CCG Systems, Inc. congratulates ten FASTER Customers – City of Durham, N.C.; Frederick County, Md.; City of Fort Wayne, Ind.; City of Fort Worth, TX; Montgomery County, Md.; City of Raleigh, N.C.; City of Scottsdale, Ariz.; District of Columbia; Washtenaw County, Mich.; and the City of Winston-Salem, N.C. – for receiving several recognitions in technology excellence given by Public Technology Institute’s 2007-08 Solution Awards. Recipients were honored at the PTI 2008 Technology Leadership Conference and Exposition in Miami, Florida on May 8.
Geared towards local governments grouped by population size, the annual competition rewards entities demonstrating improved service delivery, reduction in operating costs, and creation of new revenue initiatives through the use of technology.
The following FASTER Customers and their achievements are listed below:
Note: Population Categories: A. 750,000+ B. 350,000-749,999 C. 100,000-349,999 D. 1 to 99,999
GIS
Significant Achievement: Public Snow Response Reporting System
Web Services
Significant Achievement: CapStat: Building A City That Works
GIS
Honorable Mention: Frederick County GIS Data Ordering System
Web Services
Winner: Dynamic Language Translation
Honorable Mention:
Parks and Recreation Web Registration
Fort Wayne/Allen County Intranet
Video on Demand
Management and Display of Public Works Bids
Telecommunications and Information Technology
Honorable Mention: Downtown Free Wi-Fi
Sustainability
Honorable Mention: Joint Vehicle Purchasing
Fort Worth, TX [B]
Public Safety and Emergency Management
Winner: Firehouse/Maximo Integration Project
Honorable Mention:
Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Station Alerting Replacement – Phase 1
Online Jail Blotter system
Special Needs Assessment
GIS
Winner: Street Network Design
Web Services
Honorable Mention: Online Health Inspection Reports
Telecommunications and Information Technology
Significant Achievement: Electronic Overtime Approval System
Honorable Mention:
Online Health Inspection Reports
CFW Aviation Lease Management Software
Library Customer Wireless Services
Library Online Fine/Fee Payments
Mobile Inspector Computers
Limehouse Software Implementation
Error Monitor
Sustainability
Honorable Mention: Equipment Services Department Fuel Warehouse
Public Safety and Emergency Management
Honorable Mention: Fire and Rescue Service Personnel Information Management
GIS
Winner: Innovative Way of Using Motor Vehicle Records to Address Building Inventory
Raleigh, NC [C]
Web Services
Significant Achievement: Randleigh Farm Wiki
GIS
Significant Achievement: Integration of GIS with Nature Preserve Planning and Management
Web Services
Honorable Mention: New Website Design and Content Management System Implementation
Telecommunications and Information Technology
Honorable Mention: Scottsdale Technology Partner and Scottsdale Technologists Program
Public Safety and Emergency Management
Honorable Mention:
Online Asset Editing Website for Public Safety Answering Points
Washtenaw County Business Continuity Strategic Plan
Web Services
Significant Achievement: Board of Commissioners Webcast Archival Solution
Sustainability
Honorable Mention: Board of Commissioners Paperless Notation Project
GIS
Honorable Mention: Stormwater Impervious Surface Area Management
Web Services
Significant Achievement: MyCityofWS: Bringing Citizens Closer to Government
(Ocala) is a full-service law enforcement agency equipped with a variety of resources to meet the unique needs of its citizens. The Marion County Sheriff's Office workforce includes 894 authorized employees, segmented by 585 sworn officers and 309 civilians. The agency's four guiding strategies (quality of life, stewardship, safe and motivated workforce and excellence of service) enable the Marion County Sheriff's Office to focus on creating and balancing value for their customers and key stakeholders. The office maximizes money spent through its focus on delivering law enforcement services through its decentralized community policing initiative and a cost-effective corrections facility that includes a work farm program. The Sheriff's commitment of "putting citizens first" is exemplified by key customer requirements such as response time, visibility and professional service. They have the best crime clearance rate of the 28 highest populated counties in Florida. In addition, the Jail to Work Program has shown favorable increases as the value of inmate labor significantly improved from more than 4.3 million in 2004 to more than 8.6 million in 2007, demonstrating a greater than $4 million increase in cost savings. The Marion County Sheriff's Office is the first sheriff's office to win the Governor's Sterling Award.
The City of Loveland is currently under consideration for an APWA Award in the area of Fleet Management and Operations based on their successful conversion from HTE to the FASTER Fleet Management System which has led to increased customer satisfaction and acheivements including:
This team has just completed a year in which they had to work between two systems. The City of Durham adopted a new ERP system (named MUNIS) last year and it required my staff to become experts on two systems. Not only did they become proficient, they became recognized as the go to people around the City when it came to the new MUNIS system.
The results that were clearly observed was that even with the requirements of using two systems, my staff processed more payables functions and paid our vendors much quicker than the entire staff in Accounting. In fact, this team was so well respected for their abilities; we were the only department in the City that performed our own payables functions. Our vendors were also a testimony to their proficiency, the vendors that were paid by Accounting were three months behind on getting paid, and ours were current. I had one of these teammates that processed more payables than two employees in Accounting. This may not sound significant; but payables was the only function that the Accounting employees performed.
Fleet's employees were highly involved on the front end with the purchase order requisition of all these functions before payables even came into play. This team also used FASTER to provide the Budget Department with sound data that allowed them to make decisions that streamlined the process and were factual based. Their proficiency with FASTER made the first year of our total fleet replacement program a success. I am supposed to be the leader of this organization, yet I am so humbled to have such a team that leads regardless of me or even in spite of me. I am so proud of their accomplishments and abilities. They are recognized as problem solvers by other City departments, not just in fleet issues. They are recognized as the go to people with any human resources issue in MUNIS and the ERP team has stated many times that Fleet employees are the only staff that has learned to use MUNIS efficiently.
When the City ERP team was looking at Fleet using Munis for our fleet system; they were instrumental in pointing out all of the advantages that FASTER gives us that we'd loose in MUNIS. Thus, the ERP team strongly recommended keeping FASTER to manage our fleet. They have been dubbed "Charlie's Angels" by a now retired fleet employee. I'm not Charlie, but more like Bosley, however, I am so fortunate that I have four.
These two are responsible for the RTY, Class code clean up. The results will subsequently improve accuracy of data and reports. Carmen and Ray both continually strive to improve capabilities of FASTER facets to better the Department.
As the M&O Supervisor Bob oversees several aspects of our fleet operation. Monthly Bob prepares several reports that are reviewed at our fleet managers meeting that reviewing our job progress and efficiencies. These reports are produced from information contained in FASTER CS. Some of these reports are
Through Bob work we are able to report accurate information to our administration on equipment purchases and disposal. Bob work with our state fuel taxes; he is able to receive refunds annually in excess of $15K dollars per year. Bob monitoring of our parts purchases by vendor over $5K dollars and their bid contracts we have been able to save our customers thousands of dollars in reduced costs and in obtaining superior parts. Bob is a knowledgeable leader. He is respected and trusted by our staff and works tirelessly in perusing the best solutions and costs for our customers. Bob is a valuable asset to our fleet operation.
Frank convinced me that FASTER was the only fleet software worth having at the City of Tracy to actually help us "manage" our fleet. We began "kick-off" in August and have been through a couple of meetings, installation, configuration, and set-up trainings with Bob Auger and Jeff Liddington. We look forward to going "live" at the end of October. This management tool truly is state-of-the-art when it comes to managing a fleet; no matter the size. We've already seen a tremendous savings in time, (man hours saved) regarding data entry. Our current system requires the same data to be entered three different times and wastes far too many resources that could be better spent elsewhere in our fleet. Frank has spent a significant amount of time with date transferring, spreadsheets, etc... working late evenings and weekends both at our office and at his home taking time away from his family to make sure we have accurate data entered before our actual "go live" date. He has truly gone over and above the call of duty to make sure all transitions go smoothly.
As the central storeroom General Storekeeper his was instrumental in staying in compliance after a State audit. He reorganized and reconstructed the Central Storeroom to its current status. The storeroom now could go up against any parts room in the industry. He is deserving because he was able to accomplish these task without always having the support of management.
He is the person who brought FASTER to the City, hich has allowed us to improve as a Fleet. We went for a paper system to a FASTER Bos which was really only used for billing in 1993. We upgraded to FASTER CS in 1999 where it was still being used just for billing. In 2001 when began using the FASTER system to track inventory. In 2002 we began using FASTER to order and receive using the FASTER system which saved us about 1.5 million dollars in 2003. In 2007 we went live using the TWS which has generated about 500 thousand additional dollars in revenue. Don is a mentor and a motivator to all that work for the Fleet maintenance division here in Cleveland. He is the very knowledgeable on what is takes to run a good Fleet and he is working to make us a great fleet.
Bruce is our Day shift repair shop supervisor. He is responsible for the day to day operation and repair of city equipment. Bruce uses our fleet system to provide numerous reports, daily work assignments and other customer requested tasks. At our monthly shop supervisors meeting Bruce prepares the following FASTER CS reports for discussion and review;
I believe Tom is deserving of this award because of his courage and perseverance to implement changes in his area of expertise and provide strategic planning information to the organization and department heads using FASTER. Tom's leadership throughout the organization is second to none. Fleet Operations Savings: $257,000+ Fleet Replacement Interest Savings: $100,000 annually Shop Turn-Around Time: From 2+hrs to 1hrs Fleet Availability: From 82% to 92+% Scheduled vs. Non-Scheduled Repairs: From 40/60 to 60/40 Average Downtime: Less than 24 hrs 98+% 24-48 .28% more than 48hrs .57% Tom's results in dollar savings really tell only part of the story of his dedication and commitment to be the best. Through his efforts, the City has realized over $257,000+ savings in fleet operations and $100,000 annual interest savings in just this year alone.
Tom's efforts were instrumental in consolidating the Fleet Management function. He is continuously pursuing ways tom implement new and improved processes in maintenance & repair, technology, fueling, customer service and overall fleet performance. Tom used his skills and knowledge of computers and database experience to set the ground work for bringing the Fleet Shop up to speed in record time. He has implemented a vehicle/equipment replacement schedule and worked with the Finance Department to implement a replacement fund. Customers seem to be happier as Tom implemented the first ever internal Customer Satisfaction Survey resulting in an 85% satisfaction rate. He has also implemented a PM program that has increased the availability of the fleet from 80% up to 95%+ availability. Tom has turned around the scheduled vs non-scheduled maintenance to keep the fleet availability rate high. Tom has continued to raise the bar in many areas and the latest is ASE Blue Seal of Excellence recognition of some 1,600 recognized facilities, 94 in Texas and from those 94 the City of Conroe is proud to be 1 of only 10 Cities.
Today's technicians are not your average mechanic. They have to be as familiar with a computer as they are with the operation of a internal combustion engine. Wayne Maland is one of those technicians who can fix automotive problems with a flip of the mouse and for those of you who have a back ground in automotive repair know how true this is. OEM's have the capability from thousands of miles away to set the fuel idle mixture on your vehicle and away you go. We have all seen or heard the commercials for ON STAR where someone has either had a accident or locked them self out of their car and the ON STAR representative opens the door or calls the for help. These are just the beginnings of TELEMATICS.
Today's technicians are on the ground floor of these technologies. Wayne is one of our best. When we introduced the FASTER system in our shop, we installed it, shut the old system off on Friday and started the FASTER system on Monday. Wayne helped lead our staff in the workings of our new system and why it was important to our future. Wayne has went on to master the reports and other operational data inputs to help us maintain an efficient system.
Julie has held the position of Corporate Fleet Systems Analyst for 26 years, supporting the requirements of a fleet compliment of over 1200 vehicles. She is constantly pursuing ideas and ways to improve the efficiencies within our organization. She fully supports the FASTER system, and identifies opportunities for the entire Corporation to benefit from the FASTER system and its functionality.
Darryl Syler is responsible for the implementation of the City's Paint and Body shop. After monitoring the services of the outside vendor, it became clear that the services were falling behind schedule on a regular basic, and the cost for service had begun to increase. A proposal was presented to the City Manager to allow Fleet Services to open a City owned Paint and Body shop. The proposal indicated that Fleet Services could reduce cost and reduce downtime on repairs. As a result of Darryl's commitment and dedication, implementation of the Paint and Body shop has reduced the downtime from 20 days on minor repairs to 9 days and from 45 days on major repairs to 23 days. Fleet Services has saved the City $65,000 in the first eight months of this year. By opening the paint and body shop, Fleet Services has been able to enhance the appearance of its fleet. Fleet Services have in place a policy when vehicles come in for preventative maintenance and there are minor body damages or peeling paint, it is scheduled for the Paint and Body shop. This process" Keep our Fleet Rolling".
I believe that Darryl Syler is deserving of this award because of his consistency in his effort to improve customer services and reduce cost to our customers. Darryl sets excellent standards in every area of his operation. The City of Little Rock is very please to have a person like Darryl who is a team player and committed to his Department and the City of Little Rock.
Beddie won DHEC Environmental Excellence Award for being in Compliance for Ten (10) Years. Debbie subsequently will improve accuracy of data and reports. In February 2007, the Department of Health and Environmental Control (D.H.E.C.), thorough it's Division of Underground Storage Tanks (U.S.T.), awarded Charleston County Government their "Environmental Excellence Award". The reason for the award was "Outstanding Underground Storage Tank Operations for a Non-Retail entity since 1997". Over this ten (10) year period, Debbie White, who manages the Charleston County Fleet Operations fuel operations, was responsible for monitoring and accounting for 11,665,025 gallons of combined unleaded and diesel petroleum product. She is also further responsible for both insuring proper equipment compliance and maintenance. The County received this very notable recognition due to the hard work, dedication and due diligence of this very talented and skilled individual. Her keen oversight, technical skill, knowledge and attention to detail allow for the processing of 1,338,500 gallons of product per year.
Everyone knows if you are not in compliance, it could cost from $500-$250,000. Debbie is extremely loyal, dedicated, committed and compassionate. She is the one who is rallies to get each employee more money, the best insurance, more training, etc. She is probably the most selfless and generous person I have ever met. Not only is she a Hero to Fleet Operations, she has been a Hero to Charleston County Government for the last twenty-six years.