City of Lawrence

Neighborhood Resources Department

Information Systems Department

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:

Mike Wildgen, City Manager

 

FROM:

Victor Torres, Neighborhood Resources Director

Ron Hall, Information Systems Director

 

DATE:

November 15, 2005

 

Re:

E-gov initiative—Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Inspection Scheduling

 

 

Staff from our departments has been reviewing the technology that is now available to automate some of the routine building permit-related services such as inspection scheduling.  The goal of this review is to determine how technology might improve efficiency and customer service in a task area that is currently very labor intensive for the Neighborhood Resources Department.

 

The following criteria were used in our review of available technology:

·       SunGard HTE compatibility (existing building permit software)

·       Functionality (multiple options)

·       Service levels and user friendliness

·       Client references

·       Cost

 

Review Process

During the course of our review of available technology, we looked at two Sungard HTE-compatible interactive voice response (IVR) systems: Tele-Works Inc. and Selectron Technologies.  Per the attached letter from SunGard HTE’s Gary Beresheim, HTE maintains a formal relationship with these two companies.  Since both the HTE building inspection software and the IVR vendor’s software must pass data between the two systems, it is imperative that the two systems maintain their compatibility over time as changes and improvements are made to one or both systems.  HTE further indicated that their business relationship with Selectron Technologies has been ongoing for several years with a number of successful HTE customer implementations while the relationship with Tele-Works is rather recent with only a couple of HTE customers.   For these reasons Information Systems staff has recommended Selectron Technologies as the preferred vendor for this application.

 

On October 21, 2005 Neighborhood Resources staff viewed a demonstration of a new technology from Selectron Technologies.  This technology is an IVR solution that allows interaction via the telephone to the department’s SunGard HTE building permit system database.  Specifically, the basic Selectron IVR solution would permit contractors to call into to a telephone menu system and enter the permit number in order to schedule inspections, cancel an inspection, or obtain inspection results.  Building inspectors likewise could post an inspection result using this same IVR system.  Using a combination of spoken messages and touch-tones to input numbers and make menu choices, callers are able to interact with the building permit system without needing to involve front office staff.

 

Installation and Costs

Selectron’s VoicePermits™ base system consists of both hardware and software with the hardware application computer server, 4-port voice card, and software license included in the base price of $34,900.  The voice card in the computer server then links to four analog ports in the City Hall Rolm telephone system for the telephone side of the setup while the application server sends software commands over the network to the SunGard HTE building permit system on the AS/400 to retrieve and update information.  Selectron staff indicated that SunGard HTE would need to also install and configure the interfacing within building permit software.  The Selectron/SunGard HTE partnership is critical since any change HTE makes to the building permit system may also need to be changed in the Selectron system as well.   This partnership ensures that the interfacing between the two company’s products will always be kept operational.

 

The following table includes a summary of the project costs and ongoing annual software maintenance:

 

One-time Costs

Annual Maintenance

Selectron IVR base system

  $34,900

$5,235

Contractor call-back notification

     8,500

  1,275

HTE IVR software interface

     6,650

  1,330

HTE Project Management

     1,200

 

TOTALS

$51,250

$7,840

 

Additional Options

In addition to the base system there are a number of optional add-on modules to further enhance the system.  These modules provide additional telephone IVR functionality including the following:

 

Certificate of Occupancy- $5,000               Code Enforcement complaints-$4,000

Correction Codes- $3,000                         Inspection result notification-$8,500

Payment Processing-$20,500                    Permit Verification-$4,000

Plan Review Status-$6,000                       Utility Bill Notification (via fax)-$2,500

Zoning Status (via fax)- $3,500      

 

Selectron Technologies is headquartered in Portland, Oregon and has been operating since 1990 and specialize exclusively in providing IVR solutions for building and planning departments in government agencies.  Selectron has an established partnership with SunGard HTE, and has installed this IVR system for a number of SunGard HTE clients.  User comments from these various clients indicate an overall high level of satisfaction with the product, support, project implementation assistance, and functionality. 

 

Service Level Impact

During our evaluation of this technology and its relationship to serving our customers, we were concerned with improving service levels, not making it harder to interact with City staff.  We conclude that the purchase of such an automated system will enhance our ability to provide accurate, timely service to the building community as well as improve the department’s overall operations and efficiencies. 

 

Currently, department staff includes two members that focus primarily on taking building inspection requests over the phone.  The department receives approximately 3000-4000 calls per month, thus many hundreds of calls each month could be handled with this technology without sacrificing quality service.  Purchasing this system will allow the opportunity to redirect staff effort to other areas, specifically to the tasks associated with permit application review, support for the recently developed contractor licensing program, and enhanced customer service to our walk-in customers and the phone customers whose questions/needs cannot be addressed with this technology.  The permit application review task would no longer tie up the building inspectors, freeing them for more time in the field on inspections, etc.

 

Recommendation

We would recommend your consideration of purchase of the Selectron Technologies VoicePermits base system and SunGard HTE interface support for a total of $51,250.  We believe this purchase meets many of our e-gov initiative goals, including the ability to enhance customer service and accessibility.  Selectron Technologies affords us the option of adding additional services as these modules are needed in the future.