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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 09-02-2008 - 3aORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: September 2, 2008 Action Agen a Item No. SUBJECT: NCACC 2007-08 Ralph W. Ketner Employee Productivity Award for Inspect Plus Software - On Site Field Inspections DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No County Manager ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Blackmon, 245-2300 Inspect Plus Software for On Site Field Susan Mellott, 245-2600 Inspections Permitting Summary PURPOSE: To recognize the Planning and Inspections Department and specifically Permit Systems Analyst Dan Bruce as a recipient of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) 2007-08 Ralph W. Ketner Employee Productivity Award. BACKGROUND: Each year, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) solicits new programs and innovative solutions from North Carolina county governments as entries for consideration for Ralph W. Ketner Employee Productivity Awards. Orange County is once again a recipient of an award for the excellence provided by County staff. Orange County, the Planning and Inspections Department, and Dan Bruce were selected fora 2007-08 Ralph W. Ketner Employee Productivity Award for the Inspect Plus Software for On Site Field Inspections. A two-page summary of this initiative is attached. Award presentations were made at the August 2008 NCACC summer conference in New Bern. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with recognizing the Planning and Inspections Department and specifically Permit Systems Analyst Dan Bruce as a recipient of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) 2007-08 Ralph W. Ketner Employee Productivity Award. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board recognize the Planning and Inspections Department and specifically Permit Systems Analyst Dan Bruce as a recipient of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) 2007-08 Ralph W. Ketner Employee Productivity Award. North Carolina Association of County Commissioners ~~~ O 2007-08 Ralph W. Ketner Employee Productivity Awa~+ds Application County: Orenge Employee: Dan Bruce Email: dbruce(~co.orange.nc.us County Department: Planning and Inspections Employee Title: Permit Systems Analyst /Plans Examiner/Elechfcal Inspector County Phone: 919-245-2593 County Mailing Address: 308E Revere Road Is this project being submitted on behaM of two or more employees NO X YES If yes, please provide below a listing of all project employees in Number 8. Employee 8: title as listed above should be for lead team member. Fair Labors Standards Act Designation: In order for your project to be eligible, you MUST indicate one of the following. If you do not know, please contact your personnel director. EXEMPT: a NON-EXEMPT: ^ BOTH (it applicable to a team): ^ 1. Productiv Im n~vement Title: Ins ct Plus Software - On Site Field Ins ions Permitti 2. im lamentation Dats must be between Janua 1 2007 and December 31 2008: Jan O7 to 'r 07 3. Please describe the pr+oductlvity Improvement (Please limit response to these 2 pages.) In early 2007 Orange County Inspections began design and development of the Inspect Plus program, which is an in-house developed software a ication utilized to ss all as cts of field in ions. This software vided the follows im rovements for field and office rsonnel: • Reduce r usa a in the nnitd 8~ ins on roc;ess b 7096 • Reallocated em to hours eliminatl du licate data ant • Measurable increase in staff ef8de for more ins ctlons da and more time available to Citizens • Maintains Eme en Sen-ices/ GPS addressi act. A. GPS latitude and to nude coorclinate is take at the entrence to each structure • increases communicaatiorls to permit holders and contractors and improves consistency of inspection code interpretatieonsthraugh the use of electronic codes and thro h e nded use of charts tables and code comments to su rt code int one • Collect detailed ins on turndown data to be utilized for trains seminars for DYI rmit holders and contractors • Provides GIS ma in field for uk~c rcel aocation thus savi drivin time • Ins r has all active and st unit data available in fold or offce at a click of a button • In or able to leave charts di rams and/or sketches on site for enhanced cla of into one. P.O. Bo:1488, RakiBh, NC 27602-1488 " Pho0e: (919) 71s-2893 " Fu: (919) 733-1066 " www.aeaicc.ora 4. Please describe wh was Initlabed or what roblem h addressed: In 2006, Orange County oo cbsd to have addresses verified and assignment of latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates for the entrance of each primary structuro within the sty's boundaries. In osier to maintain this data for future construction, the Inspections Division began ks+eatJng the software to provide the tools ry to avoid data drift for this poterrtialy lib saving information. Through this project development we saw the opportunity to streamline the pecUons prok~ss. We incorporated the design, creation and deployment of a fully functioning software package, which provided staffing and resou effidendes whUe managing the increasingly complex function of building inspections. Similar softwaro would krost Orange County approximately $70, with X10,000 in annual licensing fees. As the pr~ect matured it also nc:orporated an inspection turndown libr~uy of the most common rejection items that are entered via a bar code scan while the Inspector is on the Jobsite us providing, over tune, reliabb base data on the most prevalent non-compliant issues. h Is irrteended that this information be utill~ed to provide edu al oppordmfties sponsored by Orange County for permit holders and contractors. In summary, this project Orange County EMS with continued address verification; reduced paper usage; reduced office time for fold staff, thus incroasing field time and p opportunity to compile'most frequent turndowns' in osier to provide spedfic training for our customers. 6. Please ua the Im a results in banns of cwt savin cost avoidance andlor a hi her Isvel of ssrvlkres Ided. indicate what wwr used to achlsv~e r+ss and what was done with Uh time savi Man The initial cost savings expo cad were in employee hours entering inspection result data at the end of the day. Having the ability th enter data on-site via cut and paste from ~ codes or utilizing the bu11t in library saved approximately 3000 employee hours per year. We then went paperless whl saves about 1000 sheets of paper per week. Finally because the application was designed and created in house by inspections staff we were to save the cxast of new software and the annual licensing fees. This software has received merous accolades from the contractors due to the increased information available to them through the Inspectors in the field. The inspectors aro iso available to conduct Inspections for a longer period of time each day. The inspectors have er~oyed the electronic codes as a good search tool or attaching cxade items to field rejections. The office staff has also decreased the amount of tlme printing out inspection requests and the filing them into file folders at the end of each day which in turn reduces office filing space and future archive space. All and all this implementation s been a great sutxress and we have achieved all of the goals set before us. ' 6. Please rovide a r dsscri information ou would like to bs considered the review committee. Equipment costs were In the elghborhood of $50,000 for field grade lapthps, portable printers, and vehicle doddng equipment. Part of this expense was offset by trading in relatively desldop computers balk to our IT department for reallocation in other county fadlities. This amounted to approximately 7 to 8 thousand dollars in sa ngs. Cou Mana er'Ie Name: Laura Blackmon Su rvisor's Name: Susan Mellott Buildi Services Man er Ratum by June 2.2008.via a all to mcaccQncacc.ora. C (~ P.O. Hoe 1488, Ralei~h~ NC Z760Z-1488 "Phone: (919) 7L1-?.893' Fu: (91~ 733-1065 " www.oaccor~ '