West Valley City, Utah, was an early adopter of Cityworks PLL. Since their initial implementation in January 2008, West Valley City has tracked over 28,000 permits and cases, which breaks down to just over 900 per month or 45 per day. The city’s 60 daily users are scattered across the Building Department, Community & Economic Development, Planning & Zoning, Code Enforcement, Fire Department, Public Works, and Legal Department.
West Valley has been a valuable partner in the development of Cityworks PLL. Many of the features and upgrades that Cityworks 2010 offers are a direct result of feedback from the West Valley City user base. They also fully leveraged their investment in Cityworks PLL by adding in-house custom tools and interfaces to other city systems.
We sat down with Ken Cushing, database administrator and network supervisor, and Jeni Siebeneck, GIS administrator, to learn more about their experience using Cityworks PLL and what the new enhancements mean for their operations.
Q: How has Cityworks PLL improved your work processes?
At West Valley City, Cityworks PLL has improved the users’ work process substantially since the go-live. Specifically using the workflow, users no longer have to print out hard copies, hand-deliver, or email plans and permits. Before Cityworks, the divisions had no way to track who had the plans and when they were passed to another person for approval. Now any of the divisions can use Cityworks to check where in the approval process a development might be, including administration staff.
Q: How has Cityworks PLL benefitted city departments from a technological standpoint?
Cityworks is an enterprise, web-based software and can be used in all of our locations simultaneously, even in the field. This gives all departments a live view of the current status of every permit and case. Cityworks allows West Valley to track and manage code enforcement cases much more efficiently than previously done.
Q: How did Cityworks PLL expand into other departments?
West Valley has continued to expand the use of Cityworks in additional departments since going live. The Legal Department is in the process of integration to the Code Enforcement Workflow, rather than entering information into a separate system. The Police Department has been given access to Cityworks to monitor code violations on problem properties.
Building Inspectors are entering inspection results real-time into Cityworks from the field, rather than handwriting and reentering them into the system later. This saves them time and gives the contractor readable, immediate results of the inspection.
Q: Describe Azteca Systems’ and West Valley City’s relationship in developing a GIS integration.
West Valley City invested in GIS development in the early 1990s. The implementation of Cityworks PLL will leverage the city’s investment in GIS data for parcels, addresses, land use, zoning, districts, and other information, creating a more accurate process for permitting, inspections, and code enforcement. The two systems share information, and through the help of Azteca, will be fully integrated over the coming year.
Q: What future goals does the city have for asset management?
West Valley City plans to implement Cityworks MMS Server for asset management in the Public Works and the Parks & Recreation Departments. In Public Works, this will include the storm drain network, streetlights, street signs, sanitation, streets, and emergency management. For the Parks & Recreation Department, two city-owned golf courses and all city-owned parks will use Cityworks for work orders, service requests, and asset management.
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