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Building departments play a crucial role in ensuring public safety and enforcing compliance with regulations. But rapid urbanization, changing construction standards, and increasing permit demands are making this task more complex than ever.
To keep up, building officials and permit departments must modernize their processes while maintaining efficiency and transparency. The key challenges they face include:
- Increasing workloads and job complexity, requiring more inspections but not necessarily more staff.
- The need for better collaboration, both within departments and with the public.
- Technology adoption, ensuring that digital solutions streamline operations instead of complicating them.
Understanding these challenges—and how the right solutions can address them—makes safer, more sustainable communities.
Increased Workloads and Job Complexity
Building departments across the country are facing a workload surge. But this rise in demand doesn’t always come with increased staffing. Officials must find ways to ensure compliance without overburdening their teams.
Most likely, you’re processing more permits than ever—a trend driven by population growth and economic expansion. But it’s not only the number of permits that’s changing. The permits themselves are becoming more complex, too.
Part of this is due to evolving regulations. The 2024 International Codes (I-Codes) introduced over a thousand changes across more than a dozen standards. For instance, inspectors must now check for a carbon monoxide (CO) detector in all occupancies where a CO-producing device is present.
Modern construction methods add to the challenge: More complex materials, techniques, even just the increased height of buildings.
For inspectors, this means balancing in-depth on-site evaluations with detailed documentation requirements. Without streamlined processes, the burden of paperwork can slow down approvals and create backlogs.
The Need for Effective Collaboration
Modern building departments don’t operate in isolation. They have to coordinate with multiple agencies, contractors, and the public to keep projects moving efficiently. But when communication breaks down, it leads to confusion, delays, and frustration for everyone involved.
This requires collaboration in-house and out of house, behind the permit counter and outside of the permit counter.
Internal Collaboration: Working Across Departments
Building permits often require input from multiple departments, such as public works, planning and zoning, stormwater management, and even state or federal agencies. When each department operates in a silo—relying on emails, phone calls, or separate databases—it becomes nearly impossible to track progress in real time.
For example, if a stormwater review is holding up a permit approval, the applicant may not know where the bottleneck is or who to contact for an update. In many cases, staff within the building department itself may struggle to get a clear answer. A more connected approach is essential to prevent these delays.
External Collaboration: Transparency with Contractors and Citizens
The modern public has high expectations regarding status updates. The public, citizens, and contractors don’t want to have to call the building department every week to find out what’s happening with their permit or why it’s taking longer than expected.
Yet, many building departments still rely on manual processes that leave applicants frustrated and uninformed.
Instead of fielding constant phone calls and emails, departments need a system that allows contractors and citizens to check their permit status instantly through an online portal. This not only improves public satisfaction but also frees up staff to focus on more critical tasks.
Technology Adoption
Outdated, paper-based processes create unnecessary delays. Paper applications must be manually reviewed, stored, and transferred between departments—an inefficient system that increases the risk of lost documents and miscommunications.
Fortunately, the third trend of technology adoption provides solutions. A digital permitting platform eliminates these inefficiencies by allowing applications, plans, and inspection records to be submitted, reviewed, and approved online. This shift improves accessibility and ensures that stakeholders—whether internal staff, inspectors in the field, or external applicants—can quickly access the information they need.
But all of this depends on selecting the right software for your department. With technology that integrates with your other solutions, automates repetitive tasks, and can be configured to your exact specifications, you’ll improve collaboration and make workloads manageable.
Breaking Down Data Siloes with Integration
One of the biggest challenges in building department modernization is choosing a permitting solution that integrates with your existing software. Departments rely on multiple platforms—GIS systems, document management solutions, financial software, and state or federal compliance databases. When these systems don’t communicate effectively, staff end up stuck in a cycle of manual data entry, redundant processes, and unnecessary delays.
Former building official Darren Emery explained what it was like using software that didn’t integrate well:
“It was just a logistical nightmare trying to make emails and phone calls to figure out who was at what stage with the plan review systems. You couldn’t see at a glance to know what division was working on it, whether they’re almost done or they’re not quite there yet.”
The reverse was true when he started working on a project with Pottawatomie County, which contains a portion of the City of Manhattan.
Pottawatomie County started issuing building permits for housing processes for the first time about 5 years ago. Darren said he expected pushback from contractors and homeowners who now had to get permits in the part of the City of Manhattan that was in Pottawatomie County.
But Pottawatomie had just implemented the MCCi Permitting and Licensing platform, which integrated with the City of Manhattan’s legacy permitting system. As a result, the permitting process didn’t slow down construction.
“We heard almost no pushback. It was one of the biggest surprises I ever had. And I know that part of it was because the systems were talking to each other,” Darren said. “It is an incredible help no matter what department you’re in, just allowing everyone else within your organization to know where you’re at and what’s going on.”
Automation to Reduce Time-Consuming Tasks
Even in the most well-run building departments, staff spend valuable time on repetitive administrative tasks like data entry, document filing, and status updates. Automating these tasks not only improves efficiency but also increases job satisfaction.
When one building official began implementing software in his building department, he spent time analyzing the repetitive tasks his colleagues worked on. These became opportunities for automation.
“You get nothing but smiles when your coworkers have some free time because a system is working better and automation can eliminate those duplicative processes,” he recalled.
Configurable Workflows
But what if you buy a software and it doesn’t quite work the way you want it to? Off-the-shelf solutions often force departments to adapt to rigid workflows, which can create new inefficiencies instead of solving old ones. All of a sudden, this automation becomes your Achilles’ heel. It can slow your department down.
Unlike rigid, one-size-fits-all systems, configurable workflows allow agencies to tailor the software to their specific processes without extensive custom development.
Many government agencies have unique permitting and inspection processes due to local regulations, staffing structures, and department policies. Configurable workflows allow each department to:
- Automate Steps in the Process: Reduce manual tasks by setting up triggers for approvals, notifications, and document reviews.
- Adjust to Changing Regulations: Update workflows when new ordinances or state laws require process changes.
- Improve Efficiency Across Departments: Ensure different teams (permitting, code enforcement, planning, etc.) can collaborate seamlessly.
For example, two cities—City A and City B—both issue building permits, but their internal processes, regulations, and departmental structures require different workflow configurations.
City A: Small Municipality (Simple, Centralized Process)
At City A, one department handles zoning, public works, and building code review. Their workflow might go like this:
- Applicant submits permit online.
- System routes it to the building official for a single review.
- If approved, inspections are scheduled.
- Upon passing inspections, the permit is issued.
Why It Works: Fewer handoffs keep the process fast and efficient for a small team.
City B: Large Metro Area (Complex, Multi-Department Process)
City B has separate teams for zoning, fire safety, public works, and environmental review. Their workflow is more complex:
- Application is submitted and auto-routed to zoning.
- Public works, fire safety, and environmental teams review in parallel.
- System tracks approvals and sends reminders to avoid delays.
- Once all approvals are in, the building department issues the permit.
- Required inspections are scheduled before final occupancy approval.
Why It Works: This ensures compliance with complex regulations while keeping departments aligned.
Configurable workflows let agencies tailor software to their structure, whether centralized or multi-step, rather than forcing them into a rigid system.
MCCi Permitting and Licensing was designed with flexibility in mind. Among other configurations, you can:
- Define custom approval paths for different permit and license types.
- Configure automatic notifications and escalations to keep processes on track.
- Set up role-based access to ensure the right staff members handle each step.
How MCCi Permitting and Licensing Helps
- Standard and Custom Reports. Your system comes with 25 reports pre-configured, such as location reports and permits issued by type. We can also work with you to configure additional reports based on your individual needs.
- Automated Reports. If you need a certain report once a month, every quarter, or at the end of the year, MCCi Permitting and Licensing can be configured to be pushed it out fully automatically.
- PowerBI Integration. For those with particularly complex reporting needs, your MCCi Permitting and Licensing database can integrate with Microsoft PowerBI.
What’s Next?
“Other software companies are a one-size-fits-all solution, with no flexibility. We had to mold ourselves to their platform. [MCCi Permitting and Licensing] molded their platform to us and how we operate.”
If your department is struggling under the weight of increased workloads, a well-integrated, user-friendly permitting system can make all the difference.
Want to learn more about how configurable permitting systems can work for your jurisdiction? Fill out the form below to learn more about how our permitting solution can support your community’s needs!