Building Resilience for Uncertain Times with ePlan Review

As anyone who works in public service knows, today's local agencies are regularly forced to do more with less. Staff shortages, inefficient workflows, budget constraints, and public pressure create a perfect storm that tests even the most well-run agencies. 

However, forward-thinking municipalities are discovering that ePlan review technology isn't just a modern convenience—it's a strategic investment that helps your jurisdiction to weather economic and staffing uncertainties to ensure business continuity, while prioritizing the customer experience.  

Traditional Methods No Longer Suffice

Chief Building Officials and community development professionals are constantly reminded of the challenges that come with the traditional paper review process or inefficient ad-hoc workflows that combine disparate digital tools in a process that offers little improvement. Our clients tell us regularly that without a dedicated solution, plan reviewers end up spending as much time managing administrative tasks — communicating with applicants, locating documents, tracking document versions, uploading, downloading — as they do reviewing plans. 

The applicants face similar challenges on their side as well.  Frustrated by the seemingly opaque review process, applicants regularly inquire about the status of their application, creating additional strain on agency staff. Meanwhile, permit applications continue to flow in, and the team is expected to maintain their usual turnaround times. 

Since traditional paper methods or patchwork digital approaches can only scale with staff size, these challenges compound when agencies face hiring freezes or skilled staffing shortages. 

This is where the power of electronic plan review becomes clear: digital plan review systems enable departments to process more applications without straining staff resources. 

Take the City of St. Paul Minnesota for example. After implementing ProjectDox, the City experienced a 20% increase in permits for 500K to 2M projects but slashed their time-to-permit by 40%. 

The Strategic Value of ePlan Review Investment 

Investing in ePlan review technology will pay dividends that extend across the entire agency and community.  

• Faster Review Cycles: Simultaneous review capabilities eliminate the need for department-by-department, sequential paper routing. 

• Reduced Operational Costs: Digital storage eliminates the physical storage costs for paper files and the need for server maintenance.   

• Enhanced Collaboration: Remote review capabilities provide transparency that streamline cross-departmental coordination.  

• Future-Proofed Operations: Digital systems scale more easily with our world’s ever-changing demands. 

Invest in ePlan Review Before Expected Downturns 

There is never a perfect time to implement a new technology, but it’s important to do so before you desperately need it — something we all learned over the course of the pandemic and the recent natural disasters. It’s always advantageous to have efficient and cost-efficient processes in place in advance, so your local agency is prepared for any future downturns or crisis.   

During periods of business-as-usual, departments can quickly come up to speed on the new technology and: 

1. Train staff and applicants thoroughly without immediate pressure. 
2. Fine-tune workflows methodically. 
3. Build institutional knowledge and best practices across departments. 
4. Elicit feedback from internal and external stakeholders for process improvement.   

“Our advice would be to make the investment now! We’ve seen so many improvements since implementing DigEplan — both on the applicant side and internally,” said Nidia Logan-Robinson, Deputy Director, Division of Planning and Development, Memphis and Shelby County.  

Change Management Best Practices for ePlan Review Software 

Transforming your ePlan review process with software requires effective change management, so following best practices will support a smoother implementation and adoption:  

• Involve key, multi-discipline stakeholders early in the selection process. Eliciting buy-in early on will support adoption in the long run.  

• Invest in comprehensive training programs. Frontload training so employees and applicants can best leverage the system from the get-go. 

• Record new processes. Document new workflows clearly to create a system of record for all employees and applicants.  

ePlan Review Supports Agencies in Uncertain Times 

Whether it is preparing for disaster response or economic uncertainty these are realities for municipal operations. The question isn't whether challenging times will come, but how well-prepared your department will be when they do. ePlan review technology provides the operational efficiency and flexibility needed to maintain service levels even with reduced resources. 

Ready to future-proof your department's operations? Schedule a demo to see how electronic plan review can transform your workflows and empower your team to excel.