05-25-2022 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

built for larger cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul. Mr. Malm steered us in the direction of the vendors that match what we are looking for. In the end, staff vetted products from three different vendors. The first and original vendor that was contacted was eliminated due to the extra steps that would be involved in transferring data between our GIS system and the work order software. We would have needed to use our consultant for all of the back and forth and it wasn’t an efficient option. Staff then looked into two vendors that met the criteria set by staff and Mr. Malm. GWorks and Brightly were both looked at very closely and demos were shown to all public works and parks staff. Brightly rose to the top with an easier, more intuitive interface and application for phones and tablets that should enable all staff to easily generate, manage, and complete work orders. Mr. Malm has worked with both vendors in different cities and was comfortable with both but preferred Brightly for its overall product and its support. Brightly also offers as part of its package vehicle/equipment maintenance tracking, which is something staff has long been seeking to get its maintenance record keeping up to date. Staff does a great job with vehicle and equipment maintenance but the record-keeping has always been on paper or a whiteboard. As we look to the future and employee turnover it makes sense to have all of this maintenance tracked under one roof where everyone can go to see what has been done and what needs to be done on a piece of equipment. All of these solutions require annual maintenance and subscription fees so the original cost of the product is a capital improvement budget item but going forward there will be operating budget costs. In the case of Brightly, the initial startup and first-year support will cost $13,433.04. That includes a Sourcewell discount as these services are included in the Sourcewell competitively negotiated contract. Going forward the City will continue to get a Sourcewell discount on the annual subscription fees. The proposal is a five-year contract with around 3% increases each year over the five years. The City can end the contract any year if needed with no penalty. The gWorks proposal was slightly cheaper but did not match up to the capabilities of the Brightly product. GWorks did not offer a vehicle/equipment module and the user interface was not as intuitive. They also did not have a mobile application, which will be crucial to staff’s use of this software. The Public Works and Parks staff all agreed that the Brightly product was superior following the demonstrations and having buy-in from the staff is key in getting the software to be used in the manner that benefits the operation. SOURCE OF FUNDS: $20,000 was budgeted for the purchase of the software and the year one implementation and training in the Water and Sewer Capital Improvement Budget. Going forward, funds from the operating budget will be used for annual subscription fees. It will likely be split between Parks, Utilities, and Streets in a yet to be determined formula. STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends approving the purchase of work order management software from Brightly Software for $13,433.04.