City of Lethbridge Wins Cityworks Exemplary User Award

New computer maintenance management system incorporates location intelligence in support of effective asset and work order management

Lethbridge, AB – Esri Canada congratulates the City of Lethbridge for winning the Cityworks Exemplary User Award at the recent Cityworks User Conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Lethbridge implemented Cityworks software, based on Esri’s geographic information system (GIS) technology, to establish an efficient computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) for their municipal assets. The new system incorporates location intelligence and enables the City to better manage work orders, report on service performed and track expenses associated with each asset, as well as provide staff with access to the data. This has allowed them to improve their asset and work order management, reduce costs and achieve regulatory compliance.

Previously, the City used an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to manage municipal assets and work orders. However, the ERP did not provide a geographic context; this was particularly problematic for linear assets which are continuous and typically part of a network such as roads, railways and water pipes. These assets are often serviced by segments so being able to tie maintenance services and repairs to the assets’ specific location is critical to effective management. The City evaluated several CMMS solutions and selected Azteca Systems’ Cityworks Suite, which is built on Esri’s ArcGIS platform and provides a comprehensive set of applications for asset and work management.

“Having municipal assets that are tied to a location is important because it ensures that we can quickly locate assets or issues in the field,” noted Joel Sanchez, asset manager, City of Lethbridge. “That’s why we believed implementing a GIS-centric asset management solution is the most effective platform. Cityworks has become a hub of information and activity reporting connecting Water Operations crews and office staff that’s helping them communicate and share information more effectively.”

Since implementing Cityworks in 2013, the City has achieved the following efficiencies:

• Unified work order management – All work orders received for the Water and Wastewater department from both City staff and citizens are now tracked along with capital improvement projects. Previously, work orders were managed separately by source.
• Better access to data – Field crews now have online access to asset records in Cityworks through their laptops and tablets. Previously, PDF copies of asset records were printed every three months and distributed to field crews for reference purposes. They also had to bring large map books to access GIS data in the field. Now, they can view customer information, which is linked to property data in the GIS, to verify property ownership and ensure that service billings are sent to the right customer without returning to the office to look it up in the corporate GIS.
• Reduced costs – The move to paperless records has eliminated significant printing costs. Service requests are now submitted online and routed to field crews via the system.
• Increased data accuracy – Field crews can now update asset records with information on the asset’s condition and work performed through their mobile devices while they are on site. Previously, they had to write their comments and activities on print service request forms.
• Seamless workflow – Cityworks supports end-to-end asset management processes, from receiving and fielding work orders, to fulfilling and reporting on service requests, to tracking the costs of capital projects, maintenance and repairs. The system integrates with Lethbridge’s financial system which makes it easy to prepare reports required by the Public Sector Accounting Board.

“In adopting Cityworks, the City of Lethbridge extends location intelligence to their asset and work management processes and significantly increases the return from their ArcGIS platform,” said Alex Miller, president, Esri Canada. “They’ve also established a modern and very effective asset management system that interoperates with other key business systems and applications to further improve efficiencies and deliver better services to their citizens.”

Lethbridge is working on integrating Cityworks with their civic engagement Web app that will allow citizens to submit service requests using their mobile devices and receive updates when requests have been completed. They are also looking to integrate the CMMS with their pavement management system to be able to create work orders based on the road’s condition and update the condition of the segment being repaired back into Cityworks.

See related article: From Forms to Screens: City of Lethbridge Revamps Asset Management with Cityworks

About the City of Lethbridge

Lethbridge is one of the warmest and most sun-filled locations in Canada. Our affordable, vibrant community of over 90,000 residents is only two hours south of  Calgary and is close to mountains and the U.S. border. We enjoy family-oriented neighbourhoods and have an array of recreational and cultural choices. We invite you to join our diverse and innovative organization which offers people the opportunity to make a difference. For more information, visit: lethbridge.ca. Follow the City of Lethbridge on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

About Esri Canada
Founded in 1984, Esri Canada provides enterprise geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower businesses, governments and educational institutions to make timely, informed and mission-critical decisions by leveraging the power of geography.  The company distributes the world’s leading GIS software from Esri, Schneider Electric, Cityworks–Azteca Systems, Inc. and other technology partners.  Headquartered in Toronto, the company serves over 10,000 customers from 16 regional offices across Canada.  Esri Canada has joined the elite rank of Canada’s Best Managed companies and has been named to the Branham300.  Information about the company can be found at esri.ca. Follow Esri Canada on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.