Set for the Future—San Juan Water Implements Esri's ArcGIS Utility Network and Cityworks Computer Maintenance Management System

San Juan Water District (SJWD) has used ArcGIS Utility Network as a foundation for the organization's computer maintenance management system (CMMS) implementation, which uses Cityworks. The Utility Network and the CMMS work from one centralized database for water distribution. The field crews can access the latest information and use the networking analysis capabilities for outage events via tablets in the field or a web browser in the office. The integration of these systems has improved reporting and inspection workflows while providing a single, authoritative source of truth. 

San Juan Water District water distribution system data is housed within the organization's geographic information system (GIS). The CMMS used by the Operations Group was not compatible with GIS REST services, requiring a synchronization process that duplicated the GIS data and regular updates. Maintaining data integrity became challenging because the CMMS did not enforce a standard asset-naming and identification convention, which led to duplication of assets and confusion between the different groups within operations (water treatment plant operators, maintenance, and field services) and engineering. Inspection workflows and reporting tasks were cumbersome and didn't meet the needs of the district.

The engineering department needed a solution that would improve data integration, modernize workflows, and simplify reporting. Meeting these goals required an update to the GIS and the CMMS. The department decided to implement ArcGIS Utility Network and Cityworks, with authoritative data being housed in the Utility Network and REST service features being read directly by Cityworks. This solution provided a single source of truth, increased asset topology integrity, and provided new functionality that enabled staff to perform isolation traces. 

The first step to integration was meeting with all departments to develop a design guide that would act as a road map. With the help of HDR, an Esri Business Partner, staff evaluated various CMMS platforms and created a system-independent, user-friendly design guide. The guide captured and standardized how the district should use the CMMS to support its various operations and maintenance work processes as staff manage and maintain the SJWD assets throughout the water treatment and delivery systems.

The design guide is intended to be a living document that enables SJWD to standardize its use of the CMMS and align its use more effectively with SJWD work practices and reporting needs. This design guide is structured as follows:

• Introduction—Describes the project overview, the document's purpose, and target audience
• Assets—Describes recommended standards for managing asset information in the CMMS including the following:
  • Asset definition and naming conventions
  • Asset hierarchy
  • Asset classes and data requirements
  • Asset data management
• Work Processes—Provides an overall standard work process for SJWD as well as department-specific recommendations
• Work Orders—Documents key data to be captured on work orders and standard conventions including the following:
  • Problem codes
  • Work order categories
  • Preventive maintenance and procedures
  • Labor notes
• Reporting—Describes standard reports that will be useful to support SJWD work processes and performance.

To jumpstart the implementation of these two systems, SJWD utilized HDR's Utility Network and CMMS expertise. With the design guide completed and Esri's ArcGIS Utility Network in place, the field of potential CMMS packages was significantly reduced. SJWD chose Cityworks due to its out-of-the-box integration with ArcGIS.

To ensure the successful release and ongoing functionality of the systems, SJWD hired David Long to lead the project. Long has an IT background supporting the administration of maintenance management systems and is responsible for the coordination of GIS and Cityworks activities. He believes that having someone in this position is key to ensure that design standards are met and continually maintained.

"Cityworks offers much more capability over conventional CMMS systems because it was built on top of ArcGIS, which lets it take advantage of the geospatial capabilities of the GIS. This is especially important for managing assets across a large geographic area."—David Long, CMMS/GIS Coordinator

Staff are now able to view and edit production GIS features in Cityworks, eliminating duplicate data and workflows. A streamlined workflow between the SJWD Customer Service Group and the Field Service Group allows near real-time notification of issues within the district. This empowers service technicians to respond quickly to problems, which is critical in California, where water is such a precious commodity due to the drought.

"Cityworks has greatly improved our efficiency on our programs and communication between departments; for example; when we performed our hydrant and valve exercise maintenance programs this year, it was much easier to track progress and extract all the deficiencies that needed to be addressed. Also, it is much quicker submitting work orders to the correct department and to track the progress of any work order. GIS mapping has been a great tool as well, providing our operators with all the info on history or attributes of assets right at their fingertips, allowing for more precise communication between operators, homeowners, contractors, utilities, and other internal departments. I am really pleased with the implementation of Cityworks." —Tom Clark, Distribution Lead Worker

The integration of ArcGIS and Cityworks has improved communication, and unified work processes have increased organization engagement and awareness. New ideas from users are being generated as they become more familiar with the products and their capabilities.

"I meet with teams from all department on a regular basis to [ensure that] their needs are being met. Their questions are usually, Can Cityworks do this, or can we do that with the GIS? The answer is almost always yes!"—David Long, CMMS/GIS Coordinator

The integration of GIS and CMMS enables SJWD to

• View and edit production GIS features and object attributes in Cityworks, eliminating duplicate data and workflows.
• Perform system traces within ArcGIS Web AppBuilder when conducting repairs on water mains and other assets that will result in water outages.
• Capture and retrieve historical maintenance records associated with GIS features and assets.
• Easily create custom web maps for contractors and field service workers to use that target a narrow area and range of map features for limited-scope work and projects.
• Rapidly deploy custom work orders and inspections to schedule and document both planned and unplanned maintenance activities.
• Submit map markups to correct discrepancies between the physical asset and what is stored in the GIS, thus constantly improving the accuracy of the GIS.
• Develop advanced search and analytical capabilities to address potential network issues that may impact customers.