Some alphabet soup offered by Oakland County could save the township money.
Scott Oppmann, manager for Application Services Division, Oakland County Department of Information Technology, offered Independence Township Department of Public Works the opportunity to share the county’s computerized maintenance management system, CMMS, Customer Request Management, CRM, and permitting application system.
The only thing the township would have to pay is the yearly maintenance fee of $6,587. The board voted unanimously for a letter of support.
This system, along with the asset management and permitting program, also contains a Geographic Information System, or GIS, something Linda Richardson, director of DPW, has wanted to do for a long time.
Currently, paper maps must be used to look up anything for water and sewer, and they are not really clear of where one thing ends and another begins, Richardson said.
‘It’s just a line that goes in the road or along the roadways, but it’s just a line. We don’t know where it stops. It doesn’t really tell us what side of the roads.?
Also, lot numbers on the maps must be converted to address numbers, which takes a lot of work, she said.
The DPW is currently trying to convert things into an ‘access database,? which is compatible with GIS.
With the GIS, the department would be able to computerize all its water and sewer maps, as well as all hydrant, valve, and curb box locations for each home.
‘With GIS, you click onto that house and it will tell when that house was built,? said Richardson. ‘Any layer you want to put on there, you can put on there. My main concern is the water and sewer layer.?
The DPW will also be able to scan in permits and work orders.
‘It will be very labor intensive to get everything converted over, but it will all be computerized,? she said.
‘If this goes down, we can still function and go back to our paper and put the data in later.?
Richardson also wants a permitting program, an upgrade from the current system of paper and typewriters.
‘It’s very cumbersome,? said Richardson.