Here’s what makes the integration unique.

The integration is not a tool that was developed by a third party to pass data back and forth or otherwise synchronize information between the two applications. This project was designed, completed, and is maintained solely by the development teams at CUSI and Novotx, working together to create an integration that would take advantage of the best features in both applications without data duplication or synchronization. The asset management software directly accesses information from (and passes information to) the utility billing application in real-time and vice versa.

And here are a few reasons it’s attracting so much interest.

Using the integration, office personnel can dispatch a technician to read or replace a meter, for example, and the meter-related information can be collected using the asset management application then saved directly to the utility billing database.

The integration gives field operators access to GIS data, asset management information, and important customer and meter information directly from the utility billing application in real-time.

Service Orders can be generated in the asset management application using information from the utility billing application – for example, a batch of Service Orders can be created to shut off a group of customers who have not paid their bill. These Service Orders can then be completed using the asset management application, which will post the required meter information and associated fees directly to the customer account in the utility billing database.

Lastly, the integration expands the functionality of the utility billing application by adding a complete work management system that allows users to create and manage work orders for any geographic location, assets, GIS assets, facilities, heavy equipment, and much more.

The other day I saw a guy wearing one of these and I thought “Really?  I thought they stopped making those things in the 80’s.”

Did you ever have a calculator watch?  I did.  Ask me how many times I used the calculator function – probably about 3 or 4 times – each of which was to show off the watch to my buddies.  Not once did I actually find myself wishing that I had a calculator on my wrist – much less a calculator that was hard to read and required microscopic finger tips to push the correct buttons.  However, there were plenty of times when I wished that the numbers displaying the time of day were larger.

Then it hit me – a lot of cities and utilities looking for GIS based asset and work management software are shopping for calculator watches.   No, they’re not shopping for real calculator watches – but when I look at the extensive lists of features and requirements some of these organizations are looking for I wonder if they realize that they’re trying to cram a calculator into a watch – and although it might seem like a great idea at first, when it comes right down to it the solution is just not practical.

What happens when you cram a calculator into a watch? Both devices are crippled.  So when you’re out looking for new GIS-based asset and work order management software try to find the right software for the right job – and remember that mixing too many things together may result in a calculator watch.

After declaring that Android would be the winner in the smartphone race, he spoke with Engadget and – referring to Android – stated that a product “…can get greater market share and still be crappy.”

There is a lot of wisdom in that statement.   A great example would be Windows Vista; anyone who ever used the thing would put it at the very top of the “Crappy Products with High Market Share” list.

Luckily, Microsoft redeemed itself with Windows 7 and luckily not all products with high market share are crappy.

When evaluating GIS-based asset and work management software be sure to look beyond the number of customers a vendor has; it’s surprising how many people actually will jump off a cliff just because their friends are doing it.

1. Easier to use, and
2. More affordable.

Usually they explain that they purchased a nice GIS-based asset and work order management system 5-10 years ago and it just never really got adopted.

Unfortunately, of all the cruise ships on the ocean, it’s not very fun to find yourself in this particular boat.  Someone probably spent a lot of time and money up front on the software, and let’s face it: breaking up can be hard.

However, if you find yourself in this boat, you ultimately have two decisions – you can either:

1. Get back up to speed on the application and force everyone to start using it, or
2. Dump your current GIS based asset management system and get something that your people will actually use.

Before jumping ship to a newer, flashier ocean liner, here are a few quick questions to help you evaluate the situation:

1. Why is your software not being used?
2. How much money and time will it take to get back up to speed and use the application to its full potential?
3. Even if you had all the time and money in the world, could your field operators use the thing? Or is it just too complicated?

Many times we’ve found it to be quicker and less expensive to get a new application than to resurrect the old one.   At any rate, make sure to examine your current situation carefully before jumping ship – spending a bunch of money on one lousy cruise is bad enough, no one wants to go on two.

When selecting asset and work management software for government and utilities, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Usability

There’s a fine line between powerful software and an application that’s too complicated for people to use.

The nature of powerful software often entails processes that can be difficult and/or confusing to the end user.  My recommendation would be to have some end users sit in on a demo – by this I mean end users like the guys in the field who will be filling out work orders, and end users like the office admins who will be logging the phone calls – not necessarily end users like the IT staff.  If the office and field personnel are confused in the demos, you can count on them being confused when it comes time to actually use the thing.

GIS Integration

Do you need to purchase additional GIS licenses?

Depending on your GIS setup, this may or may not be an issue.  For smaller systems with limited resources, this is definitely an area where you can save some money, depending on which work order / asset management package you select.

Do you need to ‘synchronize’ your GIS data between your main GIS application and the asset management software?

This can save money, but be careful – when pushing data back and forth wires can get crossed and you can quickly run into data integrity issues with your GIS if you’re not careful.

Is the application built exclusively on top of a single GIS vendor?

Let’s face it – most people in the United States use ESRI for their GIS.  However, you may want to incorporate GIS data from multiple vendors into your asset / work management application – so keep that in mind.  We’ve seen some of our clients use their asset management software with MapInfo and other vendors as well.

Scalability

Can the application grow with your organization?

Remember, today you may only be interested in work orders, but next year you may want to integrate things like business licenses, permits, and inspections.

Is the application modular?

By this we mean do you have to buy each piece of the software separately or is it an all-in-one type application?  For example, do you need to buy a Work Orders ‘module’ and a separate Storm Water ‘module’?  The good news is, you only pay for what you need – the bad news is, you usually need more modules than you initially expect – and the dollars can add up fast.

Implementation and Maintenance Fees

How much is the annual maintenance?

Nobody likes maintenance fees, but unfortunately these fees are what make the world turn (in the software world at least).   20% of the software purchase price is pretty much industry standard, although software vendors vary on this and you may end up paying more or less depending on a) the vendor you select and b) your negotiating skills.

How much will you be paying for technical support?

Some companies offer an introductory period where you won’t pay for technical support.  Other companies are not so excited about giving away free support hours.  This is definitely an area that will vary with each vendor – but remember that support for niche products in niche markets typically doesn’t come cheap ($150-$250 per hour is industry standard).

How long will the implementation take?

For smaller cities and utilities (populations less than 10,000 or so) this can be fairly quick – sometimes as quick as 30-60 days or less.  For larger systems you can expect up to a year or more, depending on how complicated the workflow processes are and how much data needs to be converted.

What did I miss here?  I’d love to hear your comments and/or experiences.

• Asset & Infrastructure Management
• Facilities Management
• Work Orders
• Permits
• Licenses
• Inspections
• Other GIS technologies for utilities and government

So if you’re interested, join the group and help us promote industry news, software and hardware solutions, blogs, resources, and the like.  Have fun!

You can join the new LinkedIn group, GIS in Asset & Infrastructure Management for Government and Utilities by clicking here.

Elements harnesses the power of HTML in several areas – configuring record layouts, designing data input forms, setting up web submission forms, and rendering GIS maps.

Yes, that’s right – you can use HTML with your GIS map renderings in Elements.  What I love about HTML is you can pretty much do whatever you want with it; it’s simple to learn, and adds an incredible amount of flexibility to any application.

So here’s a quick map I threw together using basic HTML to render labels on a GIS map showing Work Order locations.  This map is nothing incredibly fancy or over-the-top… but it’s clean, simple, it displays the information I’m looking for, and it took about 2 minutes to put it together.

Basic GIS map showing Work Order locations; using HTML to render labels. (click to enlarge)

The neat thing about Elements is you can do the same thing I did here with Service Requests, Business Licenses, Permits, Inspections, and just about anything else you can think of.

The video below demonstrates a simple way to integrate maintenance management with GIS to easily keep track of calendar events and scheduled maintenance.  We put this short video together to show how smaller utilities can benefit from the built-in calendars and scheduling tools in Elements while leveraging their GIS investment.

The original 3 x 3 x 3 Rubik's Cube. Working with GIS-based asset and work management software can be a lot like solving a Rubik's Cube.

The original 3 x 3 x 3 Rubik’s Cube was first introduced in 1974 and has since caused hours of confusion and frustration for people all around the globe.

GIS-based asset management software was introduced about 15 years later and has caused equal amounts of confusion and frustration – especially for governments and utilities.  In fact, given the opportunity to choose between figuring out a Rubik’s Cube and figuring out some fancy new GIS-based asset and work management software, I best most people would take the cube.

When properly executed, combining GIS with asset management and work order software provides huge returns on investment for governments and utilities around the world every day.  However if not done properly, attempting to implement a GIS-centric asset and work order management system can quickly turn into the deepest money pit you’ve ever seen.

Here are a few quick tips to avoid potential disaster:

1. Start with a 3 x 3 x 3 cube. Have you ever seen those crazy cubes that are odd shapes and have many sizes?  Yes, they look fun and exciting – but the more sides and the more twists and turns on a Rubik’s Cube, the greater the challenge.  Same goes for your software – the more bells and whistles you cram into your GIS-based work order software, the more complications you are likely to encounter.  You can always expand as needed – remember to keep it simple (especially up front) and make sure you select something that fits the needs of your organization!
2. Don’t peel off the stickers. I know, it’s tempting…  Just peel off those last two stickers and be done with the stupid thing.  The truth is the cube will never look the same once you start peeling off the stickers – and the more stickers you peel off, the more likely you’ll never get them back to their rightful places.  With your GIS-based asset management software the same principle applies – don’t cut corners – the more you try to hack things together and make do with the wrong tools, the more likely you are to face complications.  And just like the stickers, once you’ve peeled off enough of those things the only way to fix it is to buy a new cube.  Luckily cubes are cheap, software is not.
3. Don’t give up! Even the 3 x 3 x 3 cube can be a challenge at first.  But remember, just like the Rubik’s Cube, if you read the instructions (and maybe get a little bit of training) you’ll be just fine (if your software didn’t come with instructions or training you’re in trouble).

As a side note, I’d be interested to see how many people who read this post can solve a 3 x 3 x 3 cube.  If you can solve a cube, leave a comment and I’ll compare that to the number of hits this post receives over the coming weeks and I’ll post the results for anyone who’s interested!