Developing a Web-based System to Manage City-wide Work, Assets, andCustomer Calls: Overcoming Organizational and Technical Challenges

摘要

A mid-sized City improved customer service and operating efficiency by implementing a city-wide, webbasedrnsystem linking its geographic information system (GIS) with its work management and customerrninformation systems (CMMS and CIS). This system allows call takers throughout the city to answerrncommon questions, request new work orders, and report the status of existing work orders. This advancedrnsystem offers several unique features that will be described, including tracking on-the-job training hoursrnwithout impacting the total work order cost and customer location maps for ease of locating neededrncustomer histories and work order information. The benefits of this new system include:rn· A single city-wide asset inventory linked to the geographic information system (GIS) maps. Thisrnallows asset managers to analyze asset condition ratings, down-time, and maintenance costs to makernthe best possible decisions about asset rehabilitation and replacementrn· Real-time work order mapping, which supports efficient dispatching and prevents the creation ofrncostly duplicate work ordersrn· Real-time work order status and other details available over the Intranet, so any call-taker can providerncustomers with up-to-the-minute progress reports on work requestsrn· Complete customer contact histories at the fingertips of all call-takers, which allows the city tornprovide a high level of customer servicern· Low-cost dissemination of critical business information and business support toolsrn· Improved planned maintenance and reduced overtimernThe City’s call center, which began operations in mid-2004, is a one-stop shop for customer inquiries,rnwork order status reports, and new work requests for all departments. Call center representatives use thernintegrated system to track customer contact histories, report the status of ongoing work, and create workrnrequests for the departments. They also have answers to frequently asked questions at their fingertips onrnthe Intranet site contact management screen. Employees track their on-the-job training at the same timernthey record their labor hours on work orders.rnThis presentation explains the business process and organizational changes necessary to maximize thernbenefits of the technology. It also provides a perspective on the development process, including thernreconciliation of incompatible data sets and other technical challenges. The presentation concludes with arndiscussion of the steps that any city can take to begin integrating its customer, asset, and workrnmanagement functions.