Work Order Management System Using GIS

Typical public works departments around the world, at present, record complaints, work requests, and work orders related to their transportation infrastructure in a hard copy (paper) format. Further, the same format is used to assign work orders to staff. This is not only a tedious but also a time consuming process, often resulting in an inefficient and ineffective management of the resources. The goal, thus, is to look for avenues and explore the advancements in technology to improve the working process, and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the infrastructure management process. This paper presents a framework for a computerized tool to manage and utilize resources for roadway infrastructure management. The computerized tool is developed using ESRI ArcPad Software, which is installed on portable or handheld computing devices. The development of the tool consists of three main processes: 1) data collection, 2) data storage, and 3) data distribution (or assignment). Data (complaints, work request, work orders) can be collected either over the Internet, by telephone, or in the field using a handheld or a tablet PC. Applications are to be developed to collect and store data in a comprehensive database for retrieval and processing at a later stage. Distribution (or assignment) of work orders mainly depends on the priority of the work order. Priority of the work order can be classified as emergency, urgent, routine and special. To make better use of the tool, spatial distribution of the work orders also need to be taken into account in the process of assignment