational activi ties, and even emergency incidents and events. It has aided in aggre gating the actual costs but has not always been as functional when accounting for estimated expenses and contract costs.
With OpX Projects, financial values are broken down by equip ment, labor, and materials, allowing estimated costs to be calculated, whether the data is taken from a default template, added to a work order after creation, or from contracts. Permitting fees from PLL
OpX not only provides an overview of projects and related contracts, but also renders a spatial view of the assets.
cases are also accounted for as reve nue rather than expenditures.
Previously, rendering assets associated with a specific project or contract would have required custom reports or linking searches to GIS assets. The new OpX func tionality makes tracking assets eas ier as staff can now display which are being worked on as part of a project or contract. Project assets consist of any assets related to a work order or inspection or may be added from the map without an associated activity. Contract as sets, on the other hand, are those associated to a contract via a line item transaction or work order. For both project and contract assets, multiple asset types can be dis played and highlighted on the map by selecting the desired assets from the panel.
Many organizations outsource work through contracts that are oftentimes processed outside of Cityworks or processed by using contractor costs in equipment, labor, and material (ELM). Both of these methods can be time-con suming and can result in unorga nized workflows.
Few are aware of Cityworks’ contract management capabilities within OpX. Organizations are able to leverage OpX Contracts to load, update, and manage contract line items and transactions, as well as manage contractor activities and set and adjust unit prices. For example, if a facilities contract is
OpX enables project details, work activities, and asset data to be easily viewed.
Organizations can use OpX Contracts to load, update, and manage contract line items and transactions, as well as manage contractor activities.
Organizations can develop baseline budgets for routine activities in OpX by pulling work order estimated costs for equipment, labor, and material, and then track actual costs.
issued for a repair or an inspec tion, users can select a specific line item from the contract to charge. If carpet replacement was contracted by square footage, the user has the ability to select the corresponding line item, enter the number of square feet, and use that to deduct from the contracted quantity. Eventually, this would allow the user to calculate the cost using the contracted unit price.
Additionally, If an organiza tion has a contract that includes more than one line item, they can take advantage of the bulk import template to upload new or update existing line items.
The ability to calculate budgets for routine operations and ascertain where and how much to charge the associated stakeholders for services rendered is an important aspect of community management.
OpX Budgets incorporates and improves on prior functionality from the Performance Budgeting app, allowing users to support multiple budgets per work order template—given a fiscal year—as long as different budgets are set by community area.
Using the estimated costs per work order’s default template, along with the anticipated number of work activities, a baseline budget
can be created. Organizations can even calculate estimates for items like crew size, work days, and can even start to plan work percentage projections by month. With City works Respond 4.1, the actual costs can be tracked on every work order by assigning the necessary budget. Cityworks OpX and the vari ous components found within the application can prove to be instru mental in the management of your operational projects, whether they be contracted activities or the devel opment of a baseline budget. The functionalities of OpX are only be coming more expansive as it is being tailored to further support you and your community’s operations.
Cityworks collects a large amount of data, and that data must be able to be queried, communicated, and shared amongst different systems. For many, eURLs are an essential component of their workflows and allow them to share and utilize data. The use of query eURLs brings additional enhancements and capabilities not found within other eURL types.
BY CARL ALEXANDER AND DINORAH SANCHEZ, CITYWORKS SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTSeURLs are leveraged as a tool to make data more transpar ent. They allow organizations to easily share real-time infor mation on everything from work activities and service requests to data related to emergency man agement and permitting. This gives organizations the ability to keep internal staff, key stakehold ers, the community, and those
who may not have full access to Cityworks informed.
Many find value in using eURLs to extend Cityworks data into other systems like ArcGIS. Here are five tips to help your organization start using query eURLs.
Recently, the Saved Search to Query Migration Tool (compatible with
Cityworks 15.8.1 or newer) was released, which facilitates the mi gration of saved searches from City works Office to Cityworks Respond queries and accompanying eURLs. When starting from scratch, query eURLs are generated by creating a query in Query Editor, filtering your intended parameters, and saving it. For example, if the query being created is for a current
user—select the “Submit to Sid” field, and then from the three ver tical dots, select the CurrentUser Sid() option. For a query intended for current projects or contracts, find the “Status Description” and select “active and in progress”. In the event that a query label needs to be changed, Admin has a Query Labels page where text can be updated and carried through.
When in Respond, users can jump into the eURL page by selecting one of eleven query types from the Query editor’s left panel. In Office, eURLs are limited to just work orders, service requests, inspec tions, and PLL cases. However, in Respond, eURLs have been expanded to areas such as PLL case tasks, projects, contracts, and even standard inspections. Want to share data related to current projects or contracts in a spatial
view outside of Cityworks? There is an eURL for that.
Users can configure the display fields, enable them for public use, and update default symbols, or take advantage of the custom ren derer with JSON. The default imag es render even on the dashboard’s map widget and can be changed or enhanced to be more representa tive and visible. This can be done by finding the corresponding eURL from the eURL list and by selecting Edit, they can “Clear Image Data”. Users can now select the new icon.
In Respond, eURLs load into the Event Layers map tool, giving users the ability to turn various layers on and off. Event layers provide a uniquely dynamic and spatial view of activities, or they can be used to provide a filtered view of specific
queries, lending further context for analysis of concurrent events. GIS queries can be added as select able event layers—giving users the ability to create work activities against them—just like any other GIS feature in your map.
Event layers can also be uti lized in a variety of widgets. Have a specific event layer that shows all of your water main breaks over a year span? You can use the heat map widget to leverage that event layer to pinpoint areas more prone to breaks. Have an event layer that details your field staff’s open work activities for the day? The route widget can be leveraged to analyze optimum routes for them given their workloads.
Another thing to keep in mind is that query event layers are floor aware. This means that if your or ganization is using ArcGIS Indoors, those queries will work seamlessly with floor-aware maps as well as
the floor filter widget inside Re spond. They also include z-values, which come in handy when you are creating work activities using 3D data, allowing the exact elevation of an asset to be represented when using the 3D viewer in Re spond or ArcGIS.
Once an eURL has been created, users can extend their use of City works data for further analysis and visualization by downloading the CSV, shapefile, and can jump to the URL or map preview.
Any Query eURL can be added as an item to ArcGIS Portal, ArcGIS Online, or straight to a webmap by using its URL. Once it has been add ed to your organization or webmap, it will act like any other non-edit able feature service.
Traditionally, users have used these in ArcGIS Dashboards to give managers, directors, or citizens a real-time look at what is happen ing within their organization and community— all in a centralized location that’s easy to understand. For more advanced analysis, you can add eURLs to ArcGIS Insights to take advantage of years of data created by staff in Cityworks.
Additonally, many organiza tions are expanding their use of eURLs to encompass other Esri ArcGIS technologies. ArcGIS Hub, for example, is a great solution for organizations to communicate their goals and initiatives with residents. eURLs can be leveraged within ArcGIS Hub and Hub map to transparently share organization statistics and data with the com munity. eURLs can also be used to
An interactive, public-facing ArcGIS dashboard that uses query eURL to show service request data for the current month.
Respond map showing Service Request, Work Order, and Inspection event layers that are clustered created from query eURLs.
seamlessly integrate the ArcGIS Indoors viewer and app to stream line facility maintenance.
ArcGIS StoryMaps and Arc GIS Experience Builder are great solutions that allow you to use your eURLS and other GIS data to create interactive maps. You can then easily share these maps with your staff or customers to convey current and future capital projects, commercial and residential permit details, as well as general informa tion about the work your organiza tion is doing.
If you’ve regularly been using saved search eURLs with ArcGIS, you will be surprised how much you can expand your functionality
through query eURLs. For starters, query eURLs can include items that do not have any coordinates, meaning that new install work orders that have not yet been attached to a GIS feature will show up, ensuring that you are getting an accurate count.
Query eURLs also allow you to include the description for many fields that have recently includ ed codes using saved searches. They give you the option to show description fields like priority and status, allowing you to add those descriptions to your maps and apps, which gives more meaning and context than code.
For electric utility organizations, managing the risk of trees growing near power lines is a top operational expenditure (OpEx) item and often comes with significant financial and reputational risk.
BY GREGOR WILKE, SALES ENGINEER, TRIMBLE UTILITIESTransmission utilities must comply with rigorous vegeta tion clearance requirements set by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) or face steep fines. Distribution utili ties, while not as strictly regulated, still have a reputation to uphold and need to maintain a resilient
network. With anywhere from a few hundred to hundreds of thou sands of overhead lines, staying in compliance and managing all of the associated work involved is a daunting task for electric utilities.
By combining the use of GIS, 3D, satellite, LiDAR (light detection and ranging), as well as augement
ed reality technolgies to ensure that electric utilities are safe and reliable, Trimble Vegetation Manager (TVM) helps identify risk areas and eliminates data silos. It also eases regulatory burdens and maximizes efficiency.
Here are four ways your utility organization can start modernizing
its utility vegetation management (UVM) through TVM.
Foresters can use TVM to evalu ate hazard trees using inspection templates in Cityworks Respond or Cityworks Mobile that are de signed to meet standards set by the International Society of Arbo riculture (ISA). Associated inspec tion data such as notes, defects, pictures, or recommendations for pruning or removal can be easily tracked within TVM.
Landowner notification work flows are greatly simplified when digitized through TVM, eliminating time-intensive activities such as the physical distribution of door hangers or the need to create and mail maintenance notification letters to landowners.
When notifying a landowner, foresters can use TVM on their device to review a work plan and capture a digital signature, showing that a landowner has approved a specific work plan and/or is okay with herbicide use. An inspection report can also be emailed to landowners who live off-site or weren’t present during a visit. Once the landowner has been notified, work activities can be assigned to a tree crew.
Crews can use equipment, labor, and material (ELM) to record time spent on a job, any fuel or herbicide that was used, in addi tion to equipment requirements needed to perform the job. For esters also have the added ability to keep contractors accountable by using inspection forms to audit and track their work.
Vegetation program managers can also benefit from TVM and City works by utilizing Respond dash boards to monitor contractor and utility staff progress. Project costs and financial data tracking can be done through Cityworks OpX. Using Program Optimizer— one of the optional TVM mod ules—as well as advanced filters, and analytics allows managers to see what circuits are up for routine maintenance and how hazard trees will affect the network. They can also leverage data to prioritize work by targeting high-risk areas, ensuring that budgets are met and risk is averted.
TVM brings forward the same GIS-centric foundation of City works. Utility assets become the system of record, allowing utility organizations to build a history of work activities performed on in dividual spans, bays, towers, and circuits—which can help identify problem circuits and feeders with more accuracy.
Combining TVM with addition al ArcGIS data layers such as land owner parcel information, wildfire risk, protected species ranges, outage information, etc., allows vegetation managers to make better-informed, data-driven de cisions. It also allows field users to download tile package maps so they can carry out their work in rural, offline environments. All of this helps to remove data silos within organizations.
LiDAR is a mature technology that has been integrated seamlessly with TVM. LiDAR Analyzer (LA) is an optional module that creates a digital twin of a utility’s network. A LiDAR scan creates a more accu rate GIS inventory of assets such as poles, structures, spans, and bays by capturing the precise X, Y, and Z coordinates.
LA has a conflation tool that allows GIS analysts to append source GIS date with data from LiDAR, improving asset inventory. The Z value also allows rendering of maps in 3D within Cityworks.
LA is able to take point-cloud data from a variety of sources, including aerial or ground-based; such as from a truck or rail-mount ed Trimble MX-50. An electric utility can utilize their existing minimum voltage clearance distances (MVCD) standards or those from NERC and create a canopy-colored risk map of all vegetation along the network.
Tree and brush canopy data is also derived from LiDAR and determined by radial distance (grow-in risk) and a tree’s likeli hood to fall and come in contact with conductors (fall-in risk). This gives program managers precise insight as to which trees or brush need immediate attention, remov ing costly ‘cycle busters’. With a 99% detection rate, this is the only NERC-certified technology for utili ties to maintain compliance. It cuts operating expenses and manual labor costs by removing the need for costly helicopter line patrols or boots-on-the-ground assessments.
One of the traditionally more dif ficult tasks for field staff is to pin point individual trees that require
assessment or work. Remote, ho mogeneous forests and lengthy spans make this task even more difficult. To remedy this issue, TVM incorporates another Trimble technology, Sitevision, which allows for visualization and analysis in 3D augmented reality. Foresters can use their mobile device to visualize trim points in the field, taking the guesswork out of locating trees This greatly expedites work and removes any uncertainty around the vegetation in question.
Additionally, Sitevision works as a rangefinder and can measure heights and distances. Foresters are able to put a “danger dome” over a tree, and then load utili ty conductor max sag and sway models to visualize from all angles whether or not a tree could fall and harm a conductor under hot or windy conditions. This is especially useful for landowner negotiation, because it helps residents see why their trees might need pruning or removal. This eases the forester’s burden in explaining individual work plans and can even protect an electric utility against litigation.
In summary, TVM is designed as an end-to-end solution, mean ing that it manages all aspects of the UVM workflow. From beginning to end, there are many ways TVM can modernize a UVM program. However, these four tips, whether implemented together or separate ly, will have a profound impact and produce measurable results for any electric utility looking to embrace technology or further their City works deployment.
Data Services by WinCan
Wastewater has become a data-rich industry, and WinCan’s Sewermatics services help solve the biggest data challenges facing inspection teams today. Our NASSCO-certified team and technology help make sure your essential work gets done.
• Overcome workload spikes and skill gaps on inspection projects.
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• Overlay GIS data with heat maps to pinpoint critical areas of your system.
• Build and analyze 3D models to visualize pipe location, grade and proximity to surface features.
• Quickly transfer data between WinCan and industry-leading partners, like Esri, CentralSquare (Powered by Lucity), Cityworks and Cartegraph.
• Convert data to/from any format or inspection standard.
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• View, customize and send deliverables directly from WinCan.
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Innovate is more than just a user conference. It’s about making better connections and building resilient communities.
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Training 250-251 Training 250-251 Check-in & Badge Pickup North Foyer Welcome Reception Expo Hall Check-in North Foyer Breakout Sessions* Grand Ballroom Expo Opens Expo Hall General Session: Hall A Empowering Communites with GIS Intelligence Expo Opens Expo Hall Lunch Expo Hall Breakout Sessions* Grand Ballroom Training 250-251 User Appreciation Social Expo Hall
Check-in
North Foyer Breakout Sessions* Grand Ballroom Expo Opens Expo Hall General Session: Hall A Product Roadmap & Emerging Functionality Expo Opens Expo Hall Lunch Expo Hall Breakout Sessions* Grand Ballroom Training 250-251 Check-in North Foyer Breakout Sessions* Grand Ballroom Expo Opens Expo Hall Training 250-251
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*While you’re there, be sure to check out the full lineup of Trimble Utilities breakout sessions featuring experts, customer best practices, and utilities hardware and software solutions.
Trimble’s recently created Owner & Public Sector brings together Trimble Solutions from across the company into one group that puts public stakeholders and project owners first and brings their vision of connected infrastructure management together. Chris Bell, Vice President of Industry Strategy and Portfolio Marketing, and Shelly Nooner, Vice President of Cloud and Platform, Mergers & Acquisitions, add their insight to the future vision for this sector.
BY TIFFANY MALLOY, CITYWORKS CONTRIBUTING WRITERAs part of Trimble, Inc.’s plan to “Connect and Scale,” bringing the technology and software that drives our world together to create connected solutions, Cityworks has become a part of a newly created Owner & Public Sector (O&PS) group—forming a dedicated public works and project owners selection of companies with a com mon purpose of driving asset management innovation and integration across the public sector and Trimble as a whole.
Joining Cityworks in Trimble’s Owner & Public Sector are AgileAssets, which specializes in providing pavement management solutions; e–Builder, creator of construction project management soft ware that integrates with Cityworks’ asset management platform; and Trimble Utilities, focused specifically on utility asset man agement. By com bining these various solutions, Trimble has developed a highly specialized division devoted to providing a connected lifecycle platform for the public sector, while also foster ing a GIS-centric vision.
The Trimble Owner & Public Sector was created as part of a vision to empower owners to drive digital transformation throughout the public sector and con struction industry via connected solutions.
Organized for customers who own and/or operate assets in the built environment and desire to maximize return on asset investment with a focus on transpar ency, safety, sustainability, resilience, and risk manage ment—Trimble O&PS delivers a powerful asset lifecycle management (ALM) platform for digital project delivery and enterprise asset management (EAM). With solutions built on an open, modular, and extensible platform that captures, centralizes, and extends data via connected workflows in a common data environment (CDE), O&PS further extends Trimble’s goal to Connect and Scale by fostering an interconnected ecosystem of solutions to meet the wide array of modern industry needs.
The owner is foremost for Trimble and Cityworks as we work toward this vision of interconnected solutions.
As Chris Bell, Vice President of Industry Strategy and Portfolio Marketing for Trimble’s O&PS, says, “An owner is the only organization who is responsible for every stage of the lifecycle of a built asset [...]. They’re the people who have to figure out how to get it designed [and] built, how to operate and maintain [it] over its entire lifespan.”
Traditionally, owners have relied on their in-built knowledge of the asset to manage it and transfer that information to stakeholders to maintain and operate it, but the reality of that situation is far from ideal. Throughout the various phases of an asset’s lifecycle, critical data is fre quently lost, held back, or otherwise not com municated effectively through no fault of the owner. The various tools provided through O&PS aim to solve that problem by creating a connected ALM solu tion.
By bringing City works together with e-Builder, Agile Assets, and Trimble Utilities, Trimble is ensuring that its goal to connect the world through technology proceeds into the public sector.
e-Builder is on Trimble Construction One: Cloud for Owners and integrates directly with Cityworks to bridge the gap between the build phase and the operate and maintain phase. With a focus on capital improvement and project management, e-Builder integrates with Cityworks to ensure that no data is lost along the way.
Agile Assets, and their primary product for local governments and municipalities—Pavement Express— brings asset management to pavement management. With 43% of roads in the United States currently deemed in poor or mediocre condition, managing pavements takes on new significance in ensuring that communities aren’t put at risk by poor conditions and budgetary constraints. Pavement Express facilitates
“[By connecting] the entire lifecycle from [...] planning through design, through building it, operating it, and maintaining it, you give the owner a strategic advantage into maintaining the asset over its [...] lifecycle.”
-Chris Bell, Vice President of Industry Strategy and Portfolio Marketing for Trimble O&PS
roadway and sidewalk asset management while sup porting budgetary management.
Trimble Utilities offers targeted digital and infrastructure lifecycle management solutions and hardware for electric, gas, water, wastewater and stormwa ter, and local government, including technical management integrations to keep municipal utilities functioning and maintain constituent trust. City works integrates with Trimble Utilities on the Trimble Unity Mobile app. This app provides end-to-end services and optimizes asset management for water and wastewater utilities, including streamlined access to valve exercising data.
The bipartisan infrastructure law created a cash sur plus for the public sector that is unlikely to be repeat
ed in the near future. However, that funding was still not enough to shore up all of the aging infrastructure that state and local governments are saddled with. And when the funding runs out, the same prob lems of managing aging infrastructure on tight budgets will once again present itself.
According to Shelly Nooner, Vice President of Cloud and Platform, Mergers & Acquisitions for Trimble O&PS, “There is a [...] two trillion dollar deficit between building and maintaining assets, and the only way you’re going to close that gap when [the bipartisan infrastructure] funding runs out for the rebuild is to better maintain the cost of labor, material, and equipment…You’re going to get there if you understand what that cost is from construction, and/or you can get more predictive in your assessment of your existing infrastructure, and if you can curb costs on human capital, autonomy, and real-time data. The only way to close that gap, when you’re not getting more money to rebuild, is to do maintenance more efficiently. So investing in a digital
maintenance solution gives you a leg up on starting to be able to catalog your data, to analyze your data, and to start decreasing those costs over time.”
The digital transformation is in full swing, and it is imperative that organizations modernize their technol ogy and workflows to maintain constituent trust in a constrained labor market that must compete against the private sector. Hundreds of thousands of public sector jobs in engineering and construction go unfilled, meaning the qualified resources to preserve and build infrastructure are scarce. Digital transformation is the only solution to maintain both capital projects and public trust.
One of the biggest challenges of this digital trans formation is the sharing of data across multiple de partments and organizations that all work in different softwares. Not having a way to easily share that infor mation results in data silos that can prove costly and prevent the innovation and maintenance that is essen tial to maintaining infrastructure. With Trimble, as Bell observes, “[...] you have a platform-based approach that creates breakout level productivity because you democratize access to [a] file in one, central place.”
And as Nooner explains, the platform-based approach goes even further than sharing a file in a central place. It enables people “...working in different solutions that are compiling that information to that asset, [...] we’re working in our native applications that are all federated against an asset, a project, a location, [...] that means you don’t have to change the program you’re working in.”
As part of Trimble’s vision, the development of a robust platform of software that can communicate across different interfaces, Cityworks customers can look toward a future in which all aspects of EAM will be free from the data silos that cost organizations time and money. Trimble’s Owner & Public Sector is another step in the vision of complete digital transformation.
Trimble is the global leader in positioning, modeling, connectivity, and data asset analytics, delivering a broad portfolio of connected solutions for asset lifecycle management, connecting the digital and physical worlds. Trimble O&PS empowers and connects asset owners and stakeholders at every stage of the design, build, maintenance, and operations lifecycle. Trimble’s purpose-built asset lifecycle management platform empowers GIS location intelligence across infrastructure for public works, utilities, construction, transportation, and community development—allowing asset owners to connect teams from the office to the field, improving productivity, safety, transparency, and sustainability.
A mobile device displaying a GIS map in Trimble Unity Mobile for Cityworks.
“[...] you have a platform-based approach that creates breakout level productivity because you democratize access to [a] file in one, central place.”
-Chris Bell, Vice President of Industry Strategy and Portfolio Marketing for Trimble O&PS
Pop. Served: 1.42 million Depts. Using Cityworks: Department of Transportation - Harbors Staff Using Cityworks: 87
The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) - Harbors Division successfully satisfied the requirements of a consent decree relating to storm water management using Cityworks’ Asset Management Software. The relief items required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) included preparing and participating in municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) audits and reme diating audit findings. By effectively mapping storm drain systems assets and users through Cityworks, HDOT Harbors has the necessary tools to help keep Hawaii’s commercial harbors clean.
BY TIFFANY MALLOY, CITYWORKS CONTRIBUTING WRITER & STEVE DALE, HMP PROJECT MANAGERIn 2014, the Hawaii Department of Transportation entered a Consent Decree with the Environ mental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of Hawaii Department of Health agreeing to create a storm water management plan. Part of the plan included the adoption
of an asset management system (AMS) to ensure HDOT had visibility of its municipal separate storm water sewer system (MS4) and its permittees effects on the system.
In 2015, with the help of Woolpert Engineering and the US Army Corps of Engineers, HDOT
User Since: 2015 Harbors implemented Cityworks AMS to help manage their storm water program and develop a concerted plan to improve their environmental responsibility.
Implementing an AMS was going to be a monumental task, as all infrastructure relating to storm
water had to be mapped into GIS. Utilizing Cityworks, which offers full asset lifecycle management through their AMS, was essential to creating a program that could navigate the Consent Decree and allow HDOT Harbors to successfully fulfill its requirements.
The Hawaii DOT Harbors division leaned heavily on the Army Corps of Engineers for the initial stage of the project. The Army Corps mapped all the stormwater assets that fell under the Consent Decree; including all their leases, permits, and active construction projects; to ensure the program would be successful as it moved forward. It took over a year to complete the mapping of HDOT Harbor’s stormwater infrastructure, which was then shared with the EPA via ArcGIS Online to demonstrate the fulfillment of that stage in the com pliance process.
Once all the storm drain, tenant, and construction BMP assets were fully mapped, HDOT Harbors hired Woolpert Engi neering to help them configure and implement Cityworks AMS. In Cityworks, they created a schedule for their assets’ inspection, clean ing, stenciling, maintenance, and repair. Work orders to generate these tasks were created within Cityworks, ensuring complete as set lifecycle management for each storm drain asset. This complete picture of HDOT Harbors’ assets helps to ensure continued com pliance with EPA regulations. It has an added benefit of creating preventative, rather than reactive, maintenance cycles that have
helped to expand the longevity of assets and prevent failures.
BMPs, best management prac tices established by the EPA under the Clean Water Act’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), included prop er maintenance of silt fencing, maintenance of vegetative buffers, stabilization of construction sites and entrances, management of dirt stockpiles, and storm drain inlet protection, including filters.
HDOT Harbors established annual stormwater awareness and pollution prevention training for all lease and permit stakehold ers to help drive the message of individual responsibility as part of their overall stormwater manage ment program.
The enhanced program management and efficiency has also improved relationships with
permit stakeholders and strength ened community relationships by increasing regular communication, training, and response to service requests. This holistic approach to program management proved essential for successful completion of the Consent Decree.
The Consent Decree was terminated in February 2022, with HDOT Harbors fully satisfying all
requirements set forth by the EPA. Since then, they have expanded their use of Cityworks AMS into other workflows and have im plemented Respond and Mobile Apps to further leverage Cityworks and ensure that they remain in compliance going forward. HDOT Harbors also expanded Cityworks’ service request functionality throughout their organization, cre ating a centralized communication of service needs.
Cityworks provided HDOT Har bors with the resources it needed to satisfy the Consent Decree; and continues to be an essential component for the department’s stormwater management program. Using Cityworks, the compiling of annual reports for their NPDES per mit with the Department of Health
is a straightforward process. With less time spent generating reports to show compliance, they can fo cus on maintaining their infrastruc ture and ensuring their harbor environments are safe, healthy, and sustainable.
When the Environmental Protec tion Agency uncovers a violation of its rules and regulations, it uses a consent decree to enforce them. The consent decree enables the EPA to levy fines against state, city, and municipal governments and against organizations in the private sector. In addition to en abling the agency to collect fines, it also allows them to establish parameters that the organization must complete in order to exit the consent decree. Common consent decree enforcement centers around legislation like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. Each EPA consent decree differs in scope but requires the organi zation it is levied against to take concrete steps to fix a violation or risk further fines and penalties.
Northville Township, MI, is always looking for ways to improve the service they provide to their community. The Township, with the help of Ritter GIS, worked together to expand their use of Cityworks and leverage new integrations.
BY RENE WISELY, COMMUNICATIONS & GRANTS MANAGER FOR NORTHVILLE TOWNSHIP, PHOTOS BY GABBY IRIARTE
When Brad Lear joined Northville Township, MI, in 2021, as water and sewer manager, he embraced the com munity’s vision of being “the lead ing, innovative community built
through a legacy of excellence.” While he appreciated Northville Township’s robust use of Cityworks for its public asset management program, he realized that daily op erations would greatly benefit from
an expansion of Cityworks solutions and the adoption of new integra tions. The Township consulted with Ritter GIS, a long-standing ally and Cityworks implementation partner, who spent a few weeks in-office
helping Lear and his team evaluate their current system and work flows. Ritter GIS provided ideas on how the department could better leverage Cityworks along with other integrations. By mid-2022, the collaborative group introduced four new tools to Northville Town ship, all of which have made an immense impact, particularly for the public works team.
The information technology (IT) team and Ritter GIS worked to gether to set up Cityworks Single Sign-on (SSO), enabling employees to easily access Cityworks using Township credentials. This new
setup removed the necessity to remembering multiple pass words when logging into different programs. Lear and his team can now easily log into Cityworks and ArcGIS simultaneously.
While no one on the water and sewer team had previous ly complained about having to continuously log onto multiple programs, once SSO was adopted they immediately noticed a differ ence in the ease of access that it provided, remarking how much time was saved and how much simpler it has become to navigate their workflows and access maps.
Through SSO, they now have access to Cityworks Web Map Man ager, which allows Northville Town ship to create custom maps on all water or sewer-related infrastruc ture. This customization pinpoints assets like fire hydrants and drains, in order to expedite service.
SSO has also brought efficien cies to Northville Township’s IT de partment. IT director Shaun Nicoloff says he can now assign level rights to employees once through Active Directory instead of repeating that process in multiple programs.
“It is more efficient in terms of user management and it cuts down on mistakes,” Nicoloff notes. “You used to have three opportu nities to miss a credential assign ment when logging into three different sites. Single Sign-On has solved that.”
Before a Dig-Smart integration, Township staff had to sift through stacks of printed emails from Call Before You Dig (MISS DIG in Michigan) to identify work orders that applied to them. This arduous
administrative task is now off their plate, saving them time and money.
Dig-Smart sifts through emails and DIG requests and gives Lear and his team more insight into the amount of personnel they need to schedule for work activities. It then automatically creates work orders, allowing field crews to streamline their workflows and quickly deter mine daily routes via the Cityworks Mobile App.
Dig-Smart takes it one step further and uses the utility’s custom GIS map to reveal the geolocation of each underground excavation request, giving exact details of the area.
“A work order used to say, ‘stake 500 feet east of this address’ and it would be hard to find,” says Lear. “Now it provides us with an exact location. This has mitigated the risk of hitting and damaging utilities, which means that less time is spent repairing utilities. It has been very beneficial.”
Another added benefit of the integration is the ability to track the progress of utility staking workflows.
Prior to this integration, the team would manually log into the MISS DIG website throughout the day and submit a job completion for each ticket. Now, that process is automatically triggered when a work order is completed in Cityworks. This provides quicker response times, better communi cation, seamless workflows, and enables historical tracking for reporting and analysis.
Northville Township further lev eraged Cityworks capabilities by implementing Cityworks mobile app
and providing smartphones and tablets in 2021 to its water and sew er team. The ability to view crucial data in the field has greatly assisted crews in their daily work activities, especially when emergency calls come in.
Crews now have access to exact asset locations and GIS data which accelerates emergency response and repair activities. In addition to that, they can enter notes and observations while on a job site directly in Cityworks, instead of handwriting them first on a printed work order and manually recording them later.
“They can even document work activities through photo graphs,” says Ken Oetzel, Ritter GIS’ operations manager.
“They take a picture and it automatically attaches to the work order, eliminating the need to manually download an image and reload it in a desktop setting while at the office.”
A key benefit of inputting information while in the field is that the quality of data is increased. It fosters greater accuracy in data analysis, enabling the management team to improve their processes, which is exactly what has led to the development of a comprehensive Sewer Jetting Dashboard.
This dynamic dashboard utilizes eURLs and Action Events to manage Northville Township’s 5-year sewer jetting program.
“It has organized our jet ting program in one centralized location,” says water and sewer foreman, Tim Swailes. “Having ac cess to live, up-to-date information helps tremendously with moni toring our weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. The state of Michigan requires us to clean 20% of our sanitary sewer system every year and this dashboard helps ensure we are in compliance.”
This holistic and data-driven approach to tracking progress on this program has ultimately allowed the water and sewer team to gauge their progress and helps keep them accountable.
In order to enhance community engagement and resident inter actions, the Township and Ritter GIS developed a web-based form to automate citizen requests. This form is embedded directly into Northville Township’s website and uses a direct link to Cityworks that generates service request tickets.
For example, say there is a downed tree branch at a local park.
Residents can report this by filling out the online form explaining the issue and its location. They even have an option to add a photo(s) of the fallen branch.
Once the request has been submitted, a work order is auto matically created and assigned to the appropriate department, depending on the nature of the request. In the case of a fallen tree branch, the request would be sent to the Northville Parks and Recre ation administrative staff, with an email notification automatically sent informing them of the de tails of the request. A department representative then responds to the resident who submitted the request, and the work order is then forwarded to remove the hazard.
Previously, the IT team had to review more than 450 citizen re quests and manually route them to the correct person. The creation of a web-oriented form has eliminated the need for that time-consuming task and has significantly mini mized response times. Overall, the IT team has saved an estimated 37 to 113 hours annually by automat ing this process which has helped foster greater efficiency when handling resident concerns.
“We specialize in creating something that solves a problem immediately,” says Doug Ritter, executive officer of Ritter GIS.
Currently, the Township and Ritter GIS are beginning to identify additional ways to further stream line workflows by implementing and expanding Cityworks in other departments. “All of these integra tions and improvements help us with our commitment to deliver exceptional public service in a professional and creative manner,” adds Nicoloff.
Stop making decisions with based on 20% knowledge. Cityworks work orders help calibrate our asset performance and risk modeling. So now, you can start making decisions on 100% of your system with digital twin models.
The Info360 Asset risk model can feed and prioritize the right work in Cityworks. Meaning, Cityworks makes sure you do the work right, Innovyze’s Info360 Asset makes sure you are doing the right work.
Real-time work in Cityworks connects with Innovyze’s Info360 Asset to update a holistic system risk model.
Before implementing Cityworks in 2016, the Central San operations crew worked from printed field maps. That changed with the Cityworks mobile app. Here’s what they did to ensure widespread adoption of the new technology.
BY IAN MORALES, GIS ANALYST, CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT
Central Contra Costa Sani tary District (Central San) in California strives to be a utility of the future by pioneer ing innovative technologies and cutting-edge practices. The GIS and asset management team is the tip of the spear in this effort.
Before we implement a new tool or system, we evaluate it to ensure it helps us address one or more of these goals:
• Breaking down traditional silos by increasing systemic commu nication and collaboration
• Improving established practic
es to become best practices
• Increasing access to data and improving transparency
• Increasing data-driven decision making
• Implementing proven technol ogy to improve effectiveness and/or efficiency
Making our GIS-centric systems accessible on mobile devices facili tated these objectives by reducing obstacles to good data collection and improving field access for our sewer collection crews.
We chose the Cityworks mobile app for its ability to store data locally on the device, allowing field crews to work even disconnected from the network. We’ve used every version of the app since version 4 and are testing mobile map packages in version 8.
The crews like the mobile app for its overall ease of use and simple, large-button interface. They also like that once the map is down loaded and their work is synced, they can work disconnected from the network without the lag often experienced over a VPN connection
The Cityworks mobile native app can be used on both Apple and An droid devices. Our IT team supports iOS mobile devices and chose the Apple iPad Air 2 for our field crews. We purchased 70 units in 2016 and experienced very few device failures in the subsequent years. The devices are configured with cell-enabled VPN network access and are centrally managed by the IT team via mobile device manage ment (MDM) software.
Because our service territo ry has hilly terrain with poor cell service, we installed cell signal boosters in the field trucks. We also made sure that each field crew has access to hardware accessories like car chargers. Every organization’s needs will differ, so choose your hardware accordingly.
Let’s discuss the nitty gritty of configuration. Getting tablets into the hands of our field staff with completely revamped processes required a combination of careful intent, motivation from the stake holder groups, new technology, and good timing. Proper config uration also played a big part in our success.
Because the app design is set, one of the biggest impacts an administrator can have on user experience is designing the map cache. Setting up the map used to generate the cache can take a little bit of time, but good cartography for a field application is incredibly important. If users struggle to interpret the map, then a huge obstacle exists in their experience. You certainly don’t want someone wincing each time they open the tool.
For any field crew, knowing where you are and what you are
working on is critical. Because much of our service area has poor cell coverage, we cannot rely on live map services in the mobile app. To accommodate this, the cached map covers more than 140 square miles of service territory and includes (but is not limited to) sewer features, roads, address es, and even aerial imagery in the largest scale to allow crews to see manholes in the street or on private property. Critical attributes like material, diameter, length, depth, and structure ID are carefully labeled to fully enable the disconnected environment.
When a user opens the app, it shows the service area from 30,000 feet with only our service boundary and some contextual features showing, like highways and freeways. As the user zooms in, more detail is revealed: contex tual layers turn on, then the sewer system, then parcels turn on, and then the custom-cut imagery.
After some testing trial and er ror, we discovered a winning cache
configuration for our organization. First, we always use ArcGIS Pro to generate our tile packages (TPKs). While ArcMap will do the job, it does it much more slowly.
Then, we narrowed down our level of detail to 11 minimum and 19 maximum in the ArcGIS Online tile scheme. Next, we clipped the imagery only to critical extents— for example, only 50 feet of sewer features and all private property that our sewers travel through. Adding raster data to any cache (and the necessary scale for the imagery to be useful) drastically increases its size.
Lastly, we discovered that a mixed tile format (both PNGs and JPEGs) gave us the best resolution verse file size. Our final TPK file size is roughly 1.8 gigabytes.
It’s important to be aware of final TPK file size. Not only are there upload limitations for Micro soft Internet Information Services (IIS)—up to 4 gigs, after some IIS
configuration changes—but larger caches take longer to download to a mobile device. Since there is no way to bypass the Cityworks down load procedures, the best way to speed up a mobile map cache download is to reduce its size. Luckily, we only update our map quarterly. This keeps most of the data adequately up to date without the hassle of frequently download ing a large file.
Keep in mind that every organi zation must address its own limita tions and requirements as needed. While our setup may spark some ideas, you may need to consider other factors for your configuration.
Central San still has room for im provement, but the benefits of our mobile implementation cannot be dismissed. Going mobile empow ered our field staff to be not only the front line of keeping our sewer system operating but also the front
line of gathering and improving as set and maintenance information. This paradigm shift has had posi tive ripple effects throughout the organization. For example, office staff who formerly spent most of their time manually entering map notes into the CMMS can now focus on optimizing cleaning schedules for over 1,500 miles of pipe.
Mobile technology helps us provide staff with better tools to improve our migration from paper to digital, enhance data quality and data collection, and bring us closer to being a utility of the future.
The St. Johns County Utilities Department uses Operational Insights to create an effective utility management program and maintain assets ranging from general utilities to manholes. With Operational Insights, they’re able to create maintenance schedules and plan ahead to avoid asset failures.
BY TIFFANY MALLOY, CITYWORKS CONTRIBUTING WRITERSt. Johns County is responsible for managing both some of the oldest buildings and infrastruc ture in the United States and some of its newest. The Utility Depart ment manages water and sewer systems along an extensive section of Florida coastline cut by the In tracoastal Waterway and bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. Its unique lo
cation and extreme infrastructure age differences mean that manag ing assets effectively is essential to maintaining the health, safety, and sustainability of the community.
When St. Johns County wanted to implement an effective utility management system, they turned to Cityworks and the power of its asset management system (City
works AMS).To accomplish this, they combined the enterprise-lev el GIS asset management of Esri ArcGIS with data-informed risk as sessments built using Operational Insights, Cityworks’ risk assessment and preventative maintenance solution for asset management. Operational Insights is unique in that it tailors itself to pre-existing
data. It establishes an acceptable risk profile based on customized risk parameters and uses them to establish maintenance and re placement protocols. By leveraging these tools, the county was able to create cost-effective measures to maintain and replace physical infrastructure assets.
St. Johns County implemented an EUM program in 2017 as part of a broader effort to establish key performance indicators (KPIs) that could be used to measurably de fine and monitor asset usage. To create their program, they devel oped a series of defined attributes, such as customer satisfaction, financial viability, and community sustainability that mirrored the responsibility of multiple depart ments within the utility.
To effectively establish risk pa rameters, the St. Johns County Util ity Department needed to update and refine their performance mea sures to ensure that the data they were utilizing was accurate. Those performance measures were used to identify goals, and then those goals were tracked, with assets cat aloged in an ArcGIS database.
By transitioning from a brickand-mortar model to digital plat forms, they created a new layer of responsiveness within their systems, allowing them access to real-time progress monitoring and simplified data outputs for dashboards.
Every achievement was tracked via Esri Operations Dashboards, creating an easy-to-use dashboard that streamlined reporting between utility administrators and key stake holders in the county government. This included the creation of new work order templates that could be tracked via completion and de
partment type in a SQL database extension that would calculate data and display it in terms of the utility’s achievement in meeting their goals. Every data set is up dated monthly.
A leading example of the St. Johns County Utilities Department’s use of EUM is the manhole rehabilita tion program. Most people think of a manhole as simply the cover— generally made of metal—that dots streets around the world. If a car’s suspension isn’t leaning to ward comfort, they can be uncom fortable to drive over. In extreme cases, they can knock wheels out of alignment.
However, underneath that cover is an actual manhole, a space designed to give field crews easy access to connection points critical to infrastructure sustain
ability. A manhole that isn’t main tained properly can clog, overflow, fail, and eventually collapse. These failures can have catastrophic con sequences for infrastructure and put the public at risk. Avoiding these failures is essential for maintaining services such as water and sewer, and for keeping the public’s trust.
Determining both the proba bility of failure (POF) and criticality of failure (COF) was essential to creating a manhole rehabilitation program that targets 100 manholes a year within the St. Johns Coun ty Utility Department. With over 10,000 manholes and the expecta tion that each should last 50 years, proper maintenance and rehabil itation is essential. By identifying which manholes are most likely to fail in a given year and then, of those, which would cause the most
problems if they did fail, the county could strategically plan their pro gram to maximize their budget and ensure their community’s health and safety.
By creating a system that utilizes key performance indicators (KPIs) to predict maintenance needs and failures, they optimized budget performance and saw a 72% im provement in preserving manhole covers in critical failure areas.
As they further streamline their management, they hope to bring the number of rehabilitat ed manholes up to 200 per year, thereby ensuring that no single manhole will go beyond its ex pected lifespan. The result will be a healthier community with more reliable water, sewer, and power infrastructure.
The multiple uses of Operational Insights that St. Johns County has implemented illustrates a few of the many ways this application can be used. Operational Insights empowers users to establish data-driven preventative mainte nance strategies and risk assess ments that leverage Cityworks data that is already being collected. This, in turn, helps municipalities like St. Johns County to align budgeting requirements with asset planning and establish best practices that maximize asset lifecycles—ensur ing that communities are resilient, efficient, and sustainable for years to come.
Tim Gallagher is general manager at Trimble Utilities. We had a chance to sit down and talk about a variety of topics relating to the utilities industry including asset lifecycle management, infrastructure funding, sustainability, new technology, and the future of public and privately owned utilities.
INTERVIEWED BY WESTLEY COTTAM, CITYWORKS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Q: How can utility organizations and local governments make the most of their federal infrastructure spending?
A: We are currently seeing a once in a lifetime opportunity to mod ernize our infrastructure and ensure that it is safe and sustain able. The first step to maximizing funding is demystifying the pro cess—making sure that you have an understanding of what your community needs and how you can acquire the funding to address those needs.
Water infrastructure funding is already being funneled into local governments and utility organiza tions through existing programs like the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), as well as new funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Many organizations now have the opportunity to create a “smart water network,” where they are able to implement technology such as IoT sensors and software to better monitor and manage their water assets.
On the other hand, federal funding for electric infrastructure is just barely starting to roll out.
Currently, there seems to be a different take (compared to water infrastructure) within the industry regarding how these funds should be allocated. There is a greater em phasis on fostering a fundamental change in the way grids are main tained and operated, with the goal of achieving digital modernization.
Q: What are some things utility organizations should be prioritizing or focusing on?
A: To put it simply, utility organi zations should be planning for the future. The expectations of con sumers and the overall landscape of the industry are changing, and utilities need to orient themselves to implementing modern technolo gies to continue meeting customer needs
One way in which utilities can keep pace with change is by start ing to connect data from various systems and software and taking a more holistic platform approach to managing their assets. This con nected platform approach allows them to consolidate and leverage copious amounts of data to gain real-time insights on their assets,
enabling them to make sure that their infrastructure is reliable and sustainable.
Q: What does the future of public utilities look like?
A: While we are seeing a continu ous evolution and modernization in the water infrastructure sector, there is an even more fundamental change happening in energy.
Electric utilities are currently transitioning from a centralized and linear approach to their gen eration, transmission, and distri bution of energy to a dynamic, decentralized, bidirectional, digi talized, decarbonized, and democ ratized model of power delivery.
Historically, the most common approach that electric utilities have taken is a linear model where energy is generated through fossil fuels. The burning of fossil fuels turns turbines to generate elec tricity that is then sent through a transmission network to a distri bution network to be consumed by communities, businesses, etc.
One of the biggest flaws in this old model is that it is inefficient— in part because electricity cannot
be stored. The future model is one that fosters a bi-directional flow of electricity that incorpo rates a variety of new energy sources and technologies like mi crogrids, renewables, solar, wind, fleet generation, electric vehicles, battery storage, etc.
For example, electric vehicles consume power, but they also act as a great method for stor ing power. Because of this, electric vehicles that are sitting can be connected to the grid and can provide energy and serve as a resource for other parts of the grid, fa cilitating electricity generation (or fleet generation) through a fleet of electric vehicles.
Q: How can utility organizations ensure that their infrastructure is sustainable and resilient?
A: “Hardening” the grid is a huge topic these days. The opportunity we have right now is to define what this means and how we can know when we have accomplished this objective. The only way to do that is by adopting technologies and supporting platforms that provide insightful data.
Leveraging accurate data helps you make informed deci sions and prioritize work activities, which ultimately leads to more resilient, safe, and sustainable infrastructure.
Q: What are some interesting technologies emerging in the utilities sector?
A: The use of advanced distribution management systems (ADMS)—a software platform that manages the distribution of electricity—is sparking the next evolution of optimizing electric net work performance.
The utilization of this technology is al lowing utilities to ob tain a more dynamic, real-time view of their assets, enabling them to make better decisions.
With ADMS, electric utilities can automate outage restoration, adjust load rates, execute peak demand management, support mi crogrids and electric vehicles, and much more.
While ADMS is not a complete “take your hands off the wheel” solution, it is close. That being said, there is still an ever-present need for the deep knowledge-set that operators possess.
Q: Why should utility organizations and infrastructure owners consider Trimble?
A: At Trimble, we offer advanced digital solutions and a deep GIS-centric approach to asset management. Our solutions can be expanded to work with the City works platform—allowing utility owners to optimize their asset life cycle management and enrich their communities.
Whether your organization is looking to manage water and wastewater, electric infrastructure, or execute utility vegetation man agement, Trimble and Cityworks have a solution to fit the needs of your community.
Q: What advice would you give to organizations that are struggling to keep up with their utility management?
A: Upgrading and transforming your infrastructure can be a little overwhelming. That is why I sug gest that utilities take baby steps. Start out by identifying three prior ities to focus on and complete, and go from there. A caveat I would add is that it is important to solve your infrastructure problems by using data-based analytics gleaned from your system.
Addditionally, it’s essential that utilities don’t go it alone. Engage with your industry peers, partici pate in forums, and talk face-toface. Improving our infrastructure is a team effort.
I would also recommend establishing a technology team in your organization and selecting a couple of new pieces of technol ogy to implement. Infrastructure management technology has come a long way in the past couple of years and can help you make bet ter data-based decisions.
“While we are seeing a continuous evolution and modernization in the water infrastructure sector, there is an even more fundamental change happening in energy.”
Want to learn more about Trimble Utility solutions and products?
Learn how electric utility organizations can manage the risk of trees growing near power lines using Trimble Vegetation Manager.
Industry happenings and highlights
Each conference, we recognize organizations that are going above and beyond to ensure that the commu nities they serve are being taken care of while using Cityworks, Esri, and Trimble in an exemplary manner. Here are this year’s winners!
• City of Akron, Ohio
• City of Carmel, Indiana
• City of Rexburg, Idaho
• Pinellas County, Florida
• Village of Schaumburg, Illinois
• City of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario
• City of Prince George, British Columbia
• City of Suffolk, Virginia
• City of Collinsville, Illinois
• City of Morro Bay, California
• Evansville Water and Sewer Utility, Indiana
• City of Flagstaff, Arizona
• Global Water Resources, Inc., Arizona
• City of Allen Park, Michigan
Cityworks, A Trimble Company, was honored to receive Esri’s Top Influencer Award at the 2022 Esri Partner Confer ence (EPC) held in Palm Springs, California March 5–7, 2022. This award was presented to Cityworks for positively influencing the adoption of Esri technology and GIS-centric technology at a strategic level.
This course gives an overview of LiDAR Analyzer. LiDAR Analyzer allows you to identify power network vegetation inventory and hazards from LiDAR data and build an attributed GIS data model of the network which can be used to manage vegetation inspection and cutting programs.
This course gives an overview of Program Optimizer. Program Optimizer is built on ArcGIS Insights and allows you to view the state of vegetation man agement across your organiza tion, generate work activities to be carried out in the field, and plan for future vegetation management activities.
This course gives an overview of Operational Manager. Op erational Manager is built on Cityworks Office and Respond and allows you to oversee vegetation man agement work flows across your organization.
American Geosciences Institute—about
