Meet the Client
Deer Park, Texas, is located in southeast Harris County within the Houston metropolitan area. The city is recognized as one of the best places to live in Texas, offering residents a suburban feel, with most residents owning their homes, numerous parks, and highly rated public schools. Deer Park is known for being a family-friendly community that attracts many families and young professionals
Daily Detour: Quarterly inspections become quarterly headaches
The Sheriff’s Department conducts quarterly inspections for more than 300 deputies. Each inspection covers over 50 categories. Uniforms. Computer equipment. Vehicles. Firearms. Portable printers. Serial numbers. Condition notes. The list goes on.
Staff filled out lengthy paper forms for each inspection. They manually entered data into multiple systems. If information changed from one quarter to the next, they started from scratch. The process consumed hours of time that deputies and administrators needed for actual law enforcement work.
The records department faced similar friction. Processing concealed weapons carry permits meant managing mountains of paper. Other agencies requesting information waited days or weeks for responses. The old fax-based system for veteran benefit requests took 14 days just to get a status update from the federal government.
“The Risk Management Portal was our leeway into building conversational forms with Laserfiche Forms,” explained Mark. “We ask users a series of questions like, was there exposure to blood or other pathogens, or does the employee want to file a workers’ compensation claim, and then it’ll give them the forms they need.”
About our Client
CLIENT NAME:
CHAMPION:
Mark McIntyre
Business System Analyst
POPULATION:
est. 244,925 residents
SOLUTIONS:
The Solution: Chatbots that feel like conversation
The team needed to replace manual processes with digital workflows that worked on any device. They wanted staff to complete forms quickly without sacrificing data accuracy. Most importantly, they needed a system that felt intuitive, not technical.
They built conversational chatbots using Laserfiche Forms. These chatbots guide users through complex processes with simple yes/no questions. The result? Processes that once required filling out 20+ fields now take just five button clicks.
Personnel Status Request Chatbot
The team created their first chatbot for the PSR Form. This single form handles everything an employee might experience during their career at Cabarrus County. Taking leave without pay. Completing performance reviews. Benefits requests. All of it.
The chatbot auto-fills data based on previous entries. Staff confirm information instead of re-entering it. Fields populate from trusted data sources. What used to require completion of more than 20 fields now happens through a conversation.
Quarterly Inspections Chatbot
Next came the Sheriff’s Department quarterly inspections. The team converted the 50+ category inspection form into a chatbot. After the first inspection, the system auto-populates data from the last quarter. Deputies simply confirm information is still accurate or update what changed.
For 300+ deputies, this adds up to massive time savings. No more starting from scratch each quarter. No more re-entering serial numbers or condition notes that haven’t changed.
“As soon as we rolled it out, people loved it because it is so easy to use, and it works on any device,” Patterson shared. “They can use it on their phones, just like texting, and it’s so intuitive.”
Paperless Records Department
The records department digitized all paper records and stored them in the Laserfiche repository. Now they provide electronic responses to information requests from other agencies. No more digging through filing cabinets. No more making copies. Just quick digital retrieval and secure electronic delivery.
Concealed Weapons Carry Permits
Processing concealed carry permits became fully digital. Applications, supporting documents, approvals. Everything flows through Laserfiche. Storage space constraints disappeared. Processing time decreased. Accuracy improved.
Federal API Integration for Veterans
Perhaps their most impactful integration connects to a federal government API for veteran benefits requests. The Veteran Affairs Office now uploads Laserfiche Forms directly to process benefits requests. No hand-coding required. Just seamless integration between county and federal systems.
The results? Response times dropped from 14 days to 48 hours. That matters when veterans need those benefits to cover essential expenses.
“That’s huge for veterans that need those benefits,” Patterson emphasized.
We want to fix problems for our veterans
The Cabarrus team is planning additional automation. They’re building a workflow that pulls status updates every two hours for veteran benefit requests. Veterans will track their request from submission through processing without making phone calls or sending faxes.
- Deputy inspections: 50+ field forms reduced to simple confirmations after initial setup
- Personnel requests: 20+ field forms reduced to 5 clicks through conversational flow
- Veteran benefits: 14-day wait times cut to 48 hours through API integration
- Storage space: Eliminated physical filing cabinet overflow with digital repository
- Mobile access: Staff complete forms on phones, tablets, or computers with equal ease
- Data accuracy: Auto-population from trusted sources reduces manual entry errors