Feature Stories
LAC publishes many articles on maintenance and system applications. Many articles are co-authored with our clients. These are some of the articles that have been published during recent years:
Planning Public Works
The Emeryville, Calif., Public Works Department has begun using a software program to plan and track the activities of its Maintenance Division. The software helps the department automatically prepare schedules of tasks, track the costs of those tasks and respond to residents' maintenance requests.
Developing A Complete In-House Maintenance Management System
A Maintenance Management System (MMS) can help public agencies better manage their maintenance operations. One Florida County was not only able to able to accomplish this, but they did it with software they developed in-house. How could this be? Their success was a product of teamwork between the Department of Public Works (DPW) and the IT staff from Hernando County working together with a consultant to provide guidance and assistance.
Employee "buy-in", Education, Union Coordination Help Launch Successful Maintenance Management Program For Silicon Valley City
Published in the APWA Reporter, September 2002: Coauthored with Maintenance Manager of City of Fremont, CA. Outlines how a maintenance management system was implemented to improve operations and resulted in six-figure annual savings.
Six Figure Savings With MMS Implementation And Citizen Involvement Too!
Six figure savings in the first six months of road and stormwater maintenance system implementation may sound to good to be true, but Charlotte County, Florida, got just that and more. An innovative Maintenance Management System (MMS) initiated for Charlotte County generated savings of more than $750,000 in the first six months of operation plus $500,000 in the following year.
DPW Gets Good Report; Efficiency Is Up 14 Percent
Brooksville-Four years ago the county Department of Public Works Department(DPW)got a review most departments chiefs dread. DPW employees could not account for a third of their work time. Residents had to wait a week before DPW took care of complaints and they were increasing each year.
Orange Co Proves Governments Can Compete
Jointly with County Maintenance Manager. Outlines how government can compete with the private sector. Discusses how the County with the aide of some private subcontractors was successful in direct competition with private contractors.
Reno's Infrastructure System's Continuous Improvement Process
Coauthored with City Director of Public Works. Helped maintenance to improve efficiency and save dollars. Outlines maintenance improvements resulting from an implementation of a maintenance management system.
Customer Service Public Work Department Meets The Challenge
Jointly authored with South Gate Public Works Director and Maintenance Manager. Discusses city's system to meet the needs of citizens request of service.
Understanding The New Meaning Of Customer Service Maintenance
Coauthored with Manager of County Maintenance Operations. Outlines how a County can be responsive to clients- both cities and the public.
The Internet: A Tool For Public Works
Discusses how the Internet can be used in a very practical sense by public works agencies.
Nationwide Survey On Maintenance Yards
Coauthored with Caltrans Maintenance Engineer. Complete survey on maintenance yards with averages of 38 states.
PMS Pumps Up California County's Roadway Conditions
Coauthored with Orange County Pavement Manager. Gives the story of Orange County California's successful 14 year experience with PMS.
Picking The Best Location For Maintenance Yards
Coauthored with Caltrans Maintenance Engineer. Discusses a model developed for locating maintenance yards that balances capital and operations cost with lost productivity as result of travel.
Management Review Improves Productivity, Operations
This is coauthored with Manager of Public Works Operations in Orange County, California. Outlines the system success in improving maintenance of the roadways and flood system.
Asset Management And G.A.S.B. Statement 34: The Basics Of Managing Your Infrastructure
Asset management has been generating a lot of public works industry ‘buzz’ this year, spurred on by Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 34. Perhaps one of the most influential policy trends facing public works managers today, asset management deserves a reality check.
Can Flood Maintenance Be Managed?
Authored with Managers of Maintenance of three California Counties. Gives outline of how maintenance is managed and planned for flood maintenance.
Getting Maintenance Work Done: In-House or By Others
The main objective for any Public Works department is to cost-effectively optimize resources - these include employees equipment, materials, contracts, and physical assets. Orange County, California has successfully used various maintenance and operations service providers, including a combination of in-house/force accounts, outsourcing, job order contracting, and incarcerated labor.
Public Works and Ethics Go Hand In Hand
Ethical behavior helps us live and work in a civil society. Human nature dictates that we act in our own self-interest in most circumstances unless we feel a moral obligation to others or society. Today's society promotes a "me first" mentality. Citisens expect public works officials to be watchful and careful with the resources entrusted to them. How can we create an environment that will encourage ethical behavior in the public works sector?
Alternative Workweeks: Productivity vs. Employee Benefits
Public agency managers face increasingly limited public funds with demands for increased accountability and greater pressures for transparency of choices for employee work schedules. As a result, alternative work schedules (AWS) have become increasingly popular over the past several decades. AWS, in the area of public works, is a heated topic with the issue of productivity being a core question.
How a Maintenance Station Location Model Effectively Maintains Infrastructure Assets
One of the fundamental questions that we have in Public Works is where to locate maintenance yards to best serve the public and maintain infrastructure assets (i.e. roads, stormwater, sewer water, etc.) The location(s) can affect the service, cost, response time and ability to maintain assets. One way to evaluate maintenance yard locations is through the use of a Maintenance Station Location Model (MSLM).
Asset Management vs. Maintenance Management
In the public works industry, the practices of asset management and maintenance management are used interchangeably and synonymously. Although these practices have some common elements and are both valuable tools for a public works manager, they are both unique.
Overhead is Over our Head
In the public works field, our focus is often on just accomplishing work. Cost, of course, is a major issue, along with labor, equipment, material and contracts. However, the largest cost being incurred is often the one most misunderstood - overhead.
Span of Control Impacts Public Works Efficiency
Span of control is defined as the number of people a manager can supervise effectively, and can be broadly categorized as either narrow or wide. The span of control and layers of management in an organization help determine the way public works operations assign tasks to employees. Improvement in work flow can often be impacted by these factors.
Please Step Away From That Truck
A comprehensive fleet assessment and improvement program initiated for the Volusia County Public Works Department has resulted in annual savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars without impacting workloads. One of the biggest opportunities is optimizing your equipment needs and keeping equipment resources that add value.
Administering FEMA Requirements Doesn't Need to be a Disaster
Volusia County in northeast Florida has experienced a number of emergency events in recent years such as flooding, wind damage and beach erosion, many of which have been declared a federal disaster. This article outlines the process by which Volusia County has met federal reporting requiremens and provides specific guidelines for other public agencies and municipalities.
Article: Agencies Can Save Dollars By Using Technology And Best Business Practices
Independent of any specific software system, public agency improvements can be implemented using a systematic process of incorporating technology with best business practices. This article describes the successes of two Florida Countaluation to determine areas for improvement within their Public Works Departments, then taking aciton with the resulting transformations being documented.
Management System Helps Streamline Sewer Maintenance
The West Valley Sanitation District in Santa Clara County, CA, has improved collection system operations through the use of new technologies and improved business processes. The effort included evaluating work flow, determining operational improvements, developing a performance-based budget, and implementing multiple best business practices/strategies.
Software Systems Improve Wastewater Colleciton
Through a combination of technology and business processes, West Valley Sanitation Distric (WVSD), Santa Clara County, Calif., sought to improve its wastewater collection system operations. The effort ranged from streamlining work practices to using advanced technologyh such as a complete computerized maintenace management system (CMMS( with geographical information system (GIS) connectivity and closed circuit television (CCTV) datalinked to a new maintenance system to develop routine schedules, track work, and improve operations.
Orange Whip
In 1982, Orange County's Public Works Department developed an automated Pavement Management System (PMS). The systems objectives were: (1) develop an objective, systematic methodology for determining roadway conditions and defining rehabilitation strategies for all streets and highways within unincorporated Orange County, Calif., and (2) establish a process where a preventative mode of maintenance work is planned and performed for the entire Orange County roadway system. The county had to plan and optimize expenditures better because of population growth, accompanying traffic and an increase in volume and magnitude of heavy vehicles.
Selecting the Right Maintenance Management System Can Improve Your Operations
A properly implemented Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) can serve as a powerful management tool. Resources and activities can be justified and work history is documented. Public agencies may need to implement a CMMS for a number of reasons - mandates by federal, state and loal agencies, results of internal or external audits, justifying resources, and establishing an automated system.
Traffic Signal Preventative Maintenance Program Earns a Green Light from Reno and Hernando County
An innovative traffic signals preventative maintenance (PM) program implemented for Reno, NV and Hernando County, FL has resulted in increased productivity and efficiency. Public works professionals are familiar with pavement maintenance programs - making a continuous proactive maintenance investment, for instance, will be less expensive in the long run than having to reconstruct the roadway due to lack of maintenance causing the quality of the pavement to deteriorate.
CMMS Selection Success
A properly implemented computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) is a powerful management tool. Maintenance and engineering managers can use it to justify resources and activities, as well as to document work history. But managers also might need to implement a CMMS to comply with federal, state or local mandates, follow the results of internal or external audits, justify resources, or establish an automated management system.
Big Success in a Small City: Implementing a New Maintenance Management Approach
The City of Emeryville, California recently implemented a new management approach in maintenance operations designed to enhance teamwork, morale, communication, and performance. The implemented maintenance management system was an innovative approach to improving not only operations, but also improving City officials' understanding of maintenance.