The Client

The City of Dallas’ Department of Intergovernmental Services manages and oversees equipment used by several operating divisions, including the Bomb Squad, Urban Search & Rescue, SWAT, the DPD Intelligence Unit, the Water Department and Information Technology Services. The City of Dallas has been a Wasp customer for over three years and recently expanded use of Wasp asset tracking software to manage grant-funded assets in addition to equipment deployed during emergencies.

The Challenge

Decentralized approach to managing over 4,500 mission critical assets for the City of Dallas SWAT, Homeland Security, fire department and other departments led to time consuming audits, unnecessary spending and incomplete records required for annual reporting.

“Every two years, each unit was required to inventory all of their grant-funded items and send them to us so we could compile asset reports," said Dina Colarossi, Fund Analyst for Dallas’ Department of Intergovernmental Services. "We found that we were spending more time trying to fill in the gaps to make sure all equipment had been inventoried than actually analyzing the reports." The issue was magnified during yearly audits. Each unit had to compile reports as quickly as possible but, due to the inefficient system, the process could take over two weeks.

After several time-intensive audits, the Department of Intergovernmental Services determined it was necessary to upgrade to an automated asset tracking system.

Dallas' Urban Search and Rescue Logistics Lieutenant, Ray Thomason, had been using Wasp for several years to track the unit’s assets and ensure that nothing went missing during a deployment. “Lieutenant Thomason found the Wasp solution to be a valuable tool to track his unit’s assets. He proposed adopting an asset management solution from Wasp to track the department’s grant-funded assets.

The Solution

Wasp asset tracking software makes it easy for the City of Dallas to manage its fixed assets department-wide, specific to funding source and department, while also ensuring that mission critical equipment used by departments like SWAT and Homeland Security is properly maintained and ready for use. Plus, records are accurate and continuous regardless of personnel responsible for their oversight.

The Result

As a result of implementing a Wasp asset management solution, the City of Dallas was able to reduce a 2-week asset audit to one day. The City also benefited from the improved management of fixed assets purchased with grant funds. Enhanced continuity city-wide as employees are promoted or move on to other assignments. "The Department of Intergovernmental Services' asset tracking program has been so successful that others often ask to use our Wasp system to track their assets. The other departments have seen how successful we have been and want to make their program run just as efficiently," said Colarossi.