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Located on the picturesque Fox River, Aurora is ranked as the second largest city in the state of Illinois. With a rapidly expanding population, city officials wanted to improve building inspection communications for increased efficiency with leaner staffing levels.
SunGard Public Sector’s NaviLine Code Enforcement and Click2Gov Wireless Code Inspection Software helped streamline Aurora’s inspection communications. “We wanted to reduce re-inspection rates and inspection request call volume,” said John Curley, Building and Permits Director. “SunGard Public Sector’s automated email system and mobile inspections help us efficiently communicate with all members of the private sector team.”
Nationally recognized for “Best Practice” communication tools by the International Code Council’s Major Jurisdiction Committee, Aurora’s inspection communications have helped increase productivity.
Automatically generated, inspection scheduling emails contain a listing of the Top 10 frequently failed items, inspector contact information and a customer survey URL. “We see the ‘Top 10’ as a chance for us to prepare citizens and answer any questions they might have prior to inspection. This valued resource assists the private sector team in addressing common deficiencies, reducing construction time and ensuring better municipal efficiency,” said Curley.
Harnessing the power of Click2Gov Wireless Code Inspections, Aurora’s code enforcement officers can send and receive information quickly and accurately. The intuitive interface allows officers to efficiently use mobile devices to enter inspection results at the job site. Working together, Click2Gov Wireless Code Inspections and the SunGard Public Sector Building and Permits software provide a complete link between the permitting office and inspectors in the field. “Instantaneous result entry eliminates the dual effort of written results in the field and subsequent typed results in the office. This allows for an additional inspection to be added to the daily schedule,” said Curley.
“Real-time inspection results are automatically emailed to the entire private sector team from the field, effectively shaving a half day from the correction response and re-inspection time frame. Instantly knowing if a structure has failed an inspection helps the private sector team manage projects and reduces the amount of time before occupancy,” said Curley.
Included in the inspection results emails is a link to a customer satisfaction survey. The survey has assisted city officials with aggregating citizen suggestions while providing useful employee feedback, in addition to creating a unique opportunity for citizens to voice concerns or share details of how their inspection was conducted. The email and customer satisfaction surveys improve transparency and offer a forum for citizens who may not be likely to utilize the online web portal.
