For over 25 years, the City of Rockville, Maryland, faced ongoing challenges with its outdated work order system. Their reliance on manual, paper-based processes resulted in inefficiencies and delays when handling service orders. The city came to realize they required a modern and integrated Customer Information and Utility Billing (CIS/UB) system and Work Order management platform. They sought a seamless solution from a single provider, leading them to select inHANCE’s Impresa as their new CIS/UB System, along with FieldHawk as the integrated Workforce Management Platform, with the goal of enhancing efficiency and eliminating manual processes.

With FieldHawk, Rockville transformed its service order process, creating a more reliable and streamlined workflow. By adopting this digital workforce management platform, the city reduced administrative burdens, improved communication between departments, and optimized field operations.

rockville’s Story

Located just ten miles north of Washington, D.C., Rockville is part of Montgomery County, Maryland. The city's Utility Billing and Revenue division manages water and sewer billing for approximately 12,000 customers. The division has six full-time staff, which consists of a cashier, meter reader and call center agents who together are responsible to produce approximately 5,000 utility bills per month.

The city has three billing cycles and bills the majority of its customers on a quarterly basis except for approximately two hundred accounts that are billed monthly.

The challenge

Prior to implementing inHANCE Impresa, Rockville had an aging utility billing system that could not keep up with current trends. They needed a total overhaul to streamline billing, payments, and service order processes to allow them to provide a higher level of customer service.  

Before adopting FieldHawk, Rockville’s service order process was entirely manual. Work orders were either emailed as PDFs to field staff or picked up in person, completed manually, and then returned to the office for data entry. While this process worked, it created major inefficiencies. Field service representatives (FSRs) frequently had to drive back and forth between the office and the field, wasting time and resources. Emails with work orders sometimes went missing or contained incorrect information, leading to delays and errors. The city’s aging billing system also lacked the functionality to keep up with evolving needs, further complicating the process. These inefficiencies strained interdepartmental communication and made it difficult to provide a unified customer experience. Recognizing the need for a fully integrated solution, Rockville selected Impresa as their new Utility Billing System, integrated with FieldHawk as their Workforce Management Platform in 2019 to address these issues.

Why Rockville Chose Impresa’s FieldHawk Integration

During the RFP process, it came down to the needs of the city and ensuring all their boxes were checked. Rockville needed a POS, utility billing system, online payment portal, and service order management solution. Rockville chose inHANCE as they felt everything meshed and integrated nicely together to fit their needs.

Though Rockville selected Impresa as their Utility Billing System, the real game-changer was FieldHawk, which seamlessly connected to their billing system and eliminated the inefficiencies of their manual processes.

A key advantage of FieldHawk was its bi-directional flow of work order information, allowing staff to track service order progress in real time. This eliminated the need for constant back-and-forth communication and reduced the risk of missing or inaccurate data. The ability to view service order statuses instantly helped improve efficiency and accountability.

Implementation and results

Rockville implemented FieldHawk in early 2024, working closely with inHANCE to ensure a smooth transition. The entire integration was completed remotely, eliminating travel costs and minimizing disruptions. Almost immediately, the city experienced improvements in how work orders were issued, received, and completed.

One of the most immediate benefits was the elimination of manual data entry. Field staff now update work orders directly from the field, saving significant time that was once spent driving between City Facilities and City Hall to pick up or drop off paper forms. Office staff could now track work orders in real time, ensuring that service requests were completed accurately and efficiently. Communication between departments became more streamlined, reducing friction and delays.

In addition to efficiency gains, the city saw a reduction in physical clutter. With all the records - ranging from meter replacements and move ins/outs to leak checks and maintenance - being stored digitally there is no longer a need to manage or store boxes of paper files. Fieldhawk has also empowered Public Works to plana and dispatch more strategically. Work orders are now scheduled and assigned based on geographic location, allowing crews to optimize their daily routes and respond faster to priority tasks like water main break and ongoing maintenance. It's also enabled the department to successfully implement customer appointments for in person leak checks, a process that was previously too difficult to coordinate manually.

Since implementation, Rockville has upgraded to FieldHawk version 2, which allows managers to access service order details from any device, removing the need for dedicated tablets. This upgrade has made collaboration even easier, further reducing administrative burdens and operational costs. Now with v2.0 not being tied to a tablet allows the managers to quickly access the que and collaborate more from our desk on a whim. Not needing a separate tablet to track service orders is a cost savings for us. 

By modernizing their utility operations with FieldHawk, Rockville has saved time, improved efficiency, and enhanced service delivery for their customers.