HomeMy WebLinkAbout10D - City Software License Agreement with CarteGraph Systems, Inc.
MEETING DATE:
AGENDA #:
PREPARED BY:
AGENDA ITEM:
DISCUSSION:
APRIL 20, 2009
10D
CRAIG ELDRED, STREET AND UTILITIES SUPERVISOR
JENNIFER WITTKOPF, PUBLIC WORKS COORDINATOR
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING STAFF TO
EXPAND THE CITY SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT WITH
CARTEGRAPH SYSTEMS, INC.
Introduction
The purpose of this agenda item is to seek City Council approval to expand the
City software license agreement with CarteGraph Systems, Inc. to include
flexible or "flex licensing".
Historv
Since 2001, City staff has utilized a Pavement View computer software license
supplied and supported by CarteGraph for recording, tracking and managing
street maintenance, repair, reconstruction and Capital Improvement Program
(CIP) planning for the entire Prior Lake community.
Current Circumstances
The software currently in use is limited in its application and does not allow
staff to record and manage the vast majority of City infrastructure. The City
owns and maintains more than $250 million worth of infrastructure which
includes streets, buildings, parks, trails, sewers, watermains and storm water
systems. Currently staff utilizes basic spreadsheet and hardcopy systems to
manage City infrastructure. Staff believes it is advisable to develop or use a
computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) to track and
manage the City's infrastructure assets and work orders. A computerized
database system of this type allows users to store data and produce reports
providing comprehensive information to make informed decisions.
Having a system that tracks work orders and assets will benefit the City in
many ways. Staff will be able to respond to citizen concerns more quickly,
whether it is answering a question on the phone in the office or having a
mobile connection to the data in the field when working on residential and
emergency maintenance. Staff will also be able to proactively plan for
maintenance and replacement of infrastructure, based on the asset history that
is recorded in the database. This will also allow staff to prepare a more
effective budget and CIP. The current system does not easily allow staff to
provide "true cost analysis" for services which combines labor, equipment, fuel
and material costs for budgeting decisions.
The system can also be used to record electronic timesheets. Currently,
administrative staff spends several hours per pay period reviewing, correcting
and tracking staff time from paper timesheets. The current method limits
staff's capabilities for comprehensive analysis and reporting.
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Phone 952.447.9800 / Fax 952.447.4245
By utilizing a CMMS, the time tracking component can be tied directly to each
asset that is being maintained, and also to a specific project work order. This
will allow staff to track projects from beginning to end, having an up-to-date
status and historic record of related incidents. This also provides the ability to
track project time and costs for on-going maintenance activities with multiple
inputs (such as snow plowing, which includes staff time, fuel, salt and other
materials). Additionally, the system will allow staff to track expenses from
multiple departments under one work order (such as Lakefront Days and
athletic tournaments) to determine the true cost of such events.
The querying and reporting capabilities of a database will facilitate easy
access to the information. Currently, for a project such as a season of snow
plowing, staff spends many hours gathering information from a variety of
sources and compiling it into a report. With the information being tracked in a
work order and asset management system, the process can be automated.
This will not only save staff time, but the comprehensive history will also
provide for better planning and budget preparation for the future.
Based on the above discussion, staff has investigated the CMMS options that
are available for the City. The following analysis outlines the process utilized
to determine the best system for the City to implement.
1. CMMS Options
There are pre-built database programs currently available on the market for
infrastructure management. These "out-of-the-box" products offer features
specifically geared towards work order and asset management. This is
functionality that the City can readily utilize and easily modify to integrate into
existing City methods and procedures. Commercially-available software is
supported and regularly updated by the manufacturer. Additionally, products
in use by other communities in the metro area provide for a wide, local
knowledge-base and opportunities to share resources for troubleshooting
issues.
The alternative to purchasing an existing software product would be having a
custom database built from scratch. Custom-developed programs are typically
expensive and time-consuming to create; requiring detailed plans,
specifications and design that meet the needed function, security, flexibility
and scalability of the program.
Because there are existing "out-of-the-box" programs specifically designed for
municipalities that typically cost less than custom-made programs, staff
believes this is the best option.
2. Available Software
Through research, staff identified two products currently available on the
market for work order and asset management: CarteGraph (by CarteGraph
Systems) and Cityworks (by Azteca Systems). These are the features that
were compared between the two products:
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. link to existing GIS
. customizable user interface
. mobile access
. available components
. customizable reporting
. data import I export
. customizable functionality
Both of the programs have similar features that address the City's general
needs. There are minor differences in the available components; however,
these are not as great of concern as the more major differences. There are
two major differences in the software systems that staff used in determining to
choose one system over the other. These are the connection to GIS and the
software costs, as discussed below.
Currently, a group of sixteen Minnesota cities and counties have a CarteGraph
User Group to provide mutual support. The cities of Apple Valley, Woodbury,
Burnsville, Rosemount and Shakopee all currently utilize this system.
Cityworks is currently utilized by Coon Rapids, Edina and Eagan.
3. Integration with City's Existing Geographic Information System (GIS)
Both software vendors are business partners with ESRI, the City's GIS
software provider. However, there is discrepancy between the connection and
interface of each system with the ESRI GIS. Use of CarteGraph does not
require additional GIS licenses, while Cityworks would require additional
licenses for multiple users. It is anticipated that multiple departments and
personnel will need to utilize this program at the same time.
4. CMMS Package Costs
Staff solicited quotes from both vendors. Both software vendors have prices
that are structured around the purchasing government entity's population. The
initial investment costs are as follows:
CarteGraph Cityworks
Work I Asset Concurrent Use
Licenses (5)
GIS Single-Use Licenses (3)
Conversion of Existing Pavement
Management System * N/A $ 2,000
MicroPaver Integration * N/A $ 500
InstallationlTraining $ 5,000 $ 5,000
Total Initial Software Investment $10,750 $ 26,100
* Additional fees are included to convert the existing CarteGraph pavement
management system into Cityworks (estimated) and to integrate Cityworks with
a separate pavement analysis program
$ 5,750
N/A
$ 15,000
$ 3,600
Annual costs include technical support and software maintenance (upgrades),
which is typical with technically-oriented software. Below are the associated
annual costs, that would be due starting in 2010:
CarteGraph
$ 3,125
N/A
$ 3,125
Annual Support I Maintenance
Add'l GIS License Maintenance
Cityworks
$ 15,000
$ 950
$ 15,950
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5. Expandability to Other City Departments
A staff committee representing all departments has reviewed the CarteGraph
system and recommends its purchase. This committee believes the system
can be expanded over time to serve all departments.
Staff is proposing to purchase a five user license that will allow up to 5 users
at a time for data entry. This does not restrict the number of personnel who
can access the data to five. This can~xpanded in the future as needed. Staff
has researched the number of users we should expand our license to with
CarteGraph and other Cities. They have indicated that for our initial use,
including timesheets that five should be sufficient if we use a scheduled
process.
Conclusion
Based on cost and compatibility with the City's existing GIS and pavement
management programs, staff is recommending that the City expand the
current CarteGraph license.
On March 30th, the City's Communication and Technology Advisory
Committee reviewed and recommended the purchase of the expanded license
agreement with CarteGraph.
ISSUES:
Maintaining a database of work orders and infrastructure in the City will provide
efficient access to information. Staff will be able to provide better customer
service with this information by reducing response time, planning for future
investments and expanding and developing additional proactive maintenance
programs for the City's infrastructure.
The alternative to utilizing a CMMS is to continue to utilize a manual tracking I
management system. Because of the City's relatively small staff size, this will
result in the allocation of more staff hours to maintain records and the current
level of service.
FINANCIAL
IMPACT:
This purchase is budgeted in the 2009 Water and Sewer Fund and the
required funding is available. On-going future costs include an annual
maintenance plan for the software ($3,125 in 2010). The annual maintenance
plan is for all software upgrades, technical support and user group
membership. This annual cost will be included in the Data Processing budget
in future years.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Authorize City staff to expand the software license agreement with
CarteGraph Systems, Inc.
2. Table this item for a specific reason.
3. Deny this agenda item for a specific reason and provide staff with direction.
RECOMMENDED
MOTION:
Alternative #1
ReVieWri7~ ~
Frank Boyles, arty Manager
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A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING CITY STAFF TO EXPAND THE CITY SOFTWARE LICENSE
AGREEMENT WITH CARTEGRAPH SYSTEMS, INC.
Motion By:
Second By:
WHEREAS, City staff have utilized current CarteGraph Computerized Maintenance Management
System (CMMS) software; and
WHEREAS, Substantial investments have been made in the City's utility and fixed asset
infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, City staff has researched options for CMMS and the Communication and Technology
Committee has reviewed and recommended the purchase of the expanded software
license; and
WHEREAS, The purchase of the expanded CMMS license will allow staff to operate more efficiently
and to make informed decisions with regards to budgeting and management of City
infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, The total cost for the expanded license is identified in the chart below:
Component
Flex Licenses (5 total)
Installation & implementation
Total 2009 Cost
Cost
$ 5,750
$ 5,000
$ 10,750
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PRIOR LAKE,
MINNESOTA as follows:
1. The recitals set forth above are incorporated herein.
2. The City Council approves authorization for City staff to expand the City software license
agreement with CarteGraph Systems, Inc. to include "flex licensing" for an amount not to exceed
$10,750.
3. Funds for the additional software license in the amount of $10,750 are to be drawn from the
following accounts: 49400-407 ($5,350), 49450-407 ($5,400).
PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 20TH DAY OF APRIL 2009.
YES
NO
Haugen
Erickson
Hedberg
leMair
Millar
Haugen
Erickson
Hedberg
leMair
Millar
Frank Boyles, City Manager
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Phone 952.447.9800 / Fax 952.447.4245