At first glance, last Monday was just like many January Mondays in Michigan: gray… cold… we even started the morning with freezing rain. Despite these dreary conditions, however, many Michiganders were smiling through their commutes and probably arriving at work a little earlier than usual to high-five their co-workers. Why so chipper for a Monday? Because the 10-mile stretch of westbound 696 freeway in Macomb County, a main pipeline for Michigan commuters, many of which included our own staff and even some clients, was finally reopened.
Michigan’s Department of Transportation (DOT) started the project in late April 2018, tacking on significant commute time, inconveniencing travelers, and causing a lot of gripe. But thanks to the Midwest’s mild start to winter, the construction team was able to finish the project two days ahead of schedule.
Government Projects Can Be Ahead of Schedule?
Whether you’re the DOT planning a freeway facelift, the Leslie Knope of Parks and Recreation, the DMV, or any other government department, you’re probably spending these first weeks of January strategizing for 2019 initiatives and setting deadlines that won’t please everyone. Because, let’s be real: people like to complain.
And, as with any large project, your biggest challenges are probably organizing who needs to be where when, meeting deadlines, taking and sharing photos, records management, invoice processing, and the annoying loose ends in between. You could do this by spending every day emailing, faxing, driving and buried in a web of different databases and browsers. Or, you could let OnBase manage it for you.
Planning & Public Works On Demand with OnBase
Serving as a central document repository, process manager, integrator, and more, OnBase is the jack of all trades that keeps your public works project on course at every stage.
Asset Management
As we’ve all experienced from buffets, self-serve tends to make everyone happier. Results are the same when applied to the government setting. Okay, constituents probably won’t be as excited as they would be at a buffet, but you get the point.
By connecting to in-house databases like Cityworks and Accela Automation, all your data and documents are connected. With just a few clicks on your laptop, tablet or smartphone, contracts, plan revisions, CAD drawings and more can be collaborated on, managed, edited and routed to whom and where it needs to be. This online access empowers mobility and allows constituents to self-serve while untethering your staff from the phones.
Integrations: Cityworks and Esri
By integrating OnBase with your Cityworks and/or Accela permitting solutions, all working parties and staff have a cohesive view of the information necessary to do their jobs. Quick access to work orders, service requests, licenses, permits, and more fosters collaboration while reducing the time it takes to complete a task. Aside from the obvious benefit, saved time and better creativity lends itself increased constituent satisfaction and stronger community developments.
With OnBase-Esri integrations, everything you need is on the map – literally! GIS users can quickly access supporting documents relating to any project location simply by clicking on the map’s geographic pinpoint.
Electronic Plan Review
Plan review doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Thankfully, neither does OnBase. Highly configurable automation builds OnBase around your existing processes without the need for costly custom code. With a central hub to store all plans and related documents, automation and revision control, transparency into plan status via reporting dashboards, and a robust workflow that empowers real-time collaboration, plan review has never been easier.
Interested in learning more about keeping your community departments connected through every project? Check out our planning & public services solutions webpage and resources. Have questions? Let us know – we love to chat!
Speaking of which…
We Want to Hear from You!
What’s clogging your public work’s department? In which areas could you be more efficient?
Respond in the comment section below, or on our Government Solutions Showcase page on LinkedIn. We read and reply!