STAFF REPORT
December 8, 1999
To: Budget Advisory Committee
From: Barry H. Gutteridge, Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services
Subject: Transition Funding for Unified Business System for the Transportation Division
Purpose:
Implementation of unified business systems and applications to support the management and operation of the City's roads
infrastructure and transportation systems.
Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
Funds associated with the unified business systems and applications were identified in the 1999 Capital Budget Transition
Projects Business Cases as of January 21, 1999.
These funds are still available in the Capital Budget but are subject to an Information Technology Strategic Plan being
produced to support the projects identified in Clause No. 1 of Report No. 15 of the Strategic Policies and Priorities
Committee, entitled "Transition Projects" which was adopted by City Council at its meeting on July 29, 1998.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1) the transition funding in the amount of $11,300,000.00 be approved in support of automation projects for the
Transportation Division of the Works and Emergency Services Department; and
(2) the total amount of $11,300,000.00, less the $100,000.00 previously approved to be spent on an Information
Technology Strategic Plan, be approved with $4,500,000.00 to be spent in 2000, $4,550,000.00 in 2001, and the remainder
in 2002.
Background:
As a result of amalgamation, Transportation Services have been consolidated across the City. Within the new City
structure, Transportation Services are organized into four geographic Districts based on the boundaries of the previous
municipalities. In addition to the Districts, there are two business units that have responsibility for centralized functions for
Traffic Control Systems and Infrastructure Planning/Policy. District offices now combine standards, practices and
computer systems from two or more environments.
Since amalgamation, the transportation business systems inherited from the former municipalities continue to be used. As a
result, there are significant differences across the City in both the availability of data and the use of automated solutions for
planning and managing transportation-related business operations.
In order to facilitate and support the harmonization of business procedures and the standardization of services across the
City, a unified set of business systems (applications and data) are required. This is a significant undertaking that will,
however, leverage off existing technology. The scope of activities may include service rationalization followed by process
redesign, data consolidation, system development and City-wide deployment of the technology solutions. The Strategic
Information Technology Plan addresses the issues of consolidating systems from the seven former municipalities. In
addition to dealing with the transition issues faced by Transportation Services, this plan takes a wider view and also
addresses department-wide issues. This ensures that opportunities for consolidation takes place, where appropriate across
divisions.
At its meeting of July 24, 1998, the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee approved projects TP-1, TP-9 and TP-10 of
the Transition Projects. The 1999 Capital Budget Transition Project Business Cases, dated January 21, 1999 (containing
the business cases for TP-1, Unified Business System Application) that was forwarded to the Province, recommended that
"funds in the amount of $100,000.00 be approved … to prepare an information technology plan and implementation
strategy and report back to Budget Committee" before approval of the remaining $11.2 million.
This report addresses the recommendation from the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee to report back to Budget
Committee having completed the required information technology plan and implementation strategy.
Comments:
The information technology strategic plan substantiates the need for a fully integrated business system to support the new
District offices, the harmonization of services, and rationalization of business practices.
The Unified Business System for Transportation Services Division will eliminate the reliance on paper based systems, and
improve customer service, operational performance and controls in all areas of work management. This level of automation
will ensure that operations staff are managing field activities rather than completing forms. Examples of field activities
include:
(i) Scheduled maintenance
(ii) Contract management
(iii) Maintenance from public requests
(iv) Improved customer service
(v) Two way communications between the various support groups - customer service, administration, and operations
(vi) Effective and efficient deployment of staff
(vii) Provision of performance measurement data
Only one of the four Districts currently provides automation in support of work order processing from an operational
perspective, i.e., managing crews, balancing workloads, etc. All four Districts will have a single system for work order
costing at the activity level to complement the City's financial reporting as well as internal work management.
It will be possible to respond to requests illustrating the nature of service requests, their source and location within the City
through integration with the City's GIS system.
Overall unification of business systems is required to support the consolidation of operating functions across the former
municipalities. The strategic plan has identified a series of projects that address these needs through the enhancement,
implementation and deployment of key business applications and datasets. These projects include:
Implementation of Business Systems/Applications
(1) Maintenance management system (TMMS) deployment
(2) Road allowance control system (RACS) enhancements
(3) Capital project systems: (a) Project Planning
(b) Project Tracking and Financial Costing
(6) Development application tracking system
(6) Engineering document/drawing management system
(6) Customer service tracking system
(7) Transportation asset management systems: (a) Pavement Management
(b) Bridge/Structure Management
(c) Streetlighting etc.
(8) Transportation modelling/analysis applications enhancements
(9) Permit parking (residential on-street parking)
Consolidation of Data
(10) Municipal infrastructure data (e.g. transportation and utilities)
(11) Spatial/spatially-referenced data (e.g. street centrelines, properties, addresses)
(12) Transportation data (e.g. traffic counts, accident data, etc.)
Standardization and Integration of Technology
(13) Standard technologies: (a) GIS technology
(b) public access technology
(c) automated data collection equipment (e.g. mobile systems)
(d) Internet and e-commerce
(14) Migration of applications and data from mainframe systems
Upgrades to the Computing Framework
(15) Departmental networking and server upgrades
While business systems support specific functions, it is the overall integration of complementary systems that provides the
basis for realizing many of the benefits. The following table illustrates this by outlining specific business objectives, key
projects that address these objectives and descriptions of the benefits that can be expected. Note that projects 10 and 15
(Municipal Infrastructure Data Project and the Networking and Server Upgrade Project) are foundation projects and are
prerequisites for the successful standardization and integration of business systems across the division.
| Business Objective |
Key Projects |
Benefits |
| Harmonization of resource allocation, work
scheduling and cost-tracking for operational
activities |
· Maintenance management
· Capital project tracking
· Customer service tracking |
1. Avoid additional staff to manage workflow
and cost tracking
2. Extend life of infrastructure by identifying
maintenance problems
3. Provide timely customer service through
improved scheduling
4. Support improved operations through
performance measurement |
| Consolidation of right-of-way Management
functions, utility-cut permitting etc. |
· Road allowance control
· Capital projects tracking
· Spatial/spatially-referenced data
· GIS technology
· Internet/e-commerce
|
1. Avoid additional staffing by rationalizing
permitting processes and minimizing road
disruption activity
2. Enhance customer service by providing
quicker approvals and permitting |
| Standardization of transportation project
needs assessment, project planning and
capital budget allocation |
· Maintenance management
· Capital projects planning
· Development application tracking
· Transportation asset managemt.
· Spatial/spatially-referenced data
· Transportation data
· GIS technology
|
1. Extend life of infrastructure through
improved rehabilitation/ replacements
strategies
2. Identify opportunities to combine or
reschedule projects to optimize costs,
minimize disruption to the public and manage
risk |
| Harmonization of development and
engineering review procedures |
· Development application tracking
· Engineering drawing management
· Transportation modelling
· Transportation-related data |
1. Enhance customer service by providing
quicker approvals and improved workflow
2. Identify opportunities to recover costs and
combine projects
3. Avoid additional staff by providing better
access to diverse information sources |
| Consolidation of transportation asset
management standards and costs on a
City-wide basis |
· Maintenance management
· Road allowance control
· Engineering drawing management
· Customer service tracking
· Transportation asset managemt
· Automated data collection |
1. Reduce cost of data acquisition
2. Avoid added costs by improving
preventative maintenance strategies
3. Avoid additional staff costs by using asset
information to plan maintenance tasks
|
| Establishment of consistent customer service
standards across offices and business
functions |
· Customer service tracking
· Road allowance control
· Development application tracking
· Permit parking
· Transportation data
· Public access technology
· Internet /e-commerce
|
1. Improve customer service through more
timely response to issues.
2. Avoid additional staff costs by assigning
and tracking issues electronically
3. Position division for "one-stop" shopping
service delivery |
| Standardize and improve transportation
safety on a City-wide basis |
· Capital project planning
· Development application tracking
· Customer service tracking
· Transportation modelling
· Transportation asset managemt
· Transportation data
· Public access technology |
1. Improve public safety by using better
information and tools to design and manage
traffic
2. Enhance customer service by providing
more timely information on transportation
safety issues |
| Standardization of computing technology
(mainframe environment) |
· Permit parking
· Road allowance control
· Migration of applications and data from
mainframe systems
· Spatial/spatially-referenced data |
1. Avoid costs for continued operation and
maintenance of mainframe environment
2. Consolidate key business functions into
one environment |
The total project cost for the Unified Business Systems Project is $11,300,000.00. The costs are assigned on an annual
basis as follows:
1999 $ 100,000.00
2000 $4,500,000.00
2001 $4,550,000.00
2002 $2,150,000.00
The costs cover activities that include business process redesign, technology acquisition and deployment, application
development and customization, data acquisition and user training.
The benefits summarized in the previous table are both tangible and intangible. The tangible benefits that will accrue on an
annual basis at the end of the transition period include:
Maintain Service Levels
This covers the avoidance of direct financial expenditures for additional services by the Division to maintain service levels.
Included in this category are the costs for the continued operation of the mainframe and the increases in budget for
transportation infrastructure replacement.
The total savings on external cost avoidance on an annual basis at maturity are $1,680,000.00.
Productivity Improvements
If this project is not undertaken the Division will be under pressure to add up to 18.5 FTE's to perform clerical,
administrative and technology functions currently undertaken by operations staff in addition to their core operational
duties. Investment in these automated solutions will eliminate the need for this growth and allow the focussing of
operational staff in their core service delivery functions. The value of the 18.5 FTE's is $1,150,000.00.
Total potential benefits that accrue on an annual basis at the end of the transition period are estimated up to $2,830,000.00.
The resulting payback period is four years.
Conclusions:
Approval of the contents of this report is a key component to the amalgamation efforts of the Transportation Services
Division of Works and Emergency Services Department. The Information & Technology Division of Corporate Services
Department has reviewed this report and supports its submission.
All systems and applications will conform to Corporate standards and policies where applicable.
This report is supported by a full report outlining the Strategic Information Direction for the Division.
Contact:
Ted Smith, Director
Information & Technology Services
Works and Emergency Services
Telephone: 392-9251
Fax: 392-4426
E-mail: tsmith0@toronto.ca
David C. Kaufman
General Manager, Transportation Services
Barry H. Gutteridge
Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services
TS/jr
List of Attachments:
Attachment 1 - Unified Business System Application Summary
Attachment 2 - Transition Projects
Attachment 3 - Unified Business System Application Business Case
