The status of work orders throughout the county is visible through this Esri Web App, documented through Cityworks and ArcGIS OnlineWeb Maps, for clear and effective management of service requests. Image: courtesy of Columbia County, Ga.
“New departments utilizing Cityworks, such as Roads and Bridges, did not have experience using iPads for data entry before Irma,” Howard said. “Recording damage assessment information in Collector forArcGIS was a new task for them. After a brief training and practice session, the crews canvassed the roadways of the county in zones using a Web Map. Since they were all on the same platform, they could watch other crew’s reports to reduce duplication.” “It’s unbelievable how much quicker we were able to pick up debris and manage the workload (in Cityworks),” Columbia County Roads and Bridges Manager Tim Holloway said. “It’s a huge cost savings.” Howard said she hopes the county can continue to update and improve its information flow, capitalizing on the trust established by the ArcGIS and Cityworks platform. “Departments have embraced the power and functionality of centralized reporting, asset management, and the power of the dynamic and reliable mapping platform for rapid dissemination of live data,” Howard said. “Information flow and data entry also will be improved since 311 has gone live with Cityworks after the hurricane. The event was integral in the approval process for 311’s migration.” She said the effort was successful thanks to the coordination and work of all involved. “The passion and buy-in of the staff, coupled with the ease of use, reliability, and fast broadcasting of data allowed the technology to be successful,” Howard said. “The result was improved communication, which made for a safer and more efficient response for everyone.”
Howard said tracking calls from notification to dispatch to resolution was key to the situational awareness in the EOC. It allowed county administrators, elected officials, 911 supervisors, and crew management staff to make appropriate decisions and allocate resources effectively. “Departments that utilize Cityworks for their work efforts were receiv- ing service requests directly from the EOC so they could respond in the field, attach information and photos, and close tickets as they were resolved,” Howard said. “Efficiently tracking this information was in- tegral to capturing personnel, equipment, and material costs not only during the event, but also in documenting the county’s response and clean-up efforts during the declared state of emergency.” Aftermath Columbia County officials reported many lessons learned through this experience, which they said will continue to be fine-tuned. Adaptability, customization, and on-the-fly modification abilities were lauded by those involved, as were ease of use and functionality. These included determining 911 needs versus county administration needs, defining data, and reporting for streamlined upload to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Howard added that Esri’s Surge Licensing program for Disaster Response was invaluable to allowing additional users to collaborate in a secure environment. “A centralized platform is key to communication; without it, duplication and inefficiencies exist,” Howard said. “This precise tracking from a reliable source like Cityworks is also critical for reimbursement documentation to FEMA.” Howard noted that this experience also helped crew members who weren’t as familiar with the system gain more confidence in its daily use.
RYAN BUTLER, GISP, works as a senior system analyst and phase manager for Woolpert’s (https://woolpert.com) geospatial discipline out of the firm’s Columbus, Ohio, office.
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csengineermag.com
february 2018
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