Regional Utility Purveyor Utilizes Software as One of the First to Implement Cityworks Server MMS

June 18, 2010 -- Sandy, UT — Macon Water Authority (MWA) of Macon, Georgia, has implemented the Cityworks maintenance management suite by Azteca Systems, Inc., the leading provider of GIS-centric management solutions. Being one of the first client sites to implement Cityworks Server MMS, Azteca’s next-generation, browser-based asset maintenance management system, MWA has experienced multiple benefits from the implementation and made great strides in reaching their goal of utilizing a single solution to manage all aspects of their system.

The MWA was created in 1973, by an act of the Georgia General Assembly, to serve as a regional water and sewer utility that provides both retail and wholesale water and sewerage services for the City of Macon, portions of Jones County and Monroe County, and future wastewater treatment services to the City of Byron, Georgia. Responsible for approximately 1650 miles of water mains and service lines serving approximately 54,000-metered customers, and operating a sewage collection system with approximately 250 miles of interceptor sewers and 982 miles of sanitary sewer lines, MWA was in need of a system to help manage their growing infrastructure needs and began searching for a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS). Bibb County already utilized ESRI’s ArcGIS and MWA saw the value of using the County’s existing GIS in their endeavors. When MWA discovered Cityworks and its GIS capabilities, they were quickly convinced it was the solution that best fit their needs.

MWA selected Azteca Business Partner, OneGIS, to assist in their Cityworks implementation and communicated their vision of using Cityworks to manage all aspects of their system and to provide better service to their customers. With the assistance of OneGIS, Cityworks was implemented over an eight-month period. MWA chose to implement Cityworks Server MMS and were one of the first Cityworks’ clients to employ this new technology. Installation, testing, and tuning of Cityworks Server MMS went smoothly, making MWA one of the first Cityworks Server sites in operation. As implementation neared completion, over 150 employees were trained upon the various user functions of Cityworks Server MMS. To tie Cityworks into other key applications in the office, MWA’s Cityworks Administrative Team developed and implemented interfaces to the MWA’s existing CIS and financial information system using the Cityworks API software, all of which are now closely integrated with Cityworks to provide a highly efficient data transfer process and increase the overall effectiveness of their system.

The Cityworks implementation has already yielded a significant ROI for MWA. All costs, material history, labor hours, and other important data are now transparent throughout the entire system. Cityworks provides insight on parts inventory and helps MWA determine which vendors offer the highest quality materials at the most cost-effective price. Cityworks can also perform capital improvement planning, allowing decisions to be based on historical evidence. MWA has experienced significant improvements in service requests and other customer service needs. Users throughout the system are able to quickly dispatch crews to deal with problems through the Cityworks web interface and response time to calls and requests has decreased by over 50%.

“We chose Cityworks based on its innovation with GIS and its ability to bring together our assets, employees, and customers,” Jess Shell, Assistant Executive Director, Macon Water Authority. “What we had before served a purpose with our maintenance functions, but beyond that it really didn’t integrate our organization with the customers. We wanted to be customer driven and customer focused because that is our mission. That was the key factor in choosing this product and we’ve been very pleased with our decision.”

“Macon Water Authority chose to implement Cityworks throughout the organization and upgraded to Cityworks Server MMS and the benefits they are now experiencing because of this move are very evident,” states Brian Haslam, President of Azteca Systems. “The results MWA has experienced utilizing our software, however, are not unique to their organization. We see these types of improvements across the board with our users and are proud to deliver this superior product that produces such viable results.”

About Macon Water Authority
Macon is among the largest metropolitan areas in Georgia and the county seat of Bibb County. It lies near the geographic center of the state, approximately 85 miles south of Atlanta. As of 2008, Macon/Bibb County had a population of 99,000. Macon has long been a cultural center of Georgia, home to some of the finest musicians in music history - Lena Horne, Otis Redding, James Brown, "Little Richard" Penniman, and the Allman Brothers all call Macon home. Macon also pioneered the first college in the world for women – Georgia Female College (now Wesleyan College) – in 1836. In June 2009, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) awarded MWA first place in the “Best of the Best” drinking water taste test, providing MWA with the distinction of having the “Best Tasting Drinking Water” in North America.

About Azteca Systems, Inc.
Founded in 1986, Azteca Systems, Inc. is the leading provider of GIS-centric Enterprise Management Systems. Built exclusively on top of ESRI’s leading GIS technology, Cityworks is powerful, scalable, and affordable, designed for agencies that own and care for critical infrastructure, capital assets, and property.

For more information, contact:
Lindsay Ferguson
Communications and Marketing
Azteca Systems, Inc.
801.523.2751
Email Contact
www.cityworks.com