SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 1
CS&B COMMITTEE AGENDA
MAY 15, 1997
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: April 17, 1997
Dept. File No. 2001
C.C. File No. 1006-1
To: Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
From: General Manager of Engineering Services
Subject: Better City Government: Street Survey and Design Process
Review
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council approve funding of $250,000 through a loan from
the Service Improvement Reserve to purchase equipment and
training to transfer the Street Survey and Design Process from
a manual process to a digital process and effect other process
efficiencies as noted in this report.
B. THAT Council approve a $9500 increase in the Annual Streets
Operating Budget for software maintenance and cellular phone
operating costs.
C. THAT Council approve the elimination of position # 2484 in
1997 and a second position to be identified in 1998, together
with an annual reduction in the Engineering Departments
overtime budget of $12,000 effective 1998 as a source of funds
to pay back the loan.
THE GENERAL MANAGER OF ENGINEERING SERVICE COMMENTS
The General Manager of Engineering Services RECOMMENDS approval of
A and B noting that the Corporate Management Team reviewed this
proposal and supported the initiative.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council approved the Service Improvement Reserve at its meeting of
May 18, 1995. Council approval is required for projects over
$100,000.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to seek Council s approval for funding of
$250,000 from the Service Improvement Reserve and a $9500 increase in
the Annual Streets Operating Budget. This expenditure will fund the
transfer of the Street Survey and Design Process from a manual process
to a digital process.
BACKGROUND
On June 27, 1996, Council received a letter form the General Manager of
Engineering Services outlining a work program for process redesign
initiatives for 1996. Two of those initiatives are addressed in this
report. One initiative involved the implementation of digital survey
technology (Total Station) and another involved application of digital
drafting and design software.
On December 3, 1996 the Corporate Management Team approved funding of
$15,000 from the Strategic Initiative Fund to hire a consultant to
perform business process review of the street survey and design process
in Engineering. The consultant s recommendations formed the basis of a
business case to seek funding to implement the recommendations.
On April 1, 1997 the Corporate Management Team approved the business
case to seek Council approval to borrow $250,000 from the Service
Improvement Reserve to purchase equipment and training as recommended by
the consultant.
DISCUSSION
The survey and design process in the Streets Design and Construction
Branch of Engineering Services remains one of the few which have not yet
benefitted from advancements in technology over the last couple of
decades.
The current process is entirely manual and utilizes technology developed
in the 1960's. It involves data collection and layout using manual
survey instruments, recording the data with pencil and paper, performing
calculations with a hand-held calculator, plotting the data and
designing the street by hand on a paper document. Engineering Services
maintains a collection of about eight thousand of these paper documents
as permanent records of the surface features on City rights-of-way.
Over the past 18 months, staff have developed a new process utilizing
electronic survey technology and computer software to replace most of
the manual functions of the existing process. Field data is captured
and stored electronically and fed directly to design software along with
property line and other surface data imported from the Geographic
Information System (GIS). The design software allows the designers to
electronically design the street and feed the layout information
directly to the survey instrument for construction layout. This process
not only eliminates the manual steps and calculations of the existing
process, it improves the accuracy of the information and produces it in
a format which can be stored electronically in the GIS, thus becoming
accessible "on-line" for other Branches in Engineering, as well as for
other Departments such as Parks and Planning.
In January 1997, a consultant was hired to analyse and review the
existing survey and design process, as well as the latest innovations in
survey and design technology including the new process developed by
staff. The consultant s recommendations confirmed staff s choices of
technology and software which are recognized as industry standards.
The latest innovations in survey technology involves use of the Global
Position System (GPS). While this technology may be viable in the
future, currently it is much more expensive and onerous to achieve the
accuracy necessary for construction of street works than the proposed
Total Station technology.
In addition to technology recommendations, the consultant also
identified two simple ways to improve efficiency through better
communication. Firstly, providing the surveyors with cellular telephones
will facilitate communication with the construction crews as well as the
design office. Secondly, because the drafting and design functions are
codependent and multiple hand-offs of work occur between the two areas,
operational efficiency will be improved by physically moving drafting
and design closer together.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
There will be no appreciable environmental impact.
PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS
Implementation of digital technology will result in efficiencies in the
overall survey and design process and a corresponding reduction in the
staff required. Overtime will be reduced, and two full time equivalent
positions will be eliminated. One position will be eliminated in 1997
and a second in 1998. The position to be eliminated this year (1997) is
currently vacant. The second position will be identified in 1998 after
the new process has been put into place.
A copy of this report has been sent to C.U.P.E. Local 15 for
information.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The initial cost to procure the recommended hardware, software and
training is $250,000. The business case to obtain this funding involves
a loan from the Service Improvement Reserve with a payback period of
just over four years. Repayment of this loan will be through
operational savings consisting the elimination of two staff positions
and reduced overtime.
Future capital costs will involve replacement of the computer hardware
($50,000) every five years and replacement of the survey instruments
($100,000) every eight to ten years. Annual costs associated with this
equipment and software consist of $3500 annually for software
maintenance and $6000 annually for cellular phones for the surveyors.
A cash flow diagram included as Appendix A, shows the acquisitions,
annual costs, operational savings, interest, and the balance owing over
the next ten years. Note that halfway through year four the balance
owing goes negative which is the break-even point. After this time, the
balance owing line represents the net savings of the project.
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
Implementation consists of procuring the survey instruments, computers,
and software by the end of May with hands-on training though June. Once
the training is complete, the development of work procedures and
standards will begin and should be substantially complete for the street
design process by the end of the year. Development and refinement of
these procedures and standards department wide will continue into 1998
and will liaise with development of mapping standards for the GIS.
CONCLUSIONS
Staff experience coupled with the consultant s recommendations support
the use of digital technology in the street survey and design process
within Engineering. Based on the consultant s recommendations, the
initial capital cost for equipment, software, and training is $250,000
with annual costs of $9500. The efficiencies introduced with this
technology will result in sufficient savings in staff resources which
justify the expenditure.
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