Meet San Bernardino County
San Bernardino County Department of Public Works (DPW) supports one of the largest counties in the United States, delivering essential infrastructure and public services to more than 2 million residents and countless visitors. As a highly geocentric agency, nearly every task depends on accurate, location‑based information tied to maps, plans, and records.
For years, DPW staff faced daily detours caused by information scattered across shared drives, personal folders, and legacy systems. Finding the right document often meant searching multiple systems, manually verifying accuracy, and navigating disconnected workflows. These challenges slowed service delivery, increased risk, and pulled staff away from higher‑value work. DPW knew they needed a better way to reduce busywork, improve accuracy, and scale operations to meet growing demands.
Daily Detour: Information Scattered Across Siloed Systems
For the San Bernardino County Department of Public Works (DPW), inefficiency wasn’t an occasional frustration — it was a daily reality. Staff spent valuable time hunting for information across personal drives, shared folders, and outdated repositories, only to encounter duplicated files and no clear authoritative version.
These detours slowed even the simplest tasks and made it harder to deliver timely, accurate information to the public.
As a highly geocentric agency, nearly every workflow began with location. But staff had to move between GIS tools, content systems, and manual searches, slowing their ability to access accurate and current information.
And with San Bernardino County being the largest county in the U.S., the scale of these challenges was magnified. Their teams needed a better way, one that seamlessly aligned maps with documents and made information retrieval effortless instead of an obstacle.
About our Client
CLIENT NAME:
POPULATION:
2 million+
DEPARTMENT STAFF:
700+
SOLUTIONS:
Other Spotlights
The Game Changer: Giving Staff Control Over Their Own Content and Workflows
For years, DPW had relied on an aging, externally managed content system that couldn’t keep up. Upgrades were infrequent, costs were high, and staff couldn’t manage their own metadata or upload documents without routing requests through IT.
Laserfiche instantly changed that. What began as a replacement for an obsolete system quickly became a platform for broader transformation. As staff discovered new possibilities within Laserfiche, especially Laserfiche Forms, the department began rethinking legacy workflows and modernizing them step by step.
The scale of adoption quickly exceeded expectations. What started as a migration of more than 1 million document images has grown into a production repository of 2.46 million entries, totaling 4.0 terabytes and more than 8.3 million pages that are growing every day.
Skip the Busywork: Eliminating Busywork Through Automation
The first major win came from automating Accounts Payable invoice routing through Laserfiche Forms. The new workflow integrates directly with the project cost accounting system, drastically reducing processing time and minimizing backlog. What used to be a slow, manual process now happens quickly, consistently, and with full transparency.
That early success sparked momentum. Other divisions identified processes ready for modernization, several of which are now fully automated and live in production. Staff saw firsthand how automation could remove the busywork standing between them and the work that actually matters.
Cut the Risks: Connecting Location-Based Records for Faster, More Accurate Research
As a location-driven agency, DPW realized the enormous potential of connecting Laserfiche documents directly to ArcGIS. After learning about the Laserfiche and ArcGIS integration, the team explored a way to automatically connect Laserfiche entries to geolocation pop‑up menus.
The result? Three high-impact Laserfiche and ArcGIS integration applications now in production:
- Aerial Imagery Viewer: For Flood Control and Planning, making decades of imagery easily accessible for both staff and the public.
- Survey Document Research Portal: Allowing both staff and residents to quickly retrieve survey documents through an intuitive public-facing interface.
- As‑Built Facility Plan Sets Viewer: Replacing a manual research process with instant map-to-document access.
These integrations helped eliminate research errors, improved public transparency, and ensured staff were always working from the correct document, reducing compliance and accuracy risks.
Get the Help You Need: A Partner with Deep Government Expertise
DPW credits much of this success to their dedicated account management team at MCCi, whose deep government expertise and hands-on guidance made these integrations possible. From configuration recommendations to launch support, MCCi brought the knowledge and partnership needed to bring these map-driven solutions to life.
With decades of experience serving government agencies, MCCi gave DPW a trusted partner to help build and sustain a long-term modernization strategy.
The Results
By eliminating daily detours and connecting Laserfiche and ArcGIS, DPW has achieved:
- Faster, easier access to documents through automated map-driven workflows
- Noticeably reduced time spent locating information
- Improved accuracy and reduced risk of research errors
- Increased public transparency through self-service portals
- Significantly streamlined AP processing times
- A foundation for continued modernization across the department
Staff now describe their work as easier, faster, and more efficient, with real improvements in how they fulfill requests and support public needs.
Why This Matters
San Bernardino County Public Works proves what’s possible when systems, maps, and documents operate as one. With Laserfiche and Esri ArcGIS working in tandem, staff no longer waste time navigating disconnected systems, searching through folders, or manually tracking down information. They focus on what matters most: serving their community with accuracy, speed, and confidence.