Charlotte Is Wired Into Emergency Tree Management

Sandy, UT – The City of Charlotte, North Carolina, has implemented SMS alerts for managing emergency tree services. To better manage the “City of Trees,” Charlottes’s arbor team leverages Microsoft SharePoint and InfoPath forms, SMS text messaging, and Cityworks APIs to provide real-time data during emergencies.

“Cityworks APIs, combined with our SharePoint and InfoPath communication system, help us manage the real-time notification to our landscape management on-call staff of emergencies such as fallen trees blocking the road,” said Tim Porter, city arborist for the city of Charlotte. “Cityworks helps visualize the data, helping to ‘work smarter’ during emergency service calls.”

When a tree or limb is blocking a roadway, citizens call 911. The dispatcher uses InfoPath for the request and enters the location and details. InfoPath then creates an automated call to the Cityworks APIs, where a storm cleanup request is mapped and sent to the landscape maintenance team. The request is then set up to communicate with the supervisor and inspector to ensure completion. Additionally, on-call devices are set to repeat every two minutes for 30 minutes until the alert is read.

Cityworks provides a complete system of record for emergency tree management through a GIS framework that provides a spatial mapping view for analysis across the city. With Cityworks, arborists and city managers can now leverage the GIS for historical views of emergency tree service and common impact zones, as well as identify potential threats before the emergency, which helps to mitigate costs. City supervisors can view Charlotte impact zones with heat maps, pinpoints, or other mapping tools that help define the situation and resolution for management.

“The City of Charlotte is a great example of success using real-time data to solve complex problems such as emergency tree management,” says Brian Haslam, president and CEO of Cityworks. “As local government agencies, such as Charlotte, encounter unique issues to their community, we are pleased that we can provide a framework for improving data collection, GIS visualization, and dynamic web services to help them manage their city smarter. Cityworks is about making the maintenance and management of critical assets, infrastructure, and property affordable and effective, and ultimately helping our clients maintain smarter, safer communities.”