City of Kelowna handed excellence award at UBCM convention

The City of Kelowna has been handed the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) Community Excellence Award in asset management.

The award was presented to a delegation from the city, who are in Vancouver for the annual UBCM convention.

A news release issued Wednesday explained that the award recognizes the recent implementation of a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) to manage and maintain the city's more than 30,000 infrastructure assets that are worth more than $7 billion.

That includes water, wastewater, drainage, transportation, recreation and community infrastructure.

“By effectively managing taxation through a balanced approach, we continue to invest in preserving, maintaining, renewing and delivering new assets to respond to our community needs, now and into the future,” said mayor Tom Dyas.

“These initiatives are leading the way provincially and this award is evident of that success.”

According to the news release, the CMMS replaced many manual paper process, automated process to minimize human error and allows for real time data analytics of the city’s thousands of infrastructure.

The program is used by more than 700 staff to plan maintenance and monitor the conditions of Kelowna’s infrastructure.

“On the heels of Council approving the advancement of the 10-year Capital Plan, this exciting recognition showcases the outstanding work of City staff, particularly our capital planning, financial services and infrastructure teams, and their commitment to delivering excellence in every aspect of infrastructure management,” added Dyas.