Teamwork is an integral part of any organization. For Public Works, this is even more true. Each department has a specific role that they play in the bigger picture of their communities. Whether looking at the team from an external or internal perspective, you can see where any breakdown in communication can be detrimental to organizational trust and transparency. Regardless of what department activities are taking place, the need for other department support is required in many cases.
There are a few acronyms used for the definition of a team though “Together Everyone Achieves More” is the most prevalent and the most accurate from a maintenance perspective. For most Public Works organizations, coordination between departments is a large problem that takes personnel many man hours to accomplish, especially if those departments are using disparate systems that do not communicate outside of their own department. This configuration generally results in rework and frustration, as work groups may show up to complete an activity, but the site is not ready, or another group is already working on another task at that location. Being able to easily coordinate work activities between departments, to create a more cohesive team, is a must have for our cities and counties across the country.
How does teamwork make a difference?
For example, a constituent reports a problem with a water main break in their community, which is routed to the water department for correction. The water department sends out a field technician to investigate using a pickup truck maintained by the organization’s Fleet Department. When the field technician investigates, the solution is to rip up the pavement and replace the section of water main. To accomplish this feat, the Roads Department will need to come out to remove the asphalt and dig up the watermain. Once the water main is exposed, the Water Department completes the replacement then calls the Roads Department back in to repave the area. During this entire evolution, the constituent that reported the problem still needs communication to let them know the status of their complaint.
Though there are many departments that have specific requirements for reporting and maintenance, having a single system for assigning work activities, tracking inventory, and scheduling maintenance throughout the organization can create widespread time and monetary savings. In the example above, having a single system to coordinate these work activities between the departments can save time, ensure streamlined work processes, and cut down on emails and phone calls. Finding a system that can help organizations coordinate these activities, track maintenance and costs for all departments, and report on these activities from one system can increase confidence in the figures, decrease time and effort needed to consolidate data, and streamline processes across the organization.
Having an Enterprise Asset Management software system that allows all of your disparate groups to use the same software for completing work activities regardless of the asset type is imperative to streamlining internal reporting processes and coordinating work activities between groups, which decreases overhead costs.
