Kingsport, TN Improves Response With OpenGov Water Utility Asset Management Software

The Solution

The public works team ditched the paper-based system and implemented OpenGov in December of 2014. They quickly realized the value of the wastewater software when—a few weeks after going live—a sanitary sewer overflowed near a high school running track.

See how Kingsport uses OpenGov to manage their city. Hear from Wastewater Technical Services Coordinator Kristen Steach, Crew Leader Randy Hickman, and more.
“I’ve seen good changes in a lot of people. They’re honestly excited about it.”

This time, OpenGov facilitated immediate action. “It was our very first work order,” says Steach. The team used OpenGov for iPad to log every task — from the initial response to the CCTV inspection to the cleanup and repair. Meanwhile, supervisors were able to track progress in real-time from the office. “It was good to be able to see everything graphically on screen and know everything got handled; nothing was forgotten in the shuffle of paperwork.”

This was the second occurrence within the year, raising several questions: why did it happen again? Had proper repairs been made? Was it the ongoing impact of an industrial contributor upstream? Further investigation revealed that some of the follow-up work on the first overflow had been delayed in the stacks of tasks waiting to be prioritized.

Once the job was completed, Steach could easily pull a report showing that the work order entailed 26 tasks at a cost of $6,727. “Upper management can see the true cost of following up on every item,” she says. “It’s interesting for the field crews to know the exact value of their time and efforts too. They’ve never had access to that information before.”

The Results

In less than a year of using OpenGov, Kingsport’s wastewater department is seeing positive results across the board.

TIME SAVED

“Using the iPads has really streamlined the information exchange in the morning and afternoon process,” Steach says. “It used to take a half an hour or more to hand out daily assignments. Now, the crews come in, the foremen already have their tasks lined up in the iPads, and they’re off.”

SIMPLIFIED SCHEDULING
Real-time data allows foremen to monitor progress throughout the day and schedule upcoming work without repeated phone calls. At the end of the day, they don’t need to wade through piles of reports or rely on remembering details of conversations. All tasks are entered into the system so nothing is forgotten.

ACCURATE, UP-TO-DATE MAPPING
The process of marking revisions on paper and passing it off to get updated in the computer is no longer necessary. With the connection between OpenGov and ArcGIS, corrections can be made from out in the field when the inaccuracies are discovered.

QUICK-REFERENCE DATA
Managers have data at their fingertips for budgeting, managing workloads, and other activities. For a conference presentation, Steach quickly pulled the average cost per foot of sewer line for cleaning and for CCTV. It’s also easy to look up production numbers and evaluate efficiencies for making decisions about performing work in-house or contracting it out, she says.