InPrint Fall 2011

Fall 2011

InPrint

CityworksÂŽ

ty

Empowering GIS™ for Asset Management, Permitting, Licensing, and more!

Cityworks Delivers Texas-Sized Results for Small Town Cityworks PLL at Eagan, Minnesota and Redlands, California Smartphone Applications Connect People on the Go Cityworks Users Take to the Field

b o

il i

In This Issue:

M

2

InPrint

Fa l l 2 011

Cityworks

Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks 11075 South State Street, Suite 24 Sandy, UT 84070 801-523-2751 www.cityworks.com

InPrint

E mpowering GIS TM for A s s e t Ma n a g e m e n t , Pe r m i tt in g , Li c e n s i n g , a n d m o re !

FEATURES

INTERNATIONAL

5

President’s Corner: Online Business Apps

23

Surrey, British Columbia

6

Highland Village Boasts Texas-Sized Benefits with Cityworks

24

Cityworks Aligns with InfoGraph in Jordan

7

Cityworks Server PLL Takes the Work out of Workflow at Eagan, Minnesota

8

Enterprise Services: Redlands Implements Server PLL

CITYWORKS SPOTLIGHT 25

Hendersonville, North Carolina

26

Columbia, South Carolina

PARTNER NEWS

FOCUS 9

Long Beach Helps Residents Connect Everywhere with Smartphone Solution

10

Redlands Engages Citizens on the Go with CitySourced

11

Call Center on Wheels Helps Manage Assets Faster and Cheaper

12

Communities and Local Governments Connect with SeeClickFix

14

Spot Reporters Transforms Customer Service in Grand Rapids, Michigan

17

Freeance Brings Cityworks to the Field on Smartphones and Tablets

18

Cityworks on Go! Sync Enables Field Staff at Dakota Electric Association

22

infraMap Empowers Field Staff at Cucamonga Valley Water District

28

Partner News

29

Fort Collins, Colorado, Manages Fleet with Cityworks and CompassCom AVL

CLIENT SERVICES 30

User Information: Maintaining Support Availability

32

Cityworks Campus: Pre-Conference Training Survey

33

MyCityworks.com

34

Tips & Tricks: Ten Signs You’re Not Running Cityworks Server 2010.x Anymore

CITYWORKS NEWS 36

Esri 2011 User Conference

38

Cityworks User Group Meetings

37

Esri 2011 SAG Awards

39

Upcoming Events and New Employees

37

Caching our World Fundraiser

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

3

Cityworks

Editor’s Page

InPrint

Cityworks Mobility

E m p o w e r i n g G I S T M fo r Asset Management, Pe r m i tt in g , Li c e n s in g , a n d more!

For a long time, I’ve heard people use the word “mobile” in connection with GIS and work management. While most were simply referring to some type of computer used outdoors, “mobile” really means a lot of different things to a lot of people. This is because field workers perform such a wide variety of tasks, even when narrowed to just GIS and work management.

Brian Haslam, President & CEO

Executive Board:

Cityworks has been field deployable since its beginnings 15 years ago. The City of Houston accessed service requests and work orders on laptops using the early cellular technology, CDMA. With the emergence of broadband and WiFi-enabled PDAs, such as Palm’s Treo and Compaq’s iPaq, software companies rushed applications to these platforms. Not unlike the others, Cityworks Wireless was created in anticipation of a handheld-enabled workforce. It took off like an iron balloon.

Technology progressed rapidly over the ensuing years and the workforce became increasingly savvier. The 9-to-5 workday gave way to a new kind of worker—one that is digitally connected virtually anytime, anywhere. Today, it’s commonplace to instantly access information in the most remote places.

Products like Cityworks Wireless weren’t necessarily bleeding or cutting-edge. They were just too early to be adopted by the broader workforce. Timing being everything, the iPhone and iPad exploded on the commercial market and, within a few short years, changed the world. According to a study by Cisco, 87% of companies provide workers with mobile phones and cover the costs, while 32% of employees globally rely on more than one device in a typical workday. At the same time, more than half of all employees have purchased their own smartphones and use them both at work and at home.

This issue of InPrint focuses on mobility. Companies like CitySourced and SeeClickFix literally emerged overnight, enabling direct communication between citizens and local governments. Agencies that have embraced their approach have realized staggering cost savings in processing citizen issues.

At the same time, field workers are far more enabled, armed with tablets connecting them to critical information while executing necessary repairs or collecting data with GPS-embedded devices. Products from iWater and TC Technologies empower Cityworks users to do a variety of other tasks beyond just asset management. The notion of mobile or field computing is fast becoming less about technology and more about the evolution of the workplace. As such, we continue on our path of building the best solutions to meet your needs.

Thanks for reading this issue of Cityworks InPrint!

George Mastakas, Executive Director, Enterprise Solutions Wayne Hill, Executive Director, Client & Information Services Carl Horton, Executive Director, Software Development Tom Palizzi, Executive Director, Sales & Marketing Steve Thomas, Executive Manager, Customer Support InPrint Staff: Editor-in-Chief: Tom Palizzi Managing Editor: Kaye Ryser Associate Editor: Lindsay Ferguson Graphic Design: Shannan Bagley Advertising: Cindy Curletti Staff Writer: Emily Palizzi Production Design: Reece Hanzon Editorial Inquiries: Kaye Ryser, kryser@cityworks.com S ub s c ript ion Inquirie s: To c hange your addre s s or c ancel your subs c ription, pleas e cont ac t: inprint@cit y work s.com

Tom Palizzi InPrint Editor-in-Chief P.S. Cityworks InPrint is also available on your smartphone or tablet!

C ont ac t Us: w w w.cit y work s.com/me dia/InPrint.aspx Tel: 801-523-2751 Email: info@cit y work s.com

Copyright © Azteca Systems, Inc. 2011 All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.

The information contained in this document is the exclusive property of Azteca Systems, Inc. The 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, Inc. All requests should be sent to Attention: Cityworks InPrint, Azteca Systems, Inc., 11075 South State Street, #24, Sandy, UT 84070. The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.

4

Azteca Systems, Cityworks, and Powered by Esri are registered trademarks; Cityworks Desktop, Cityworks Anywhere, Cityworks Server, GIS Empowered by Cityworks, and Empowering GIS are trademarks of Azteca Systems, Inc.; and www.mycityworks.com, www.gocityworks.com, www.cityworks.com, and @cityworks.com are service marks of Azteca Systems, Inc. The names of other companies and products mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.

IInnPPrriinntt

President’s Corner

Looking at Online Business Applications

By Brian L. Haslam, President & CEO, Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks

It has been said we have to do more with less.

Recently, I read an interview with Zach Nelson, CEO of Netsuite, wherein he told how one evening, while playing World of Warcraft with his son, he became convinced the internet infrastructure was ready to support online hosted business applications.

Initially, organizations resisted the idea of putting their most valuable data online. Netsuite survived by selling to smaller organizations willing to use a hosted application. Then the recession hit. With tighter budgets, organizations were eager to find ways to save money. For online hosted business applications like Netsuite, their moment had arrived.

The “Cloud” became the new hot IT thing. In just a few years, perceptions have changed and now even large organizations are embracing online applications like Netsuite.

The same economic forces that propelled the growth of Netsuite and other online business applications are affecting public organizations and local government. For years, online systems struggled to match the performance and user expectations of traditional client server systems. But things have changed. The recession and the need for cost reductions accelerated large investments in the development and infrastructure needed to support online systems.

Cityworks Server is designed to support access

from the web or online. The typical deployment of Cityworks Server is on-premise. Just like any online system, Cityworks is accessed via a URL. Some people have started to refer to online systems deployed on-premise as the “private cloud.” The server hosting Cityworks Server can be deployed just as easily off-premise or on the “public cloud.” One of the great benefits realized by the Cityworks Server online architecture is the ease with which Cityworks can be propagated throughout an organization.

It is not unusual for an organization to triple or quadruple the number of users after they transition from Desktop or Anywhere to Server because it is so easy to provide access. Indeed, “Cityworks Server explodes through an organization.”

At the Virginia User Group meeting, I listened to a presentation given by Pattie Clayton about the deployment of Cityworks Server in Danville, Virginia.

They expanded from 30 users to 130. This is not unusual. At the South Central User Group Meeting, Robert Wachel of Highland Village, Texas, told how they deployed Cityworks to 65 field staff. We all laughed as he told how a hiccup in their system resulted in their field crews claiming they couldn’t do their work without Cityworks. Justin Cure shared how Longview, Texas, deployed Cityworks Server to over 200 staff. These are great examples of doing more with less. Why? Cityworks helps your staff become

more efficient in managing their daily work.

Whether you deploy on-premise using a private cloud approach or off-premise using a public cloud approach, online systems are your future. Client server architecture has had its day, but that day is in the past. For online designed systems the future is now and the cost savings are real and are driving their rapid adoption.

Going forward, an even stronger driver for online designed systems is the efficiencies gained from mobile staff staying connected. The availability of persistent network connections continues to expand at a rapid pace. The consolidation of satellite entertainment and internet networks with local cell and Wi-Fi networks promises affordable access for even rural areas along with failover network access during natural disasters or other emergencies.

Online designed systems are changing the world of software as we have known it. The use of these systems is spawning new approaches for gaining efficiencies, and will inevitably lead to unforeseen productivity gains for businesses, public organizations, and local governments.

Being connected and online is one way we can do more with less. Or, another way to say it is, being connected and online will help us continue to provide high quality services during these times of limited resources — doing more with less. cw

Online designed systems like Cityworks Server improve communication with crews for assigning work, receiving updates, and avoiding redundant record keeping.

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

5

Features

Highland Village Boasts TexasSized Benefits with Cityworks

By Robert Wachal, GIS Administrator, City of Highland Village, Texas and Lindsay Ferguson, PR & Marketing, Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks

The seemingly small city of Highland Village, Texas, has experienced many Texas-sized benefits as a result of implementing Cityworks. From more accurate and complete data collection to improved efficiencies, the city easily demonstrated the progress they have made since making the switch to Cityworks.

Prior to their Cityworks implementation, Highland Village used a Microsoft Excel based work order management system that only captured minimal work history and completed projects. The system simply did not provide a way to account for important details pertaining to work completed.

Recognizing their need for an Asset Management System (AMS) that would provide a more detailed work history, Highland Village began their search. They soon discovered Cityworks and selected it as the system that would best fit their needs.

Highland Village’s selection of Cityworks was based on a number of points. The city was most impressed with Cityworks’ ability to provide a standard user interface, capturing the same information for each work order, and keeping the details consistent throughout the system.This allowed for uniform cost tracking and work order history based on each asset. The city was also drawn to the extended capabilities of Cityworks Storeroom. Its accountability features and easy-to-manage inventory system enabled staff to keep up-to-date inventory and cost-out jobs based on past materials used. Based on auditor’s recommendations for a storeroom/materials tracking type system, the city decided Cityworks Storeroom was the best fit.

The City of Highland Village first implemented Cityworks Anywhere and Storeroom in August of 2009. In June of 2010, Cityworks Server was brought online for citywide use. Currently, the Public Works Department (water/wastewater, storm drainage, and streets) and Parks & Recreation use Cityworks Server to manage work activities throughout the city, and Cityworks Storeroom to keep accurate inventory and reordering information. In addition, service requests are entered into Cityworks to track and notify departments of citizen requests or issues.

The use of Cityworks has resulted in many benefits for Highland Village. The program has provided city employees with a way to collect and produce accurate and complete work order documentation, including specific feedback on tasks completed. The system has also made information on follow-up work more easily and readily available to supervisors. With a greater overall picture of work needing to be completed, crews are able to utilize their time and resources more effectively by grouping similar work orders together and completing these work orders consecutively. This allows them to easily leverage equipment that is already out in the field. With the ability to distinguish work order types and descriptions, the city’s decision-makers are now enabled with more accurate records and documentation, allowing them to further refine and organize workflow and budget planning. In addition, supervisors now have immediate access to provide accurate information for insurance

6

information requests and provide residents with accurate information on any work orders performed.

Cityworks Storeroom provides complete and readily available accounting of materials kept on-hand, with current and accurate inventory numbers. Staff communicates with the city’s main suppliers to input the Material ID from Storeroom into the supplier’s information, allowing the city to identify materials falling below the minimum quantity and easily following up with suppliers to restock needed materials.

Highland Village has identified improved efficiencies. After a recent audit, the city found that in the year previous to their Cityworks implementation, there were over 500 work orders unaccounted for. With Cityworks, work orders no longer fall through the cracks.

Leveraging their agreement with the city’s telecommunications provider, Highland Village was able to deploy a low cost mobile solution enabling crews to receive work orders in the field and at home while on call and/or after hours. This solution has saved the city over $60,000 in equipment and software than originally designed, and has allowed immediate access to data for employees, saving time previously spent sifting through spreadsheets.

Highland Village is located midway between Denton and Dallas, approximately 15 miles north of DFW Airport. The city was incorporated in February 1963 after approximately 100 lakeside residents decided to make their homes permanent. Early residents were mainly from the Dallas area looking to get away for the weekend. They enjoyed it there so much they put down their roots in what became Highland Village.

With a population of roughly 15,000, Highland Village is a residential community rated the safest in North Texas. cw

The Highland Village Public Works and Parks and R e c r e a t i o n departments utilize Cityworks Server to manage an d s t r e a m l i n e their workflows.

InPrint

Features

Cityworks Server PLL Takes the Work Out of Workflow at Eagan, Minnesota

By Jim Hauth, Utility Technician, City of Eagan, Minnesota and Tami Maddio, GIS Coordinator, City of Eagan, Minnesota

Before the implementation of Cityworks PLL (Permits, Licensing, Land), the City of Eagan, Minnesota, had deadlines and mandates that were difficult to meet. The city had established strict criteria for when and how repairs were to be completed, and the program quickly grew to the point where it was difficult to maintain non-compliant permits. Timelines for completing repairs became relaxed, many taking months longer than planned.

The City of Eagan had seen a demonstration of Cityworks PLL in 2009 and was intrigued by the ability to process an entire workflow from beginning to end. The city wanted to take advantage of the auto-open capability within the tasks they’d seen in PLL and was also compelled by the ability to integrate permitting into their asset management solution, Cityworks Server AMS. Eagan had the advantage of having already purchased the Cityworks ELA (Enterprise Licensing Agreement), which includes PLL. After seeing all the benefits PLL could provide, the city decided to implement Server PLL as well.

The implementation process of PLL took place in the second half of 2010 with a go-live date set for February 2011. Eagan met its goal and began using PLL in February of 2011. When the city decided to use PLL, they had already begun the process of migrating to Cityworks’ Server AMS from their previous system, and continue bringing new users into AMS today.

PLL’s integration with AMS makes it easy and effective for Eagan to utilize both functions in a single, unified system.

Eagan is currently using PLL to track both Right-of-Way (R.O.W.) permitting and Inflow/ Infiltration (I&I) Permitting. The city is in the process of creating a public website for permit applicants to apply and review their permits

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

online. With the implementation of the public access portion of PLL, Eagan will soon be using Cityworks to handle all R.O.W. permits.

For the city’s I&I program, PLL is used to track the non-compliant properties process of resolving issues. This process begins from the first letter informing the resident of their noncompliant issue, to the issuance of the permit in the Building Inspections department, to final completion and a reimbursement of costs through the Finance department.

Server PLL has provided the City of Eagan with a defined process that keeps staff involved and informed of what stage each permit is at.

It allows all city staff to have access to the necessary documents to track resolutions and outcomes in one place. PLL can maintain a complex process-flow throughout the permitting process, a great benefit to the city. Eagan has set up the auto email function in PLL, making it very simple for as many users as desired to be involved in processes.

The city has seen great improvements in permit tracking for non-compliant I&I permits, including efficiency, data integrity, and overall quality of the process. Before the implementation of PLL, this process was administered by one employee and recordkeeping was limited to what that employee could remember. While this process worked well at first, the program has grown and the jobs and tasks have become dispersed. The permitting process implemented in Cityworks PLL has allowed Eagan to have many people work on various aspects of the permitting process while also maintaining a connection and a central hub for the information on each resident. The city has used PLL to track deadlines and enforce I&I program requirements. This has allowed city

staff to focus more on correcting I&I issues, and less on tracking down residents that have not completed the necessary repairs.

“The City of Eagan has benefited greatly from the implementation of PLL,” stated Jim Hauth, Utility Technician. “As a result of the process set up to handle our Inflow and Infiltration program, we have been able to enforce city ordinances more easily. The defined process has allowed more staff to become involved in the project, and has freed up time for other staff to focus on other areas. We are excited to implement the public access portion of PLL and to fully integrate the Right-of-Way Permitting into our Cityworks work management process.”

The benefits in response time, accuracy, and overall performance collaborate to define Eagan’s success with PLL. In addition, the advantage of having the city’s permitting system seamlessly connected with its Cityworks AMS system consolidates applications, providing a complete, unified system for management solutions.

The City of Eagan lies on the south bank of the Minnesota River upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River. Eagan and nearby suburbs form the southern portion of Minneapolis-St. Paul, the sixteenth largest metropolitan area in the U.S. The population of Eagan was about 65,000 at the 2010 census.

Originally a rural Irish farming community and the “Onion Capital of the United States”, Eagan became the eighth largest Minnesota city in the 2000 Census. The City of Eagan is a dynamic community and a place where careful land use planning is resulting in lovely residential areas, extensive outdoor recreation opportunities and a quality commercial and industrial base. cw

7

Enterprise Services

Redlands, California, Implements Cityworks Server PLL

By Tom Resh, GIS Administrator, City of Redlands, California and Raj Patil, Project Manager, Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks

In 1900, Redlands, California, was a popular winter retreat for wealthy industrialists, and a major orange producing area. Today, most of the orange groves have been replaced by development, while the city still maintains its small-town feel. Home to the University of Redlands, and Esri, the world’s leading GIS software company, the city has grown to nearly 70,000 people.

Like most cities, it became apparent that more efficient means would be needed to handle the permitting and development process.

Redlands selected Cityworks Server PLL to replace their existing building permit system and paper-based development process. Extending their existing Cityworks asset management system, PLL was chosen as the program that would be used to tie the permitting, planning, and development processes together across six city divisions: Planning, Engineering, Building & Safety, Utilities, Quality of Life, and Fire.

The first step in the implementation was to develop workflows for current processes. The Planning, Engineering, and Building & Safety departments were each tasked with creating flowcharts for their areas of responsibility. Eighty-four different permits were brought into Cityworks.

After the workflows were created, Cityworks’ Project Manager came to Redlands to train staff on the workflow modeling process.

Entering workflows and customizations was the responsibility of the GIS division of the Department of Innovation and Technology, supported by the Cityworks Project Manager remotely and on-site.

As workflows were entered into Cityworks, division staff reviewed the proposed process and suggested necessary changes.

After the workflows were completed, fee structures were added.

In all, 252 fees were added to Cityworks, imported directly into the SQL database.

The next step was to create a unique combination of fees, case data, and workflows. The process involved setting up base templates and then configuring subsequent templates. This saved staff considerable time and maintained a similar format across all templates. Many templates share workflows. For example, Agricultural Preserve Removal and Concept Plan Amendment both follow the same steps and are able to use the same workflow.

The system was then opened to end users for testing and further input. During this process, city staff began streamlining workflows.

Users also helped identify an array of reports such as key performance reports for managers.

As setup neared completion, the end user training plan was initiated, which included a short course specific to managers and more in-depth sessions for daily users. The training included a system overview followed by how-to guidance for general use, search and report, and inbox features. Focused training was provided for specific permit and license workflows. Departments migrating from the paperbased systems were most excited. Instead of searching through countless paper files, they could now find the information in moments with Cityworks. Those transitioning from the previous permitting application appreciated the Cityworks user interface, especially the seamless GIS integration and the unique ability to easily attach parcel information to the permit.

8

Following training, users went into parallel testing mode. Permits were entered in Cityworks and the old systems simultaneously to make sure fees were being calculated correctly and reports were coming out all right. After two weeks, they were ready to turn the switch on Cityworks PLL. In keeping with the initial plan, all six divisions are now using Cityworks PLL to track their business processes. Planning, Building & Safety, and Engineering are managing permits and licenses while Fire, Utilities, and Quality of Life use Cityworks to keep track of their plan to review permits issued by other departments. The city is already planning to further deploy. cw

The first step in the transition was to track existing workflows.

InPrint

Focus

Long Beach Helps Residents Connect Everywhere with Smartphone Solution

By Tina Parmelee, GIS Project Manager, City of Long Beach and Emily Palizzi, Staff Writer, Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks

As the seventh largest city in California, Long Beach City Hall receives nearly 50 citizen requests for services each day. Prior to the GoLongBeach smartphone application, citizen requests were submitted mainly by phone or email with a few over-the-counter. City staff would have to evaluate and enter these into Cityworks. It was evident that the time had come to find a solution to expedite the process and reduce the cost.

“It was important to offer a solution where we could control the system appearance and operation to ensure it would be as easy as possible for the citizens to use,” stated Jack Ciulla, Business Information Services Manager.

“The city also needed access to backend functionality where we could control which request types could be submitted, and have a way to manage and route the requests. And by branding it directly for the city, it would be easy to promote it to the citizens.”

The city partnered with Government Outreach to create the GoLongBeach web and smartphone applications. The original applications went live in October 2010, and soon after the city hired POWER Engineers (POWER) to make the connection with Cityworks.

Through the use of web services, POWER enabled communication and data transfer between GoLongBeach and Cityworks. Database stored procedures and triggers were used to create and manage service requests within Cityworks. POWER also satisfied requirements for authentications, error reporting, and synchronization functions.

Citizen requests for service are now received in Cityworks directly from GoLongBeach.

Requests are properly classified and submitted to the appropriate department and staff. When a request is completed and closed in Cityworks, the

GoLongBeach application is automatically updated and a notification is sent to the citizen who reported the issue.

GoLongBeach is available on most smartphones, such as the iPhone and Android devices, as well as on iPad and Android tablets, allowing residents to report issues anytime and from anywhere. Citizens are able to submit service requests for issues such as graffiti, potholes, and sign damage, as well as track the status of their request through their mobile device. The application’s simple interface allows citizens to select an issue, take a picture, and report the problem directly to the city. GoLongBeach also pinpoints the exact location.

While the city may receive service requests on any given day, GoLongBeach is used most often on Saturdays and Sundays when city hall is closed. By allowing citizens to report issues whenever they are observed, GoLongBeach bridges the gap during off-hours.

With the integration of GoLongBeach and Cityworks, the city’s staff time for data entry has been reduced considerably. Staff can now review the request in GoLongBeach and then, with the click of a button, send it directly into Cityworks, eliminating any data re-entry or duplication. And since GoLongBeach is automatically updated, the citizen is notified as soon as the request has been resolved.

“The city has definitely benefited from the integration of GoLongBeach and Cityworks,” continued Ciulla. “Problems that need to be addressed by the city are now reported sooner and sent to crews faster, ultimately allowing the city to provide better service to its citizens.”

Long Beach, California, is located in Southern California, 20 miles south of Los Angeles. Long Beach has been using Cityworks

for more than 10 years in their Public Works Street Operations and Traffic Operations Divisions to manage streets, signs, street trees, and sidewalks, as well as in their Parks, Recreation, and Marine Departments. Park grounds and marina maintenance includes playground equipment, drinking fountains, basketball courts, boat slips, and dock maintenance. For more information, view the Cityworks Video Spotlight at www.cityworks.com.

POWER Engineers, Inc. is a global consulting engineering firm specializing in the delivery of integrated solutions for energy, food and beverage, facilities, communications, environmental, and federal markets. POWER Engineers offers complete multidiscipline engineering and program management services.

Founded in 1976, it is an employee-owned company with more than 1,300 employees and over 30 offices throughout the United States and abroad. POWER’s GIS and Asset Management Solutions group provides experience with industryleading technologies and a wide range of solutions for electric, gas, and water utilities, and local governments. For more information, please visit www.powereng.com/gis. cw

Step 1: a citizen takes a picture of a pothole

Step 2: she uses the GoLongBeach app on her phone to report the pothole

Step 3: the work order is generated and the pothole is repaired

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

The GoLongBeach smartphone app is streamlining and expediting Long Beach’s reactionary workflow.

9

Focus

Redlands Engages Citizens on the go with CitySourced

By David Hexem, CIO for Redlands, California; Kurt Daradics, President, CitySourced; and Emily Palizzi, Staff Writer, Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks

In today’s trying times, municipalities are facing public pressures to optimize tax dollars and be transparent. So more than ever, finding solutions to do more with less is a top priority. CitySourced, a Cityworks Strategic Development Partner, helps mitigate some of these challenges through an innovative solution that connects citizens with city hall. CitySourced is an efficient, end-to-end integrated process for reporting public safety/quality of life issues and speedy resolution. CitySourced is a natural extension of Cityworks.

CitySourced delivers custom mobile reporting applications across all the major smartphone platforms (iPhone, Android, Blackberry, & Windows Phone 7). The apps leverage the camera and the GPS in the smartphone to capture a service request and send it directly into the Cityworks interface via a suite of RESTful APIs. This integration allows the reports that a resident creates to be automatically shuttled into the Cityworks interface as a service request. Following further investigation, a work order may be issued to remedy the situation. The system automatically pushes a status update back to the residents’ mobile phone with text message notifications. The result is a complete, full-circle communication loop between the municipality and its residents, as in the case at the City of Redlands, California.

Prior to February 2011, citizen issues were reported to the City of Redlands, California, in a variety of ways. Redlands’ Utilities, Quality of Life, and Police Departments would receive requests by telephone, voicemail, email, and letters. Their lack of a central collection point for receiving and logging reports led to inefficiencies that limited the city’s ability to deliver superior service, leaving residents frustrated and angry about issues that remained unaddressed.

With a constant eye out for solutions to optimize workflow, Redlands discovered CitySourced at the 2010 Esri User Conference. The city engaged CitySourced to implement their application for the city’s residents. Redlands had always envisioned creating a 3-1-1 solution, but never had the resources to do so. Yet with CitySourced, Redlands was able to take that first step towards putting a complete 3-1-1 call center into place.

The app was targeted to accomplish two objectives: (1) to standardize a data collection

10

process, and (2) to engage those groups of residents who communicate through smartphones.

“The integration was very straightforward and was much easier and faster than we’re used to, primarily due to the SaaS nature of the products,” explained Dan Hexem, CIO for the City of Redlands, California. “In phase one, our staff manually entered the CitySourced issues into Cityworks. After the two systems were integrated, we have been able to leverage CitySourced’s API, and the Cityworks Service Request API which has eliminated much of the manual processing currently being done. This integration frees up staff to perform other core functions of the city and reduces dual data entry. Looking to the future, now that we’re integrated with Cityworks, we are launching an internal “Channel Shift” strategy that will move the service requests from over the counter, phone, and email into the mobile channel.”

The City of Redlands has been live with CitySourced for six months, and has been able to reach those residents who have never interacted with their city government before. With over 50 report types to choose from, the most common reports the city receives from residents are for graffiti, streetlights, potholes, overgrown trees/ plants, and illegal dumping/trash. Redlands is also looking to leverage internal/code enforcement type cases, which has encouraged the Redlands Police Department to experiment with the app in order to monitor illegally parked cars.

“We’re now able to respond to issues immediately,” Hexem continues. “With phase one we’ve had about 400 service requests come through the system over the past 6 months.

People have had a good experience with the app because they see that someone actually monitors the system and follows through on the resolution.

Overall, our response times have been at the level of expectation of our residents.”

The cost for agencies to respond to residents is expensive. CitySourced is helping agencies execute a fundamental shift in how they engage citizens. In a study by Garner Research (2009), the following clearly illustrates the benefits of web-based, selfservice solutions for citizens:

Cost Per Transaction $9 $5 $3 $1

Over the counter; a traditional visit to city hall Live phone call with city agent Email transaction Web-based, self service interaction

This illustrates the cost of customer service representatives logging a request for service. With CitySourced being an automated, machine-tomachine transaction, the reduction and eventual elimination of an agencies manual processing of requests will yield substantial benefits in the future and yield a cost per transaction down to the pennies.

Los Angeles-based CitySourced is currently working with Cityworks clients around the country including Escondido, Calif.; Glendale Calif.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Longview, Tex.; Columbia County, Ga.; Harford County, Md.; and Redlands, Calif.

CitySourced builds and maintains all of the mobile applications, and delivers the middleware as a hosted “Software as a Service” (SaaS) or as an onpremise appliance. cw

InPrint

Focus

Call Center on Wheels Helps Manage Assets Faster and Cheaper

By Jerry Laliberte, Project Manager, Technologies Edge

The neighboring cities of Kannapolis and Concord, North Carolina, have been using Cityworks for more than 10 years combined and both utilize Technologies Edge (Tech Edge) for their IT services. Over the years, Tech Edge helped them extend Cityworks from the office to the field on ruggedized laptops. However, few employees had computer experience and were somewhat overwhelmed with the technology. In addition, the high costs of the ruggedized laptops limited the number of employees who could have access to Cityworks in the field.

A solution became evident after seeing a demonstration by Mobile311 at Cary, North Carolina. Mobile311 is a GIS-based, downloadable application (app) that allows service orders to be created on a mobile device such as a tablet or smartphone. Tech Edge felt that combining Cityworks and Mobile311 would be a perfect solution to enable field staff with easy-to-use, inexpensive tools.

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

The intent was to create a more efficient means for field staff to interact with service requests. The existing situation required field crews to load their trucks each day with a computer running Cityworks, a camera, cell phone, and any other devices they may need for the day. The integration would create a bidirectional data-flow between the field and the office using only a smartphone or tablet device.

Creating a service request in Mobile311 is easy. Easy-to-use buttons are displayed on the mobile device showing the various city departments. Just like in Cityworks, the employee can choose the department where the service request is to be created and the problem type, such as a missing manhole cover. Comments can be entered by typing or using voice recognition.

Since most all smartphones and tablets have a built-in camera, pictures can easily be attached to the request. Once complete, they simply click accept and the service request is sent to Cityworks.

When the service request is uploaded to Cityworks, the call is simultaneously geo-located. The specific location is mapped in ArcGIS with the address, asset ID, attachments, notes, status, and other pertinent details. Cityworks then alerts the

appropriate staff, letting them know that a service request has been generated, triggering any necessary actions to resolve the issue.

Conversely, if a request is created in Cityworks in the office, a field employee can bring it up on their device in a map or list view, complete with notes and related attachments.

Field staff can view requests by specific types, those assigned to them, or by area using GPS to determine their current location. The service request can be completed in the field with the option to add comments, audio recordings, video, and/or photographs.

The Mobile311/Cityworks integration has proven very successful at Concord and Kannapolis.

The use of common, touch-screen devices such as smartphones and tablets together with voice recognition, built-in cameras, and GPS created a more simplified environment. Field staff had little trouble assimilating the workflow on these inexpensive devices.

The service request process is now much faster and far less costly. The previous ruggedized laptops were costing upwards of $3,000, while most mobile devices cost less than $500. Lower hardware and training costs have helped put Cityworks into the hands of more employees. It took 15 minutes to train crews on how to use the system.

Agencies today strive to get more done with less money and more efficiently.

The Mobile311/Cityworks solution certainly meets that goal. Armed with inexpensive, useful devices, and easyto-use applications, meter readers and inspectors are able to travel about the cities of Concord and Kannapolis resolving infrastructure related issues. In essence, Tech Edge created an interactive call center on wheels!

For more information on Mobile311/Cityworks Above left: Entering a call with Mobile integration, contact Jerry 311; Left: Call entered into Cityworks and Laliberte at lalibertej@ asset located on GIS layer; Above right: Picture from Mobile 311 in Cityworks. tecedge.com. cw

11

Focus

Communities and Local Governments Connect with SeeClickFix

By Jim Baumann, Staff Writer, Esri and Lindsay Ferguson, PR & Marketing, Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks

Providing a social platform for exchanging information with local governments, SeeClickFix offers Cityworks technology through a mobile app for iPhone, Blackberry, and Android. The idea is to encourage active citizenship by enabling citizens to report municipality issues via smartphone. Success stories using the SeeClickFix/Cityworks integration are already surmounting, with the City of New Haven, Connecticut, being an exemplary user of this innovative solution.

Background New Haven, Connecticut, resident Ben Berkowitz had an epiphany after several unsuccessful telephone calls to city hall to report graffiti on a building adjacent to his property. “I realized that none of my calls to the city were being documented, so I was essentially starting the complaint process over each time I called. So I thought, wouldn’t it be great if there was a way for a resident to easily record and submit common community concerns, such as graffiti and potholes, to the city so that they could be quickly reviewed and resolved,” says Berkowitz, founder of SeeClickFix.

Berkowitz began the development of his community response system with a simple web interface that allowed residents to map the location of a problem. Within a few years, his company launched a smartphone application called SeeClickFix.

The App The SeeClickFix application can be downloaded for free (www.seeclickfix.com) and provides users with the capability to record the location of an issue, photograph it, comment on it, and submit the complaint to the city for resolution. Incidents can also be reported to SeeClickFix through local community websites that include an embedded widget providing a link to the SeeClickFix site. New Haven residents can use the link in the online versions of the New Haven Register and New Haven independent newspapers. Incidents can be monitored by community members on the SeeClickFix website to review the repair status and determine whether others have reported the same problem.

“Most users and communities already have citizens reporting issues,” states Ben Berkowitz.

“The SeeClickFix mobile app and web interface is an inexpensive way to take the burden off public phone lines and automate work service calls, putting customer service personnel back to work in other important areas.”

Integration The SeeClickFix/Cityworks integration allows citizens to enter Cityworks service requests via the app from their personal mobile devices directly to the city. In addition, citizens with an iPhone can take a photo of an issue, locate the issue in the GIS, attach the photo to the map location, and submit it as a Cityworks service request to the city. Citizens use the open 311 standard API application to submit work orders.

“Cityworks has been a great back-end work order management system for us and SeeClickFix has had tremendous resident buy-in as a front-end reporting system,” states Robert Smuts, Chief Administrator at the City of New Haven. “The integration has worked terrific for us. With it we can respond to a larger number

12

SeeClickFix has been adapted for a variety of smartphones, including the iPhone, Blackberry, and Android.

of resident concerns utilizing fewer man hours.

In government these days the ideal is to find ways to do more with less and that is what this integration has done for us.”

Brian Haslam, President of Cityworks, adds, “The level at which citizens can interact with local government is moving ahead at amazing speeds. The integration of Cityworks and SeeClickFix is very much a result of today’s technology. Similar to how Cityworks changed the way agencies manage assets, crowd sourcing is changing the way citizens connect with governing agencies. We are proud to be working with SeeClickFix in providing innovative solutions for government agencies and utilities.”

Direct GIS Input The data collected and sent to SeeClickFix by residents is transmitted to the City of New Haven after being sorted by keyword. Some identified issues are sent by email to the appropriate city agency or entities like the State of Connecticut, local universities, other big property owners, and utility companies.

The most common city concerns, such as potholes, sidewalk complaints, and parking

InPrint

Focus

meter issues, are inputted directly into New Haven’s authoritative geographic information system (GIS) database for further processing by Cityworks and ArcGIS applications.

When sent to the GIS database, a service request is created in Cityworks and the location of the incident is geocoded so it can be viewed in ArcGIS for further evaluation. If appropriate, a Cityworks work order is then generated from the service request. Geocoding is a critical step in the process because it allows the city to maintain its asset registry, so all public works activities can be associated with a feature (or asset) in the GIS database. The asset registry also preserves the history of infrastructure repairs and allows city managers to perform a variety of GIS analyses, such as evaluating areas with unusually high maintenance requirements to determine possible causes and take preventative measures if appropriate. This allows the city to maintain the public assets it is responsible for in a cost-effective manner.

New Haven implemented its enterprise GIS from Esri (www.esri.com) several years ago.

All the city’s infrastructure assets have been mapped using GIS, from city roads to the trees lining those roads as well as adjacent parking meters, subsurface pipes, and other conduits, and so on. This extensive asset mapping allows the city to maintain comprehensive geospatial data records in the GIS for maintenance review, project planning, emergency response, and the many other responsibilities of the city.

Filtering Incident Reports With the addition of Cityworks, New Haven was able to implement the staging area necessary to filter incidents reported by the community to SeeClickFix and populate its authoritative GIS database with citizen-collected data. The Cityworks application also prompts SeeClickFix to automatically send an email to the person registering the complaint to indicate it has been received, and a final email is sent when the issue has been resolved.

The Cityworks/GIS geoprocessing capability is presently available for the departments that regularly receive a large number of incident reports, including Public Works and Transportation, Traffic & Parking (TTP). Since 2008, TTP has received more than 20,000 complaints about potholes from concerned citizens.

“Potholes are a big problem in this part of the country,” says Smuts. “Providing the opportunity for citizens to easily report these problems and then have that collected data geocoded and integrated into our database for use by our maintenance crews helps us organize our work more efficiently.”

Looking Ahead Smuts indicates that New Haven plans to further expand the use of SeeClickFix in conjunction with Cityworks and ArcGIS geoprocessing into other departments to geocode the incident reports and better maintain the city’s public asset records. However, if the volume of reports for a particular department is consistently low and does not require geocoding,

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

they can be managed by department supervisors via a SeeClickFix dashboard display on their computer. In addition, incidents that are not infrastructure issues—such as crime reports, fire hydrant concerns, and questions for the public library—are forwarded directly to their respective departments for resolution utilizing Cityworks.

“I believe that our social media platform promotes a better, more responsive government,” concludes Smuts. “The process we have implemented allows our residents to report those problems and monitor the status of our response. This leads to greater satisfaction in the community with the local government and its officials.”

More about SeeClickFix SeeClickFix has been encouraging citizens to constructively communicate with governments since 2007 and is active in thousands of communities around the United States and abroad.

Through mobile web, web, iPhone, Android, and Blackberry apps, the platform is the most widely distributed citizen reporting tool in the country.

The platform is fun and easy to use for citizens while being inexpensive and easily adaptable for governments. The City of New Haven joins 40 other cities in the United States that have purchased the enhanced SeeClickFix features for their citizens and municipal workers. cw

Note to readers: A version of this article appeared in the July/August 2011 GEOconnexion International magazine.

13

Focus

Spot Reporters Transforms Customer Service in Grand Rapids, Michigan

by Arlen Plotkin, Director of Business Development, Connected Bits and Lindsay Ferguson, PR & Marketing, Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks

Autumn in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is when the battle against potholes and tall grass finally comes to an end. In the wake of the recession, foreclosed houses and empty rental properties left garbage, weeds, and various physical issues for the city to address this fall. However, this season, citizens were armed with GRCity 311, a mobile application enabling the submission of reports anytime, anywhere.

“We received a lot of tall grass complaints through the app,” says Bob Coe, IT Project Manager, Technology and Change Management Department, City of Grand Rapids. “Having photos attached to the reports has been tremendously helpful for the responding agencies.”

First implemented in 2010 as an iPhone and Android app, GRCity 311 gives citizens even more ways to report streets and sidewalks left unplowed this season. The latest release includes an upgraded web form, the ability to submit reports through Twitter with hashtags like #snowremoval, and developer APIs built to the Open311 standard.

Powered by Spot Reporters, a mobile reporting framework from Connected Bits, GRCity 311 is integrated directly with Cityworks, the core asset management system in Grand Rapids. Spot

Reporters centralizes the management of mobile and various engagement channels for citizens to cooperate with government. When the first snowstorm hits, Grand Rapids will be able to add snow removal to a list of available services, and the category will appear on mobile apps and the Web to start crowdsourcing reports.

While GRCity 311 is targeted for citizens, some of its power users are actually city employees. From a device hardware standpoint, Grand Rapids is a progressive organization with mostly iPhone devices internally, in addition to some Android. “We have Police Officers who submit reports regularly while on patrol,” states Coe. “They know first hand what can happen when certain issues go unattended. Increasing their accessibility to other agencies has been beneficial.”

The fast evolution of mobile and “web 2.0” technologies is a disruptive force, but with Spot Reporters, Grand Rapids can embrace new technologies without breaking existing processes.

The thought of implementing a mobile app like GRCity 311 often causes concern for municipalities; worried they might exceed the number of requests to which they have the capacity to respond. To this train

of thought, Coe remarks, “We’re not out promoting the app on national TV. Spot Reporters gives us the flexibility to promote usage around service issues we can handle. In fact, the apps have actually helped identify areas in need of operational improvement by bringing transparency to the system.”

Cityworks has been successfully adopted as a work order management system for most enterprise services in Grand Rapids since 2005. As the destination for nearly all requests for service, Cityworks is the foundation for self-service channels introduced by Spot Reporters.

“When a citizen submits a report, they are assigned a case number generated by Cityworks which can be used to track the resolution. When the status of a case changes in Cityworks, or when it gets resolved, notification is automatically sent to the citizen who reported it and those who choose to follow it,” says Coe. “This feedback loop has been critical in building loyalty and trust with citizens.”

With a buy vs. build approach to software, the Technology and Change Management Department has focused much of its attention on integration.

Cities such as Baltimore, Maryland, have deployed both Spot Reporters and Cityworks, but typically a

Through the app, Grand Rapids receives a lot of complaints of tall grass. Having photos attached to the reports has been tremendously helpful for the responding agencies.

14

InPrint

Focus

customer relationship management system (e.g.

Motorola CSR) acts as the gateway. Grand Rapids is the first city to connect Spot Reporters directly to an asset management system like Cityworks.

In the pilot phase of a 311 customer service program, Grand Rapids also implemented Microsoft Dynamics CRM, which was the original point of integration for GRCity 311. “The ease of which we can integrate Spot Reporters with other systems is a major advantage,” stated Coe. A connector component is now available for Cityworks customers from Connected Bits, which can be used to integrate Spot Reporters directly using the Cityworks APIs. Geospatial awareness is critical for successful citizen engagement, and Cityworks makes inherent use of mapping software through Esri’s ArcGIS. “In a typical scenario, a citizen captures a service request with GRCity 311 using the native GPS functionality on their mobile device,” says Joe Bennet, GIS Administrator, Grand Rapids.

“That report makes its way into Cityworks with coordinates which enable us to visualize the data in Cityworks and our ArcGIS environment.”

This visibility is important for city employees when responding to issues like potholes. “What’s powerful about GRCity 311 is that it enables us to bring citizens into the process,” continues Bennet. “Enterprise GIS has been around for decades, but with the emergence of new mobile and Web technologies, we’re seeing it collide with the Geoweb.”

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

The current ecosystem makes it particularly challenging for governments to deploy and maintain mobile apps. Fragmented operating systems make it impossible to standardize on one platform and a dynamic hardware marketplace makes it difficult to ensure operability on new devices. Coupled with other emerging communication technologies such as social media, it can be difficult and costly to keep pace with innovation, but Grand Rapids has found their solution.

Coe concludes, “Grand Rapids can’t afford to be in the software development business, so we look to established vendors like Cityworks and Connected Bits to build and maintain applications. Their experience with other customers is a big part of what makes our technology program successful.”

Connected Bits is the developer of Spot Reporters, a mobile reporting application that enables governments and other organizations to “deputize” their communities to report issues—from potholes to power outages—using mobile devices and the Web. Founded in 2003, Connected Bits has worked with major players in the mobile ecosystem including AT&T, Motorola, HTC, Microsoft, and France Telecom. Connected Bits partnered with the City of Boston to develop and launch one of the country’s first mobile 311 services in 2009. Spot Reporters has since been adopted by tens of thousands of mobile users in several major cities. Find Connected Bits on the web at www.connectedbits.com. cw

15

for

Brings Cityworks to Android, iPhone and BlackBerry smartphones and tablets

www.freeance.com/cityworks Contact us: information@freeance.com • 1-937-531-7217 Freeance is a trademark of TDC Group, Inc. Cityworks is a registered trademark of Azteca Systems, Inc. ArcGIS is a trademark of Esri, Inc. The names of other companies and products mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.

Focus

Freeance Brings Cityworks to the Field on Smartphones and Tablets

By Lindsay Ferguson, PR & Marketing, Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks

For several years, Cityworks users have imagined using Smartphones to access work orders and service requests. TDC Group, Inc. (TDC), developers of Freeance Mobile software, have introduced this capability as a natural extension to their existing products with a mobile solution for Cityworks to run on BlackBerry, iPhone, Android, and other smartphones and tablets. Freeance Mobile for Cityworks allows field workers to create and react to work orders, service orders, and inspections directly with Cityworks. Consistent with the GIS-centric design of Cityworks, the Freeance Mobile solution links records to Esri’s ArcGIS map features within Cityworks, enabling mobile workers fast, easy access to vital information in the field on a platform already in hand.

Customers such as the US National Weather Service, Chicago Police Department, City of Houston, Nova Scotia Power, and City of Fort Collins use Freeance Mobile software to enable GIS location applications for smartphones. Freeance Mobile is a no-programming, out-of-the-box, fully GIS-centric software.

At the 2011 Cityworks User Conference in May, TDC announced the Freeance Mobile for Cityworks app. Matthew Reddington, (CEO) from TDC, made the formal announcement at the conference plenary session and gave a presentation showing

The Freeance mobile app, produced by TDC, allows Cityworks users to create service requests and work orders from smartphones and tablets.

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

the Freeance for Cityworks app. Mr. Reddington offered that in late 2010, 100 million smartphones were shipped worldwide, and for the first time in history more smartphones shipped than PCs. According to research from IDC (International Data Corporation), an astounding 1 billion people worldwide are mobile workers. In North America, 72% of the workforce is mobile. The field worker and technology have reached a convergence, making mobile applications such as the Freeance Mobile for Cityworks significant and fundamental for the workforce.

TDC worked for more than a year to develop the Freeance Mobile for Cityworks app that mobilizes Cityworks in a practical way for asset management, permitting, and licensing. Cityworks makes life on the job easier and Freeance Mobile for Cityworks allows Public Works Directors to put Cityworks and GIS technology in the hands of those who need it. Freeance follows Cityworks GIS-centric design, integrating with ArcGIS Server so users can leverage and extend their investment in Cityworks and ArcGIS. The app is a connected solution that works seamlessly between the field and office throughout the day. As a result, users have instantaneous access to more accurate and current data creating an environment for better information to support critical decisions in the field.

Using the Freeance Mobile for Cityworks app, users can access extensive data in the traditional Cityworks software via smartphones and tablets. Users can view lists of live records pulled directly from Cityworks Server, search the records, and select, click, and open work orders and add comments. The app allows this same functionality when searching, opening, and closing service requests in the field. Being a GIS-centric application, GIS locations can be retrieved right off smartphones.

“Cityworks has a comprehensive approach for supporting the mobile needs of our customers, including web services that expose core functionality useful for supporting devices such as smartphones,” states Brian Haslam, President of Cityworks | Azteca Systems. “TDC Group is a recognized leader and innovator of smartphone applications. We are pleased to announce a strategic development partnership with TDC Group to provide Cityworks designed and optimized for smartphone use.”

“We are thrilled by our new partnership with

Brian Haslam, president and CEO of Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks, and Matthew Reddington, CEO of TDC Group, Inc., at the Cityworks 2011 User Conference.

Cityworks, said Matthew Reddington, CEO of TDC. “This partnership enables TDC and Azteca Systems to combine our strengths and deliver a new set of mobile tools that save considerable time in daily field operations and drive down labor costs for our customers. With their large mobile workforces, our customers can achieve new efficiencies using the Freeance for Cityworks solution. Work orders, service orders, and inspections can be created in the field on inexpensive smartphones and sent back to Cityworks Server in real time where they are connected with Esri’s GIS. The District of Columbia Department of Transportation recently established that they would be using Cityworks for mobile licensing to support deployment of Freeance Mobile for Cityworks software.

TDC Group, Inc. is a pioneer developer of cost-saving mobile location solutions that accelerate workflow and enhance productivity for the enterprise market. Freeance Mobile software brings enterprise GIS to smartphones and tablets by way of intuitive applications that feature interactive maps, SmartForms for business systems, tracking, and geo-tagged digital photos. Government, utilities, and corporations of all sizes use Freeance Mobile to complete work faster, save money, and increase service responsiveness. Freeance software solutions are used by organizations worldwide. cw

17

Focus

Cityworks on Go! Sync Enables Field Staff at Dakota Electric Association

By Len Jewell, Technical Systems Manager, Dakota Electric Association and Emily Palizzi, Staff Writer, Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks

The delivery of safe, reliable, and cost effective energy requires complete and accurate asset data, along with efficient business processes that leverage industry leading enterprise technology for both office and field users. Like many other utilities, Dakota Electric Association (DEA) realized that Cityworks and GO! Sync were the right tools to satisfy their asset and work management requirements. The unique thing about Dakota Electric’s implementation of these tools is how both Cityworks and GO! Sync could be integrated and customized to create a single powerful and streamlined solution. By tightly integrating these tools, Dakota Electric has been able to use the best aspects of each to track and manage asset data, customer issues, work orders, and associated documents through the entire business process flow, from the office to the field and back.

Prior to Cityworks and GO! Sync, Dakota Electric was working with three separate work management systems. Work orders were provided to

field employees on paper with no efficient way to share the information.

Consequently, when decision makers required supporting information, they needed to search through files of paper and stacks of maps to find it. The manual processes associated with this paper-based system were inefficient and susceptible to errors.

Cityworks was selected as the work management solution largely because it is the only GIS-centric asset and work management system.

Since all of Dakota Electric’s critical asset data is stored in ArcGIS, having a work management system that was directly tied to the GIS was a critical requirement. GO! Sync was selected for the field mapping system because Dakota Electric required a full-featured, flexible, user friendly, and affordable system to synchronize GIS data, along with related documents between the office and field laptops (preferably without the complexity and overhead of geodatabase synchronization).

Go!Sync users can access Cityworks data through MapBook. The powerful combination of Cityworks and Go!Sync create a streamlined solution that has allowed Dakota Electric to better track and manage asset data, customer issues, work orders, and related documents.

18

InPrint

Dakota Electric’s fusion of Go!Sync and Cityworks replaced three separate systems. The new solution is both easier to use and more efficient than the previous systems.

With its easy to create custom inspection forms, DEA found GO! Sync an ideal solution for field inspections and redlining. The GO! Sync architecture allows the GIS attribute data that is captured during an inspection to be moved into the geodatabase securely through Dakota Electric’s firewall without manual intervention. Further, GO! Sync allows developers to add custom .NET controls to the mapping interface to satisfy specific requirements for more streamlined workflow. For example, custom Cityworks control was added, which simplifies the work order interface for the mobile users. DEA also includes complete, up-to-date engineering standards and maps via GO! Sync making these, and other data, easily accessed on the field computers and eliminating the need to produce costly reference manuals and map books.

Dakota Electric’s choice to tightly integrate Cityworks and GO! Sync has delivered a GIS-centric field solution that best meets its work management, document management, and data synchronization needs while also handling other business workflows. The integration process simplified and streamlined the user experience by only showing the required attributes and controls on the user interface. Working together, GO! Sync and Cityworks are used to manage a wide variety of field activities including daily maintenance operations, capital improvements, and outage management. A work order is created in the office using Cityworks and distributed to the field, where workers can update the information using GO! Sync. All GO! Sync updates are then synchronized back to the office.

The integrated GO! Sync/Cityworks solution has resulted in measurable benefits to Dakota Electric and its members. With a nearly paperless work environment, information is now more readily available and shared across the organization. The status of job tickets is available to anyone across the organization at any time, and decision support data (business intelligence) is much easier to retrieve and use via a custom Executive Dashboard and Crystal Reports.

Combining the best aspects of GO! Sync and Cityworks, Dakota Electric replaced three separate systems with a single, more efficient application that is easier to use. This delivered a positive return-on-investment to Dakota Electric‘s stakeholders and has allowed Dakota Electric to remain a leader in the delivery of safe, reliable, and cost effective energy. cw

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

THE POWER OF CLARITY. Visualize your data in more ways with custom Crystal Reports from POWER Engineers— a Platinum Business Partner—and Cityworks® Server AMS using the latest dashboard capability.

Get strategic consulting, program management, implementation, and more, to take your projects from conception to completion.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: » Visit www.powereng.com/gis » Contact: Bart Koenig – bart.koenig@powereng.com Jana Constant – jana.constant@powereng.com

15

Focus

i n f raMAP Empow e r s F i e l d S ta f f a t C u camonga Vall e y W a te r D i s t ri c t

By Kevin Koshko, Software Architect, iWater and Emily Palizzi, Writer, Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks

The Cucamonga Valley Water District (CVWD) is

reviewing and selecting the best solution.

Kevin Koshko, software architect at iWater.

a public utility providing water and wastewater

Their refined specifications identified a system

“infraMAP combines the GIS, Cityworks, and

services to over 186,000 customers in the

that would not only appeal to managers, but

other applications to create an intuitive user

Inland Empire region of the Los Angeles

one that field employees would value and

experience.”

Metropolitan area. CVWD’s service area includes

be enthusiastic about using as well. CVWD

the City of Rancho Cucamonga, portions of

chose Cityworks as their CMMS, coupled with

orders and service requests into a single, easy-

the cities of Upland, Ontario, and Fontana, and

iWater’s infraMAP, for its unique abilities to host

to-use inbox. Work locations can be routed into

some unincorporated areas of San Bernardino

Cityworks in the field and its demonstrated

turn-by-turn driving directions to plan out stops

County. With an average daily demand of about

inspection capabilities.

for all, or a portion of, a field crew’s day from

50 million gallons, CVWD serves a 47-square-

The District utilizes ruggedized laptops in

The software organizes the users’ work

start to finish. Work orders and service requests

mile area, which includes approximately

the field, receiving real-time requests, work

can be created and updated real-time in the field,

48,000 water connections and 37,000 sewer

orders, and inspections. In a fully integrated

and inspectors can submit redline comments

connections.

deployment, infraMAP provides a clear picture

back to the main office. Customizable inspections

of their distribution system, illustrating what is

and pipeline tracing tools round out the rest of

happening, job status, and location.

infraMAP’s capabilities. Back in the office, simple

When looking for a system, CVWD wanted a solution that worked for their employees, especially those in the field. From the beginning, staff was heavily involved in the process of

“Field crews are able to better utilize Cityworks via infraMAP’s simple interface,” said

synchronization uploads all completed work and downloads any new assignments.

A typical field routine for valve maintenance at the District involves the field crew responding to the work order shown in infraMAP, traveling to the location, and performing the inspection procedure. Once they complete the job, the work order is updated in Cityworks and instantly available to the organization.

In addition to being a valuable field solution, the dramatic reduction in paper consumption the Cityworks/infraMAP solution has provided the District fits right in with their Frontier Project, a green solutions initiative.

“The direct use of programs like these helps us communicate to the public how we try to conserve our national resources – organizing our work in the most efficient manner, making our employees more productive – reducing our impact on the environment,” said Todd Corbin, Assistant General Manager, CVWD. cw

22

InPrint

International

City of Surrey, B.C., Maintains Infrastructure with Mobile GIS

By Karen Stewart, Industry Manager, Public Works, ESRI Canada

The city of Surrey spans 316 square kilometers, making it geographically one of the largest cities in Canada. Four times a year, the City conducts “sector checks” that require three field crews to inspect visible assets along Surrey’s extensive road network and record infrastructure-related issues. To better manage this time-intensive task, Surrey implemented Cityworks Desktop and Anywhere, which automated the generation of service requests and work orders while equipping field crews with the ability to electronically access asset-related data.

Sector checks are an integral component of Surrey’s infrastructure management program that enable the city to comply with both provincial and municipal regulations, while ensuring the optimum safety of its assets. In the past, field crews would record observations using a proprietary application, transfer the information onto a floppy disk and return to the office to upload data into a master sector checks database. During this upload, work sheets would be automatically created and distributed for other crews to address recorded deficiencies.

However, a lack of system integration was creating operational challenges. The city stored asset information in a central GIS database that could only be accessed in the office. Field crews did not have access to electronic mapping software and relied on printed map books that were updated annually.

Preventative Maintenance (PM) Program work and service requests were stored and maintained in Cityworks, requiring users to access multiple applications and datasets in order to fully visualize the current state of the city’s infrastructure. To streamline workflows, the city would need to replace the aging,

Screenshot 1: By clicking on an asset, staff can access and edit detailed information such as its age, make, material, and work history.

proprietary application with an automated Work and Asset Management System.

Surrey had previously integrated Cityworks Desktop into its existing IT environment and interfaced the application with the city’s finance, human resource, and warehousing systems to better manage asset lifecycles. Cityworks Desktop leverages data from within the central GIS database and makes it available to the entire department within the application.

Asset data is plotted on a map view, rather than maintained in individual proprietary databases, so city staff can easily visualize and analyze asset characteristics and service request and work order history. By clicking on an asset, staff can access and edit detailed information such as its age, make, material, and work history.

To expand asset management capabilities across the enterprise, field crews were equipped with Cityworks Anywhere, a mobile solution that interacts with the city’s asset information and provides remote access to GIS data. Using lightweight Toughbook computers, city staff can locate and view the assets on GIS-generated maps. Work requests are then transferred back to the central Cityworks Screenshot 2: The ability to access aerial imagery enables field crews to easily database, where they are

verified and leveraged to generate work orders, all through a single, integrated system.

Through a single platform approach, the City of Surrey has extended access to critical asset information across the enterprise, ensuring that information is always up-to-date. The integration of service requests and work orders has eliminated multiple data entry points, which has significantly improved accuracy and enabled field staff to work more productively. These documents can now be easily accessed through a map view to check the status of work occurring throughout the city.

“The integration of workflows has made our jobs significantly easier to perform while improving data accuracy and accessibility across our growing city,” said Gord Simmonds, Project Supervisor & Computer Applications, City of Surrey. “Connecting field staff with current asset information means that our sector checks are performed both consistently and compliantly.”

The Cityworks Anywhere mobile solution ensures that consistent information is recorded during sector checks and that data capture is always complete. Picklists within templates reduce typing requirements so that field crew can easily record information on the spot.

Real-time, GIS-based maps have replaced costly, printed map books which quickly become outdated due to Surrey’s rapid growth. The ability to access aerial imagery on the lightweight Toughbooks also enables field crews to easily locate the infrastructure they are inspecting. This is especially useful for inspections that occur throughout the city’s rural areas. cw

locate the infrastructure they are inspecting.

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

23

International

Cityworks Aligns with InfoGraph in Middle East

By Lindsay Ferguson, PR & Marketing, Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks

Cityworks recently formed an alliance with Information & Graphics Systems Consultants L.L.C. (InfoGraph) to be the exclusive distributor of Cityworks software products within the Kingdom of Jordan and the Cityworks ValueAdded distributor for Arabic versions. As a result of this alliance, Cityworks anticipates growth within the Middle East in the near future.

InfoGraph is the exclusive distributor for Esri products in Jordan. As the primary Middle-Eastern Cityworks software distributor, InfoGraph will provide both English and Arabic versions of Cityworks to national, provincial, and municipal government entities, including utilities and other entities of the public sector market or companies within Jordan. In addition, InfoGraph will be the Value-Added Cityworks distributor to provide Arabic versions of Cityworks, which will customize, localize, maintain, and support the software in Arabic.

“We are very pleased with our relationship with Cityworks,” states Mazen Jouaneh, Managing Director at InfoGraph. “Our long-time experience in Arabizing GIS products will help make the Arabic version of Cityworks an attractive and easy-to-use product for users in our region.”

Established in 1991, InfoGraph is fully specialized in GIS software products, services, and applications. Their GIS knowledge is centered around the ArcGIS suite of products developed by Esri, who is considered among the leading companies in the development of Arabic Language computer software tools, geographical user interfaces, and Arabic-based GIS application solutions.

“As the exclusive distributor for Esri in Jordan, InfoGraph specializes in GIS software products and has been very successful in the

Cityworks has already been translated into Arabic. InfoGraph will provide both English and Arabic versions of Cityworks software to clients in the Middle East.

24

Brian Haslam, President of Azteca Systems, Inc. — C i t y w o r k s ( l e ft ) shakes hands with Mazen Jouaneh, Managing Di r e c t o r a t InfoGraph.

development of Arabic-based GIS application solutions,” stated Brian Haslam, President of Cityworks. “With Cityworks as the leading Esriintegrated, GIS-centric asset maintenance management program, it made sense for our companies to develop a partnership and plan for expansion within the Middle East. We’re excited about our collaboration with this esteemed organization and look forward to the success of Cityworks in Jordan and the Middle East.”

In November, Phil Mogavero, Cityworks International Business Development Manager, will be attending the 2011 Esri Middle East and Africa User Conference (MEAUC) held in Beirut, Lebanon. Prior to his new role, Mogavero was the Cityworks Account Manager over the Northeastern U.S. region for more than five years. Mogavero will be presenting on GIS-Centric Asset Management at MEAUC and will be working closely with InfoGraph during his visit to Beirut. He will be present in their booth to demonstrate Cityworks to potential Middle-Eastern users, and network with clients and other partners.

“I am excited about what the future holds for Cityworks in the international market,” states Mr. Mogavero. “Teaming with InfoGraph in the Middle East and supporting our partners at conferences like MEAUC affords us the opportunity to provide and support Cityworks around the world.”

InfoGraph is targeting water utility companies in Jordan, including the Yarmouk Water Company in the city of Irbid, which is responsible for water distribution in the northern governorates of Jordan, and the Jordan Water Company, responsible for water distribution in Amman Governorate. Additional prospective Cityworks clients include other water companies and public works departments in neighboring countries.

“Cityworks fills an important gap by allowing us to offer unique and powerful GIS-centric solutions to our users who care for critical infrastructure,” continues Mr. Jouaneh. “Most of our clients are already managing their assets in ArcGIS. Cityworks leverages their GIS with solutions designed specifically for this job.” cw

InPrint

User Spotlight

Hendersonville, North Carolina Q&A with Rachel Magyary, GIS Analyst, City of Hendersonville

CITYWORKS: What types of challenges was Hendersonville facing prior to using Cityworks?

HENDERSONVILLE: Prior to using Cityworks, the City of Hendersonville’s Water and Sewer Department (WSD) was using a paper work order system. Minimal or partial information was entered onto the work order forms and there was no way to manage this data spatially. This same information was also being entered into various paperlogs, generating yet another layer of paperwork and a lot of redundant work for our staff.

Any digital data being entered was done by one person and on a single computer, isolating the information and restricting access.

To retrieve work history information, employees had to rely on someone who was on the job site the day the work was done, or would have to search through the reams of paper work orders stored in 3-ring binders. This system created several challenges that I’m sure many Cityworks clients can relate to, including: loss of information with employee turn-over; restricted access to work order history; no real-time maps in field; disconnect between field info and GIS data; inefficient communication both among and between departments; and inefficient reporting.

CITYWORKS: Why did Hendersonville choose Cityworks, and when was it implemented?

HENDERSONVILLE: In need of a CMMS and after much research and evaluation, the WSD had the resources available to acquire Cityworks in 2009. The solution was purchased jointly between the WSD and the Public Works Department (PWD). Initial plans called for implementing the WSD and gradually expand to the PWD. We spent two months testing with the WSD before officially going live with Cityworks. Part of the testing included distributing netbooks with broadband air-cards to each crew, providing access to real-time data while in the field. We instructed our crews to use them as if this were the “real thing.” The crews took the plunge and truly committed to the new system. When we officially went live on July 1, 2010, the transition was easy.

Since then, we have begun to expand Cityworks into our PWD, one division at a time. The Traffic Division has been live since April 2011, and we are in the process of implementing within our Fleet Maintenance Division.

CITYWORKS: How is Cityworks used throughout the city?

HENDERSONVILLE: Currently, Cityworks manages the daily operations of the WSD. We track everything from pump station inspections to smoke testing our sewer system. Our field crews have access to real-time data via a remote desktop connection to Cityworks Anywhere. We also use Cityworks Storeroom to manage our warehouse inventory.

Within the PWD, the Traffic Division is using Cityworks to manage street signs with a focus on the sign retroreflectivity requirements mandated by the MUTCD. As we move forward with the Fleet Maintenance Division, we will be utilizing Storeroom to manage their warehouse inventory.

Cityworks will also help streamline the expense reports that are generated monthly to reconcile with various departments throughout the city.

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

CITYWORKS: Was the transition to Cityworks difficult for ity personnel to accept and/or grasp?

HENDERSONVILLE: When Cityworks was on the horizon, there were a few folks who were a bit intimidated by the change ahead. With minimal computer experience, a work management system seemed daunting.

I can honestly say that after a year of using Cityworks, and with a willingness to learn and adequate training, no one has fallen through the cracks. It is amazing to see how far all of our staff has come, regardless of their computer expertise. But without our teamwork and ownership of the process, this transition would not have been as successful. As we continue to tweak workflows and operating procedures, staff continues to adapt and evolve with the changes. The flexibility of our staff and the capability of Cityworks have really provided our management team with an invaluable source of information and has evolved to serve as a performance measuring tool.

CITYWORKS: What type of benefits has Hendersonville realized because of Cityworks?

HENDERSONVILLE: From the get-go, our field operations crews benefited from having access to maps and information while in the field. Now that we have over a year’s worth of data, they are beginning to realize the value in having instantaneous access to work order histories. This, in turn, improves employee accountability and the quality of the information provided in the work orders. Communication and customer service have improved tremendously, and the list goes on.

CITYWORKS: Have Cityworks’ unique GIS capabilities benefited the organization?

HENDERSONVILLE: I firmly believe that the spatial aspect of Cityworks is one of the key factors in why its implementation has been successful for us. With access to interactive maps, employees view Cityworks as more of a tool than an added burden to their daily job duties. This helped with the initial buy-in from our field operations crews and is quickly turning into added value to their jobs.

With the GIS data now a bigger part of the daily operations, feedback from the field operations crews has helped correct errors in the GIS data.

Cityworks makes it easy to make the appropriate updates to the GIS data, thereby enhancing the accuracy of the GIS asset data.

CITYWORKS: What is Hendersonville’s future plans for Cityworks?

HENDERSONVILLE: Although Cityworks has already had a major impact on the daily operations of the WSD and the PWD, these are only two departments within the city. The potential for expansion throughout the city is undeniable. Future plans include expanding throughout the rest of PWD, including streets, parks, sanitation, and building maintenance. The WSD will expand to both treatment plants and customer service, continuing to streamline our daily operations. We also continually tweak our existing workflows to incorporate more features that Cityworks has to offer such as inspections, custom fields, tasks, etc. We are also looking at upgrading to Cityworks Server AMS in the next couple of years. cw

25

User Spotlight

Columbia, South Carolina Q&A with Carmen Flemming, Integrated Systems, City of Columbia CITYWORKS: What were some of challenges Columbia was facing prior to Cityworks?

COLUMBIA: Prior to implementing Cityworks, the City of Columbia had grown frustrated with the reporting and functional limitations of our existing Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS), which challenged efforts for comprehensive tracking and analysis of performance, costs, and trends. Our team was also busy collecting and updating asset data for the city’s emerging GIS and soon faced the challenge of managing two asset repositories – one stored in SDE and a duplicate copy in the legacy work order system. At the same time, our utilities and public works storeroom managers were looking for a better inventory management tool which could be integrated with work order management, plus support daily accountability of materials, and facilitate accurate reporting for successful tracking and auditing. Columbia needed a system which could handle almost everything!

CITYWORKS: What factors compelled Columbia to select Cityworks?

COLUMBIA: Recognizing the city had outgrown our legacy work order system, an RFP team was tasked with exploring solutions. Following an in-depth selection process, Cityworks was identified as the best software to support Columbia’s geocentric work order and inventory tracking objectives. The team was impressed with Cityworks’ direct integration with Esri’s ArcGIS, eliminating the need to manage dual asset databases and any resulting synchronization. We also saw value in the ability to configure scripted questions and instructions in service requests to facilitate business process flow and training efforts. Cityworks’ ability to attach work orders directly to spatial assets and graphically track maintenance efforts through maps and event layers was key, as well.

Prior to our selection and implementation, we reached out to a few nearby Cityworks “sister” clients as part of our fact finding and information gathering efforts. The City of Greenville (SC), Macon Water Authority (GA), and North Myrtle Beach (SC) were all very helpful and graciously shared their experience using the application.

Networking and sharing lessons learned with other clients before and after implementation has helped Columbia be more successful with Cityworks.

26

CITYWORKS: What steps did Columbia take in implementing Cityworks, and when did the city begin using it?

COLUMBIA: Coordinated by Columbia’s Department of Information Technology, the city outlined an aggressive, in-house project plan, which focused on 1) migrating four divisions from the legacy CMMS to Cityworks; 2) developing a web-based solution for querying CMMS data and retiring the legacy application; 3) upgrading from Cityworks Anywhere to Server AMS to eliminate the need for managing desktop client installations; and 4) deploying Cityworks for additional divisions throughout the city’s enterprise.

With these goals in mind, our initial deployment of Cityworks began with Columbia’s Street Division in late March 2010. As principal users of the city’s legacy CMMS, street personnel were ideally suited to assist development of core configuration and testing for Cityworks. During implementation, the city’s core team focused on tuning GIS datasets, configuring SQL databases, defining domain security, and customizing Cityworks to track the street division’s work efforts. Cityworks templates, custom fields, and feature classes were designed and tested for sidewalk construction, storm drain maintenance, pothole repairs, and other processes. Within 90 days a Cityworks pilot was launched for Street division, with final go-live in June 2010.

CITYWORKS: What was Columbia’s experience in self-implementing Cityworks?

COLUMBIA: Like many governmental agencies, Columbia is faced with providing quality services at minimal cost. With very limited funding, the City of Columbia launched a creative, self-led implementation, supplemented by Azteca’s Remote Implementation Services and other ad-hoc consulting. Not only did this winning strategy save tens of thousands of dollars in implementation costs, the process also empowered Columbia’s technical staff with hands-on configuration experience and back-end Cityworks knowledge. Our in-house team now handles all phases of the Cityworks implementation: business process assessment, database installation, SDE structuring, GIS assets collection, template design, and Storeroom configuration.

And, over the past year, the team successfully upgraded to Cityworks Server in 6 divisions, and expects to have 3 more divisions onboard by end of 2011.

CITYWORKS: How is Cityworks utilized at the organization?

COLUMBIA: Cityworks is a vital tool for tracking assets and work efforts throughout Columbia’s enterprise, from Water Division’s mainlines and meter servicing, to Forestry’s maintenance of trees and horticulture sites, to traffic engineering studies, radio, and street light repairs. With Cityworks Server AMS now in place, Columbia’s technical team supports Water, Wastewater, Forestry & Beautification, Traffic Engineering, Streets, and Support Services Divisions. This past January, we retired our legacy system, with access to historical data now available through Cityworks reporting tools. With Cityworks, Columbia also manage millions of dollars of assets, from installation to replacement, and as we continue to gain experience, Cityworks has become a mechanism to streamline and enhance future business processes and reporting.

CITYWORKS: What type of benefits has Columbia experienced due to Cityworks?

InPrint

COLUMBIA: The City of Columbia noted several immediate benefits.

With the application’s robust querying functionality and ability to export to Excel, we have much better control of our data and much better reporting and analysis of work efforts. GIS mapping and event layer capabilities are a big hit among our users. Seeing a red car symbol on a map and immediately recognizing it as an open Traffic work order is quite valuable during discussions and presentations. Event layers also enhance communication and scheduling of work around the city. For example, why fill a pothole at a particular intersection on Monday when we can see Water has scheduled a dig at that same location on Tuesday?

Another benefit is the ability to easily view and identify the location of assets—trees, manholes, and water mains— on customized maps. The map view is also handy for quickly redirecting citizens to county or state agencies for servicing those assets outside the city. If pictures speak a thousand words, then graphically displaying assets and work management efforts on a map is beginning to speak millions!

CITYWORKS: What has the city’s experience been with the Cityworks ELA (Enterprise Licensing Agreement)?

COLUMBIA: Columbia’s purchase of Cityworks’ ELA has been very beneficial. The ELA allows unlimited user access to Cityworks Server and Storeroom. With this investment, Columbia is well positioned to maximize return on investment (ROI) each time new users and departments are added to the system. With several city divisions already live and others eager to get on board, Cityworks’ “smartlicensing” has made this a cost-effective acquisition for Columbia.

CITYWORKS: How has Cityworks’ unique GIS capabilities benefited the organization?

COLUMBIA: By upgrading to Cityworks Server AMS shortly after our initial pilot, Columbia was able to place basic GIS mapping tools in the hands of personnel at all levels. Clerical staff, foremen, and upper managers are all logging on to Cityworks to graphically view

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

assets and maintenance activities as well as to record citizen service requests, manage work orders, and generate reporting to better understand work efforts throughout the city.

CITYWORKS: What is upper management’s view of Cityworks and its role at the city?

COLUMBIA: A significant aspect of Columbia’s success with Cityworks has been support from top management. Buy-in from top leaders enhanced the team’s ability to expedite implementation timelines, strengthen departmental communication, and motivate user acceptance. Public Works Director Robert Anderson and Assistant City Manager Missy Smith Gentry championed our GIS-centric CMMS objectives from selection to implementation.

“Cityworks offers management a visual tool to fully understand and view workloads and costs in real time, while looking for opportunities to enhance training, improve operations, and utilize available resources effectively,” said Gentry. “I am excited and encouraged by the potential that exists through the tools offered in Cityworks and know that the city will be positively impacted by its use.”

CITYWORKS: Explain Columbia’s Cityworks C.A.S.T. user group.

COLUMBIA: To keep communication open after our go live and to also keep users focused on Cityworks as an enterprise solution, the Core Team initiated an internal Cityworks users group which meets on a regular basis. This forum allows Columbia staff to communicate Cityworks goals and concerns, and share lessons learned and tips and tricks. When first gathering, the group voted to be called “The Cityworks C.A.S.T.” (Columbia Adopts Spatial Technology). As new Cityworks users come on board they are introduced at team meetings and earn “Welcome to the C.A.S.T.” certificates after completing Cityworks training.

CITYWORKS: What are Columbia’s future plans for Cityworks?

COLUMBIA: With six divisional implementations under our belt, the Core team is inspired and ready to upgrade to Cityworks Server 2011. This upgrade will allow the city to maximize utilization of our existing ArcGIS Server 10 investment and improve GIS map displays.

Future expansion includes implementations for Solid Waste, Water Quality, and Waste Water Treatment Plant, plus inventory tracking for Public Safety (Fire and Police). We’re also looking at providing remote field access on laptops and smartphone apps, as well as deploying a GIS-centric Citizens Service Request portal for use by the city’s 311-Non-emergency service. cw

27

Partner News As we grow, we continually evolve our business partner program to ensure we provide the best possible services to our mutual clients.

Recently, Kaye Ryser assumed administrative responsibilities for the program, including general partner questions, implementation submittals, renewals, and applications. Kaye can be reached at the main office in Utah at 801-523-2751 or via e-mail at kryser@cityworks.com.

Implementation Business Partner Training We are pleased to announce that a new preconference training course for business partners will be offered in conjunction with the annual Cityworks User Conference. Specifically designed for business partners, this course qualifies for the annual training requirement laid out in the Business Partner Agreement. The course will provide an overview of new functionality and configuration changes or additions in Cityworks Desktop, Anywhere, Server AMS, and PLL. The one-day class is available to Business Partners who have attended the Cityworks Administration

Training course within the last two years. Watch our conference website for more details—www. cityworks.com/UC12. Registration will be open in January 2012.

Strategic Development Partners We have welcomed several new Strategic Development Partners who offer a series of focused solutions for specific markets. For a full list of partners, please visit our website.

International Distribution Partners InfoGraph joins our growing list of international distributors representing Cityworks in the Middle East. InfoGraph will provide both English and Arabic versions of Cityworks to national, provincial, municipal, and government entities, including utilities and other entities of the public-sector market or companies in Jordan.

In addition, InfoGraph will provide Arabic versions of Cityworks and will create, maintain, and support the software in Arabic.

Implementation Partners DIAMOND • Woolpert

PLATINUM • POWER Engineers

GOLD • Rolta International, Inc. • Short Elliott Hendrickson (SEH) • Timmons Group

SILVER • Jones Edmunds & Associates • Motorola

BRONZE • Burns & McDonnell • CH2M Hill, Inc. • Civic Engineering and Information Technologies • North Arrow Technologies • NTB Associates • Strand Associates, Inc. • VESTRA Resources, Inc. • Westin Engineering, Inc. • Weston Solutions, Inc.

For a complete list of Implementation Member Partners, see www.cityworks.com.

International Distribution Partners • Esri Canada • Esri India (NIIT GIS Limited) • Esri S-GROUP Sverige AB, Sweden • InfoGraph, Jordan

28

InPrint

Fort Collins, Colorado, Manages Fleet with Cityworks and CompassCom AVL

By LeeAnn Fleming, Director of Marketing, CompassCom

Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) for fleet management is a smart addition to an asset management portfolio, and today’s technology makes it extremely cost effective and justifiable. AVL allows agencies to track and manage vehicles resulting in better performance and lower overall fleet costs.

By creating better, more efficient routes, AVL saves fuel, time, and vehicle wear. It provides credible and measurable cost savings.

Better managed, maintenance is able to provide more accurate mileage and driving pattern data. Optimizing payload and routes uses fewer materials (salt, sand, magchloride) in vehicles such as sprayers, snowplows, and sweepers. These, along with aiding legal and administrative requirements such as insurance costs, emissions and vehicle performance compliance, and operator accountability and safety, all add up to considerable savings.

The City of Fort Collins, Colorado, is a Cityworks client using CompassCom AVL. The

City measures fuel usage and chemicals used in spreader controllers, tracks snowplow fleet efficiency, and monitors driver behavior.

“We use AVL to manage our fleet productivity,” said Scott Bowman, Database Administrator, Fort Collins Public Works Department. “For example, how many miles our street sweepers complete each day, and which streets exactly, allows us to check and see what has been done in any section of the city through playbacks of the data. There are times when people call in saying their road was missed or an accident happened. With historic tracking data in our AVL, we can easily verify exactly what we’ve done or not done.”

Bowman said the program paid for itself quickly. “We discovered, by looking through the data, that if snow gets packed down, it costs much more in chemicals, fuel, and manpower to clear a street. It was much more cost efficient to hire contract drivers early in a snowstorm before the snow gets a chance

to get packed down. We’ve saved untold amounts in claims and potential litigation in dealing with complaints that one of our vehicles damaged private property. We can easily check and see whether our vehicles were actually there when the damage allegedly occurred.”

Recently, CompassCom and Cityworks began development of a plug-in for Cityworks Server AMS 2011 enabling a live, interactive view allowing fleet management to observe resources throughout the enterprise. Using the plug-in, managers can monitor public works, emergency response, or utility vehicles in realtime, noting vehicle status easily, seamlessly, and directly within the Cityworks viewer.

Using a combination of technology, hardware and software, AVL is an economically feasible solution to control costs and manage resources through real-time, accurate monitoring of every vehicle. To learn more about AVL, visit www.compasscom.com. cw

The City of Fort Collins manages and tracks its vehicles by integrating Cityworks and CompassCom AVL.

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

29

User Information

Maintaining Support Availability for Customers

By Steve Thomas, Executive Manager, Customer Support, Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks

In the last InPrint, I discussed some of the efforts made by businesses that are known for quality customer service. One of those we have adopted is to hire courteous, conscientious, and hard-working individuals who communicate well with others and have a good understanding of both GIS and Cityworks. Our Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) are available to answer questions and help find resolutions to your issues.

As the number of Cityworks clients grows, our call count also increases. The increase is primarily due to our sustained growth and increased software offerings. To meet that demand, we seek out additional qualified customer support representatives.

In our efforts to maintain the quality support and availability you expect, we recently hired Peter Miller as our newest CSR. He will join our other CSRs in assisting clients to identify the causes of software issues they encounter and recommend resolutions. Peter has a rich background in GIS and Cityworks management.

Previously he was an inside sales representative at Esri, and most recently he served as the GIS coordinator at the City of West Bend, Wisconsin.

Adding Peter provides an opportunity to realign our support regions to balance the call load and to ensure reasonable response times.

Our new region boundaries went into effect November 1, 2011. You can find your support contact information on MyCityworks.com.

NEW—Cityworks Online Assist Recently we introduced a new service, Cityworks Online Assist, to enhance quality interaction with our clients. Cityworks Online Assist provides chat capability using Citrix GoToAssist and is available on the Contact Support tab of MyCityworks.com. This tool allows clients and business partners to engage an available CSR in a live chat session. During the course of a chat session, the CSR can start an interactive help session similar to what you may be used to with GoToMeeting. The goal of this service is to enable our CSRs to respond more efficiently to the needs of our clients. cw

A b ov e : M y C i t y w o r k s . c o m now features a live c h a t o p t i o n . U n d e r t h e Contact Support tab, s i m p l y c l i c k t h e ‘ S t a r t Chat’ button at the le f t s i d e o f t h e s c r e e n t o contact a customer s e r v i c e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e . Right: This window a p p e a r s a ft e r c l i c k i n g o n the ‘Start Chat’ b u t t o n an d al l o w s u s e r s to provide detailed in f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e i r concerns.

30

InPrint

Support Regions

Reed Hayes Greg Walters

Pete Miller Kyle Boyd

Steven Sushka Chris Bracht

Customer Support Direct Phone: 801.990.1888

ÂŽ

The Trusted Integrator for Sustainable Solutions

Unlock your organization’s intelligence

AUTHORIZED BUSINESS PARTNER

Integrate your data Integrate your IT systems Integrate your workflow Integrate your business

Cityworks Server AMS implementation Map-based operations dashboards Sustainable asset management programs Contact Weston Solutions, Inc. Cityworks@westonsolutions.com (206) 521-7635

31

Pre-conference Training Survey It’s that time of year again where we begin preparations for next year’s training at the Cityworks User Conference. This year we decided to try something new. In an effort to gain more insight into what courses Cityworks users want to attend, a 10-question survey was sent out to over 2,000 users and business partners in September.

Thank you for taking the time to respond to the survey. We value your input and will apply it as we design the 2012 pre-conference courses.

Since the completion of the 2011 pre-conference training in May, the Educational Services department has been busy. More than 45 training attendees have taken Remote Interactive Training (RIT) courses over the web. There has also been considerable interest in Cityworks Server AMS Administration training offered at Azteca Systems’ training facility in Sandy UT. Our first offering of Cityworks Server PLL Administration training was held Sept 20–23, 2011 at Azteca Systems’ training facility. There was a great turnout for a first offering of this course. We will continue to offer this course so please look for it. cw

Server PLL Training attendees who participated w e r e f r o m P a g o s a Area Water and Sanitation District (Pagosa Spri n g s , C o l o . ) , P O W E R Engineers (Lakewood, Colo., office), Woolpert ( S t . L o u i s , M o . , office and Englewood, Colo., office), Rolta (Alph ar e t t a , G a . , o f f i c e ) and Esri Canada (Toronto office).

Atte n d e e s o f t h e A u g u s t 2 011 Cityworks Server AMS Adm i n i s t r at i o n T r ai n i n g h ailed from Global Water (Phoen ix, Ariz.) and G e n e r a l M i t c h e l l A i r p ort (Milwaukee, Wis.).

32

InPrint

MyCityworks.com

By Greg Walters, Customer Servicer Representative, Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks

Cityworks 2010.1 SP2 is now available for download on MyCityworks. com. This release includes updates to Server AMS/PLL, Web Services (APIs), Desktop, and Anywhere. We recommend all Server AMS, PLL, Web Services, Desktop, and Anywhere customers download 2010.1 SP2 at their earliest convenience in order to ensure the highest quality experience when working with Cityworks software.

Cityworks 2010.1 SP2 is certified for use with ArcGIS 9.3.1 SP1 only.

For those needing support for ArcGIS 10, Cityworks 2011 (and soon to be released Cityworks 2011 Build 2) fully support ArcGIS 10. Please take care to read and understand the software download pages. Cityworks software is available to licensed users only.

NOTE: If you are updating from version 2010.1 to 2010.1 SP2, you will need to update your Cityworks database; however, when running Database Manager, only the Validate Table Structure check box needs to be checked. Make sure you uncheck the Execute Update Scripts check box; the Update Scripts function is not required to successfully upgrade from 2010.1. If you have the Execute Update Scripts box checked, you will not see an option for 2010.1 SP2 in the Update To Version dropdown menu.

Accepted answers will appear in the forum as shown above.

New Documents W h a t ’s N e w i n C i ty w o r k s 2 0 1 0 . 1 S P 2 S e r ve r A M S P L L 2 0 1 0 . 1 S P 2 In s t a l l a t i o n G u i d e D e s k t o p a n d A ny w h e re 2 0 1 0 . 1 S P 2 In s t a l l a t i o n G u i d e Re q u e s t M e t r i c s We b S e r v i c e s 2 0 1 0 . 1 In s t a l l a t i o n G u i d e D e s k t o p / A ny w h e re 2 0 1 0 . 1 O n l i n e H e l p Z i p F i l e

Ideas You may have noticed your Idea may not be viewable right after you submit it. This is because every Idea is reviewed and approved before it is put to vote. You may have also noticed some of the ideas are Approved, Under Development, Released, or in some cases Not Approved. We welcome your Ideas and encourage your vote. Your vote helps an Idea gain recognition and visibility.

Several new items have been added to the Know l e d g e Ba s e l i b r a r y recently. Visit mycityworks.com for more inform a t i o n .

New Knowledge Base Articles

Onc e s u b m i t t e d , I d e a s d o not appear until they are reviewed and app r o v e d . O n c e r e v i e w e d , Ideas will be posted with a status of App r o v e d , U n d e r D e v e l o p ment, Released, or Not Approved.

New Forum Feature Accepted Answer—a topic-starter can mark a forum post as an “accepted answer.” The “accepted” post background is then displayed in a green color along with the words Accepted Answer in bold green letters to make it easier for other users to quickly locate the useful information.

User-controlled notifications can be set up for new topics, posts, and personal messages—alerting you to the latest forum updates.

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

1 0 5 8 5 - H O W TO : D o w n l o a d C r y s t a l Ru n t i m e 2 0 0 8 S P 3 1 0 5 8 7 -I N F O R M AT I O N : Fe a t u re S e r v i c e s a n d t h e M i c ro s o f t ( T M ) S i l ve r l i g h t E d i t i n g To o l 1 0 5 8 8 -I N F O R M AT I O N : T h e Im p o r t B u tt o n i s N o L o n g e r V i s i b l e i n A d m i n Pa g e o f S e r ve r A M S 1 0 5 8 9 - E R R O R M E SSA G E : Sy s t e m . We b. S e r v i c e s . P ro t o c o l s .

S o a p E xc e p t i o n : S e r ve r wa s u n a b l e t o p ro c e s s re q u e s t .

1 0 5 9 0 -I N F O R M AT I O N : N e w C a l e n d a r C o n t ro l s i n D e s k t o p 2 0 1 1 1 0 5 9 1 - H O W TO : U s e a n d B u i l d Pa ra m e t e r s i n C r y s t a l Re p o r t s 1 0 5 9 3 - E R R O R M E SSA G E : I To o l _ O n M o u s e D o w n : Inva l i d p ro c e d u re c a l l o r a rg u m e n t 1 0 5 9 4 -I N F O R M AT I O N : A s s e t A l i a s To o l fo r S e r ve r A M S / P L L 1 0 5 9 5 -I N F O R M AT I O N : We b. c o n f i g , We b c o n n e c t i o n S t r i n g s . c o n f i g , a n d E m a i l S e tt i n g s 1 0 5 9 6 -I N F O R M AT I O N : In b ox Tro u b l e s w i t h C o m m e n t s a n d In s t r u c t i o n s i n a S ave d S e a rc h cw

33

T i p s & Tr i c k s

Ten Signs You’re Not Running Cityworks Server AMS/PLL 2010.x Anymore

By Bryan Chadwick, GIS Support Manager, Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks

There are some key differences and new concepts introduced with Cityworks Server AMS/PLL 2011. A fundamental understanding of how things have changed and what is new is always good to know. To view this information in greater detail, find the white paper at www.MyCityworks.com.

1

What is a clientaccesspolicy.xml? The clientaccesspolicy.xml file controls access to sites using Silverlight on the server where they reside.

Provided as part of the Cityworks Server AMS/PLL 2011 install download, the file needs to be copied at the root of the domain, not only on the application server where the Web ADF Runtime 10.0 SP1 is running, but on the server running ArcGIS Server 10.0.

3

The REST URL must be designated in Designer to enable online service sources.

Users must copy the clientaccesspolicy.xml file t o t h e m a c h i n e s running ADF Runtime and ArcGIS.

2

Why do I need to populate the REST URL for GIS Services in Designer? The REST URL fields are included to allow the use of online service sources such as ArcGIS.com (formerly, ArcGIS Online), and because this is the preferred way to identify where a GIS resource is located. If populating the REST URL field for any service, Server AMS/PLL 2011 will ignore the host setting and use the service setting as the display label for the GIS service.

What are Feature Services and the Silverlight editing tools?

A Feature Service, also known as a feature-access via a Map Service, requires the GIS data to be stored in an ArcSDE geodatabase (Esri).

A file geodatabase is not sufficient. This access only needs to be enabled on those map services that may be modified using the Silverlight editing tools now available in Server AMS and PLL 2011.

If the map service contains data that will not be modified, DO NOT enable this option. Feature access via a Map Service is enabled under the Capabilities tab in the Service properties. This can only be done

when a Map Service is first created or if an existing one is stopped per the normal Esri workflow. Server AMS/PLL 2011 continues to only enable editing tools for those users in a Cityworks Domain Group with Geometry (Server Only) editing rights checked. Attribute edit rights still allow editing only through the other edit forms, such as GIS Search, that connect via the Geodata Service.

4

Why does the installer seem to fail on an upgrade and what exactly is it writing?

A number of users have come across issues when using the Server AMS/PLL installer to upgrade an existing site and questions about the installer are not confined to and date well before the release of Server AMS/PLL 2011. These issues invariably come back to an iisreset not being run before upgrading to release any hanging connections from a running

5

site; ensuring that all users have logged off is not quite good enough. Performing this process is a best practice that any IT professional should follow when upgrading a web application.

The installer does have logic to ensure a successful backup of the existing site and creation of a new site, but the best practice still does apply.

Where can I input an address in the map page panel and what does it have to do with the Locate dropdown menu?

By default, the Locate dropdown menu (which can be added using the Tools dropdown at the top of the map page panel) presents the user with a Single Line Input field and a Street or Intersection field to enter an address to geocode against. The Street or Intersection is a default provided by Esri. Esri does not have an out-of-the-box geocode UI, just the Geocode Service. Esri does return a standard address, and if the input fields match what are the known fields in the underlying locator, then Cityworks can parse out the pieces. Otherwise, the entire address is used as-is. However, users can create an alias in the underlying locator for the values in the ‘The field containing:’ column in the properties form via ArcCatalog and the Locate dropdown menu will read that. It is important to note that users may want to set the alias values in the underlying locator to differ from the name values to provide more logical input labels.

34

8

InPrint

1

6 8

T i p s & Tr i c k s

H o w d o th e G I S S e r v i c e s n o w i n te r a c t i n th e s o f t w a r e ?

The Geodata Service is still very important in Server AMS/PLL 2011, as all querying and editing of the GIS data outside of the map page panel is still handled via this service. In fact, that is the inherent advantage that the Geodata Service has always given Server AMS/PLL 2011, the ability to query and edit the GIS data outside of the map page panel and limiting the number of potentially “performanceexpensive” calls that need to be made.

W hat is the status of M S D s u p p o r t ?

Server AMS/PLL 2011 now provides full .msd, enhanced map document support. Publishing .mxds is still supported, as well. Please note, ArcGIS Server 10.1 will exclusively support .msd-based services and will be a native 64-bit application.

W hat is the Asset Alias to o l a n d h o w i s i t c o n f i g u r e d ?

The Asset Alias dropdown menu and the new ASSETALIAS table in the database introduced in Server AMS/PLL 2011 are Cityworks-created tools.

When upgrading to Cityworks 2011, Database Manager populates this table with the current asset name and description as defined in Designer.

The Esri Silverlight REST services do not expose the actual name of the data source in the map layers. Thus there is no way for Server AMS/ PLL 2011 to know that the ‘Water Hydrant’ layer pulls data from the ‘WHYDRANT’ table using Esri’s

Editor dropdown menu. The ASSETALIAS table and the programming logic surrounding it were introduced to allow users to associate any map layer name to the actual asset name. Cityworks can then proceed to interrogate the GIS data.

Otherwise, Cityworks would require the map layers to be labeled exactly as defined in Designer.

The Asset Alias dropdown menu is only available for Domain Administrators and can be accessed via the Tools dropdown in Server AMS/ PLL 2011.

9

The Asset Alias tool allow s u s e r s t o n a m e map layers however they w a n t .

H o w h a v e s a v e d s e a r c h e s a n d e v e n t l a y e rs e v o l v e d?

The following are some basics about saved searches that have persisted since Server AMS/PLL 2010 and are essential to build upon. Saved searches are assigned a unique SearchID and are located in the CwSvrSearchDefinition table. The fields and field values that comprise a saved search are located in the CwSvrSearchField table. When a saved search is added as an event layer, a record is generated in the EventLayer table. It receives a unique LayerID, the SearchID to link it back to the saved search, a LayerName and Description that can be modified through the UI, the UserID to link back to the EMPLOYEE table, an EventType (1 – SR, 2 – WO, 3 – Insp, 5 – Permit), the SearchName (which is the saved search name), Enabled (0 – not checked, 1 – checked and visible), DomainID,

10

7

SharedWithin (not currently being used by the software) – FILLCOLOR and OUTLINECOLOR (defaults of #66CCFF and #6600FF, respectively), MARKERSYMBOLTYPE (Square, Circle, or Triangle), and the IMAGEURL (if an image is being used for the symbology).

No database views are being used for the event layers in Server AMS/PLL. Instead, the software taps into some extended Esri functionality that allows for the parameters to be read from the tables previously mentioned to build x/y graphics and display them over the map layout on-the-fly. The user who created a saved search may set the level of access to a domain, domain group, or that individual. Logically, the event layer will follow suit.

H a s the logging functio n a l i ty b e e n m o d i f i e d ?

In previous releases, a user would simply add ‘?enablegislog=true’ to the end of the current address when logged into the site to enable logging.

Logging is then enabled throughout that user’s session, or one can add ‘?enablegislog=false’ to the end of the current address to disable logging.

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

In order for the log to be written, the impersonate user must have at least Modify rights to the Uploads folder under <server install directory>\WebSite.

Another option is to just give the Users group at least Modify rights to this directory, as nothing “sensitive” is written to this particular directory. cw

35

Cityworks News

User Conference 2011

We would like to express our appreciation to all those who visited our booth and made this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conference such a success!

36

InPrint

Cityworks Congratulates the 2011 Esri SAG Award Winners

Char l e s t o n , S . C .

“Cityworks would like to congratulate our users; Denver, Loveland, Wilmington, Charleston, Greenville, Nashville and Davidson County, and Houston; as well as the other recipients of the SAG award, for their outstanding work with GIS. . . . We share Esri’s opinion of these clients’ and their commitment to GIScentric solutions. Year after year, Cityworks users are recognized by Esri with the distinguished SAG award, solidifying Cityworks as an asset/work management and permitting system that takes full advantage of GIS, leveraging and building upon its inherent benefits.”

Loveland, Colo.

Brian Haslam, President & CEO, Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks Nashville, Tenn.

Den v e r , C o l o .

Gree n v i l l e , S . C .

Houston, Tex.

Wilmington, Del.

Cityworks Supports GIS Education through Caching Our World

by Lindsay Ferguson, PR & Marketing, Azteca Systems, Inc. — Cityworks

Cityworks recently contributed to Caching Our World, an Ohio-based non-profit organization that promotes educating school-aged children about GIS and geography. Caching Our World is currently fundraising for a non-profit ArcGIS Server license to bring educational workshops into more classrooms throughout Ohio with the help of Caching Our World organizers, volunteers and other GIS Professionals.

Founded by Rose Haverkos of the City of Hamilton (Cityworks user site), Caching Our World’s mission poses the question to children, “Where are you?” by introducing them to the multi-faceted world of geography. As part of their efforts, Caching Our World brings innercity children to half-day workshops at the Miami University-Hamilton Campus to explore geography from different cultures around the world and the many applications of GIS. A fundraiser for Caching Our World is taking place at the Ohio GIS User Group Meeting and four of the individuals organizing and participating in this event are Cityworks users: Rose Haverkos, City of Hamilton, Ohio (President of Caching

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

Cityworks is proud to support the efforts of Caching Our World, which works to teach children about geography and GIS.

Our World); Maureen Greener, City of Delaware, Ohio (Southwest Ohio GIS User Group member); Ken Carrier, Montgomery County Water Services

Kettering, Ohio (Southwest Ohio GIS User Group Admin); Patricia Moehring, City of Lebanon, Ohio (Southwest Ohio GIS User Group Admin). cw

37

Cityworks User Group Meetings This fall, Cityworks User Group Meetings have been taking place throughout throu the U.S. hosted by various client sites and sponsored by Cityworks business bu partners. These one-day meetings are designed for current Cityworks users, or other interested parties, to gather and discuss all things Cityworks.

Presentations focused on core Cityworks Citywor products such as Server AMS and Serv Server PLL, user spotlights, and question-and-answ question-and-answer sessions with Cityworks staff. Everyon Everyone in attendance gained new knowledge and insight on various facets of Cityworks and its u uses.

38

Naperville, Illinois

Delaware, Ohio

Vista, California

Henrico County, Virginia

Woodland, California

Eagan, Minnesota

Charlotte, North Carolina

Orlando, Florida

Meeting Locations :

The meetingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; casual and dynamic settingss facilitat te in-depth, facilitate constructive discussions that many attendees attende ees have e found very informative and beneficial.

We extend our special thanks to the host agencies and everyone who attended. We look forward to seeing you at the next user group meeting in your area and, of course, at our annual user conference in Park City next summer!

Events: Conference

City

|

State

|

Country

Dates

Esri Middle East and Africa User Conference (MEAUC)

Beruit

Lebanon

Beruit

Nov. 1-3, 2011

Northeast Arc Users Group (NEARC)

Saratoga Springs

New York

USA

Nov. 13-16, 2011

Esri Mid-Atlantic User Group Conference

Hunt Valley

Maryland

USA

Dec. 6-7, 2011

South Carolina Arc Users Group (SCUAG)

Charleston

South Carolina

USA

Feb. 6-8, 2012

Wisconsin Land Information Association (WLIA)

Stevens Point

Wisconsin

USA

Feb. 15-17, 2012

Esri California/Hawaii/Nevada Regional User Conference

Redlands

California

USA

Mar. 7-8, 2012

South Central Arc Users Group Conference (SCAUG)

McAllen

Texas

USA

Mar. 26-30, 2012

AAAE GIS (AAAE)

Portland

Oregon

USA

Apr. 10-13, 2012

Cal GIS

Sacramento

California

USA

Apr. 11-13, 2012

MAGIC Symposium (MidAmerica GIS Consortium)

Kansas City

Missouri

USA

Apr. 22-26, 2012

IMAGIN Conference (IMAGIN)

Bay City

Michigan

USA

May 7-8, 2012

Indiana GIS Conference

Monroe County

Indiana

USA

May 8-9, 2012

Nevada GIS Society

Las Vegas

Nevada

USA

May 16-18, 2012

Skyler Ryser recently joined Azteca Systems Documentation Department testing and reviewing training manuals. Previously, Skyler served 2 years as a LDS church missionary in Donetsk, Ukraine, speaking Russian. He is currently enrolled at the University of Utah. He plans to eventually become a pilot and fly in the military or commercially. He has a love of college football, especially the University of Utah’s Runnin’ Utes.

Satish Joon joined the Azteca Systems PLL software development team in October 2011. He has a master’s degree in computer applications and has been developing and designing Permitting systems for over 5 years. Satish is married with one child. He enjoys education, learning new technologies, playing and watching cricket, watching movies, and seeing new areas and sites.

Justin Hill recently joined Azteca Systems as our newest Client Relations Representative. He recently graduated from Utah State University with a dual major in Psychology and Speech Communication.

While in school, he supported himself by working as a server at Olive Garden Restaurant. He is currently single and resides in Sandy, Utah. Interesting tidbit—in 2010 he slept outside on the streets of Paris in the rain after his traveling companion misread the train schedule and security kicked them out of the train station. It was not a fun night.

Chris (Ski) Jensen joins Azteca Systems as our newest software developer working on PLL. Previously he worked at Browz LLC, a company focused on managing safety compliance and documentation for large mining and construction companies. In 2010 he graduated from Neumont University in South Jordan, Utah, with a bachelor’s degree in computer science. He and his wife, Chamrie, reside in Draper with their children. He enjoys restoring ATVs, spending time with family, and the occasional video game.

Christine Christensen joins Azteca Systems as our newest technical writer in the Documentation Department. Previously Christine worked at Logan City, Utah, as a Cityworks user, using Designer, Desktop, Server, and Storeroom. In 2007 she graduated from Utah State University with a bachelor’s degree in English literature. In 2011 she received her master’s degree in technical communication at Minnesota State University.

She and her husband, Cassady, have been married for 3 years and are proud parents of a chocolate lab, Ike. She currently resides in Cottonwood Heights.

Her hobbies include camping, hiking, reading, watching college football, and spending time with her family.

Pete Miller joined Azteca Systems in August as a Customer Support Representative. Pete had previously been the GIS Coordinator for the City of West Bend, Wisc., from 2002-2011 and for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in Palmer, Alaska, from 2000-2001. Prior to that, Pete was an Inside Sales Representative for the EsriMinneapolis regional office from 1998-2000. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and graduated with a BA-Geography degree with an emphasis in Urban Planning and GIS. He, his wife (Donna), and daughter (Leah) reside in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When he is not furiously attempting to solve your Cityworks-related needs, Pete enjoys hiking, homebrewing, genealogical research, and playing vintage baseball.

Fa l l 2 0 1 1

39

11075 S. State Street, Ste. 24 Sandy, UT 84070

If you have received this newsletter in error, please call 801-523-2751 or email kryser@cityworks.com.

801.523.2751 www.cityworks.com

40

InPrint