Columbia, S.C., Maximizes ROI with Asset Management Solution

Accurate and organized maintenance data combined with enhanced GIS-based asset information has made reporting and analysis easier and more efficient at the city of Columbia, S.C. As a result of Cityworks, a GIS-centric management solution from Azteca Systems Inc., the city has recorded significant Return on Investment (ROI) since deploying Cityworks via an Enterprise License Agreement (ELA) in 2010.

Rolling the system out in June 2010, Cityworks has proven to be a vital tool for tracking assets and work efforts throughout the enterprise. From managing pipelines and meter servicing in the Water Division, to trees and horticulture in Forestry, to radio systems and street light repairs in Traffic Engineering, Cityworks quickly became an asset to the organization.

“By acquiring Cityworks as an ELA, Columbia is well positioned to gain return on our investment each time new users and departments are added to the system,” said Carmen Flemming, project manager of Integrated Systems, city of Columbia. “With several divisions already live and using the system, and others eager to get on board, Cityworks’ ‘smart-licensing’ options made this a cost-effective acquisition for Columbia. We manage millions of dollars of assets—from installation to replacement. Cityworks streamlines and enhances our business processes, operations and reporting.” 

Upgrading to Cityworks Server AMS, Columbia was able to place easy-to-use mapping tools in the hands of personnel at all levels. Clerical staff, foreman and upper managers can log in to Cityworks to manage activities such as resolving citizen requests, completing work orders and understanding their progress and performance to specific assets or groups of assets throughout the city.

“With Cityworks’ robust querying functionality and ability to export to common applications like Microsoft Excel, we have much better control of our data, making reports and analysis of work efforts far more meaningful,” continued Flemming. “The ability to see our work on a digital map view (as event layers) is a big hit among our users. Seeing a red car symbol on the screen is immediately recognizable as an open Traffic work order, making it amazingly easy to communicate and schedule resources around the city and in real time. Add to that the ability to easily see the location of adjacent assets—trees, manholes, water mains, etc.—helps us keep our crews and citizens safe and refine our efforts. The map view is also handy for quickly redirecting citizens to county or state agencies for servicing those assets outside the city.”

Source: Cityworks