Driven by the need to post same-day inspection results, the county installed car-mounted laptops with wireless aircards and Amanda's thin-client inspection solution. Building inspectors now begin work from home rather than reporting to a central office each morning to pick up their assignments. The technology then allows them to enter data and print inspection tickets in the field, allowing their inspectors to update the system in near realtime.
When posted, the results are communicated by IVR faxback and published to the portal simultaneously. This gives contractors the ability to re-schedule any failed inspections very quickly, which saves them time and money. "The wireless connection has given us the ability to provide the inspectors with access to their database and internal communications system, while giving the public an increased level of service," said Paul Radauskas, the Sarasota County building official. "This will reduce the need for the inspectors to come to the home offices each morning and afternoon, and result in significant improvement in productivity." Radauskas estimates that Amanda has already provided a 35 percent increase in efficiency and that staff are completing 100 additional inspections per day. There are now four other areas using the system for inspections: resource protection, surveying crews, public works and land development (drainage).
The county uses Amanda for Web-enabling its contractor licenses and offering Web-based services to external agencies and the public. As with a paper application, contractors must supply proof of insurance and a state license certificate by uploading them as attachments. The e-government solution keeps them with the application, so a clerk can check credentials and process the license all at the same time. The online services also enable individuals to apply and pay for various permits as well as request inspections online. The successful deployment of the Amanda Web portal can be seen in a projected volume representing 40 percent of the annual permits issued by the county.
The county has implemented Amanda in other areas of the enterprise, including: call center for customer inquiries/complaints, zoning, code enforcement, solid waste, utilities, zoning planning and land development platting, development, historical review, fire department, property address/records requests, Web registration and access, Sheriff Office, fire, health, permitting and inspections, securities and bonds, disaster recovery assessment, records, finance, special master, property appraiser. The system is now an enterprise-wide application that handles 77 types of Sarasota County transactions.
