Mobility is key for a utilities department. With crews and operators travelling all over the community every day to perform work, it’s important to keep everyone in sync.
City of Sanford started using Brightly's software because they wanted to help their workforce be more mobile. Their previous system did not have the mobile aspect which they wanted and they felt it had become outdated for their operations.
The City started with having their Wastewater Department use the software. Crew leaders had tablets and were able to collect data in the field. Fedd Walker, Utilities Superintendent, says, “Using the system gave operators a greater role in checking the work order queue and then accepting their next assignment rather than the administrator having to find an operator to dole out work. It has removed a lot of the paperwork from the administrator and eased their workload.”
One area in which the system has been especially helpful is in simplifying the process of reporting. Walker says, “We have to submit our numbers to the state for biennial inspections. [The software] has made this whole process more efficient. Employees used to have to worry about keeping up with paperwork, making sure everything was kept clean and dry, and giving that information to the administrator. Now, they use a tablet which lets us capture real time data as they go. When a job is completed, crews don’t have to worry about data entry or paperwork. It’s cut out two steps of our reporting process.”
[It] is a user-friendly system which has helped us streamline processes for operators and made it much easier for managers to get the data they need, when they need it.
"It’s made our jobs easier, especially with such a mobile workforce. It’s hard to get that extra person on staff, and this system helps us do more with the workforce we have.”
