How JEA Modernized Its Development Services Without Disrupting Stakeholders

Manual Workflows Hindering Efficiency

Prior to adopting SagesGov, JEA’s development services department was heavily reliant on manual processes:

• Developers and contractors submitted hard copies of plans to the JEA mailroom.

• Submittals were physically picked up, logged, and routed to reviewers.

• Communication was fragmented, often handled via email or spreadsheets.
• No centralized visibility existed on review timelines or submission statuses.

Operational Constraints

These manual methods caused:

• Delays due to sequential review workflows.
• Lack of audit trails and submission timestamping.
• Bottlenecks when key reviewers were unavailable.
• Duplication of effort across internal teams.
  
• Frustration among customers and internal stakeholders due to a lack of transparency.

To ensure a successful transformation, JEA had specific requirements:

• Minimal disruption to internal and external users.

• Ability to replicate existing submittal routing, naming conventions, and review structures.

• Configurability for evolving department needs.

• Support for integration with GIS and Single Sign-On (SSO) systems.
  
• Partner-like support and flexibility from the vendor.

A Phased Rollout, During a Pandemic

Implementation began during the COVID-19 pandemic, adding complexity to the transition. However, the remote development and deployment were executed with minimal friction.

Key implementation milestones:

• Successful data migration from legacy systems ensured continuity across thousands of ongoing projects.

• GIS integration with multiple counties reduced the need for manual availability checks (averaging 4,500–5,500 annually).
• SSO implementation aligned with internal IT security standards.
• Platform launched on time and within budget.
• Internal IT team rated it as one of the best-executed rollouts they had experienced.

1. Operational Efficiency Gains

• Parallel Plan Reviews: Permitting teams now review plans alongside other reviewers rather than waiting until approvals, significantly reducing turnaround times.

• Reduced Open Records Requests: Customers can directly access their submission history, eliminating unnecessary public record inquiries.
• Real-Time Tracking: The development team can now quantify turnaround times and queue volumes-previously impossible due to paper-based intake.

2. Improved Interdepartmental Collaboration

• Plans are routed and reviewed by multiple departments through a single interface.
• Review history and timestamps make handoffs traceable.
• Groups like O&M, metering, and lab teams are looped into inspections earlier, enabling concurrent processes.

3. Customer Satisfaction and Transparency

• Customers receive submission confirmations and notifications.

• Shared access allows collaboration among stakeholders (e.g., engineers, project managers).

• The dashboard and comment reports help customers understand who provided feedback and how to follow up.

4. Administrative Autonomy

• JEA can now modify forms, workflows, and user roles internally—accelerating iteration and responsiveness.
• Feature requests are often addressed in future rollouts.
• The team expanded usage across multiple departments post-launch.

• Ease of Use: Both internal teams and external applicants find the interface intuitive.

• Review Visibility: Bluebeam integration allows all reviewers to see each other’s markups - minimizing overlap.

• Comment Reports: Automated summaries with reviewer names improve accountability and support follow-up communication.
• Inspection Integration: Coordination across inspections, lab work, and service teams occurs in a single workflow.

• Responsiveness: Fast turnaround on tickets and questions.

• Collaboration: Willingness to co-develop or adjust features based on JEA’s feedback.
• Trust: No feature request was outright denied; alternatives were always provided.

JEA’s adoption of SagesGov is a model for how public utilities can modernize complex development services without disrupting trusted processes. The platform's configurability, ease of use, and responsive support team enabled JEA to:

• Maintain continuity for its stakeholders.

• Improve turnaround times and visibility.
• Streamline cross-functional collaboration.
• Scale system use across additional teams and workflows.