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Disaster recovery is what happens in the aftermath of a natural or human-caused disaster. The immediate threat to life has passed, but your community is in a shambles. It’s when the long process of rebuilding begins.
It’s not a scenario anyone relishes thinking about. But a comprehensive disaster recovery plan gives residents the support they need to rebuild their homes, their businesses—and their lives.
All that rebuilding inevitably means a spike in permits for repairs to buildings and infrastructure. It would be easy for your community development team to get overwhelmed by the increased demands.
That’s why part of your planning should include a permitting software solution to streamline your processes.
But choosing and implementing a permitting solution can take months, if not years. You don’t want to scramble to adopt a system in the middle of a crisis.
Think back to the beginning of COVID-19. Most communities hadn’t known to prepare for a pandemic. So, many of them used simple, free tools like Google Forms to track infections and vaccine data. But these tools don’t have advanced features like workflows, case tracking, data reporting, and visualization. That meant more “daily detours” like manual data entry.
You don’t want to face the same problems in the face of a devastating situation in your community. That means the time to choose and implement a permitting solution isn’t after a disaster has struck, but before.
In this article, you will learn:
- What’s at stake when disaster recovery is done with or without a permitting software solution.
- How to choose a disaster-ready permitting software.
- How to train your team to use permitting software effectively in a disaster recovery situation.
The Stakes: Disaster Recovery with and without a Permitting Software Solution
What’s at stake for your agency and community? Let’s compare what happens when disaster recovery efforts rely on manual permitting processes versus an efficient permitting software solution.
The Daily Detours of Manual Permitting Processes
Manual permitting processes often involve fillable PDFs, massive spreadsheets, and emails sent back and forth between contractors, agency staff, and residents. For smaller communities, this may work okay during times of stability.
But if you’re rebuilding from a disaster? That magnifies the problems under the surface:
- Poor communication
- Working in silos
- Data entry errors
- Longer response times
Overwhelmed by an influx of permits, processing times drag out.
- Your office gets bogged down by phone calls and emails from people who want to know the status of their permits.
- The administrative burden on your team skyrockets.
- You struggle to keep up with the workload while managing other critical disaster relief tasks.
- Your team gets exhausted and burnt out.
In your wider community:
- Citizens are displaced for longer.
- The emotional and financial strain on affected families grows.
- Economic recovery stutters.
- The slow, disorganized recovery efforts frustrate the community.
In the end, resentment toward government agencies builds and erodes trust in your ability to respond effectively.
The Benefits of a Permitting Solution in a Disaster
On the other hand, a permitting system helps you quickly process the sudden rise in construction permits after a disaster.
You’ll have:
- Automated workflows
- Less data entry
- Fewer manual tasks
- Automated reminders to help you stay on track
- Seamless coordination between agencies
What does that mean for you?
- Teams can address citizen concerns promptly, and better information relieves confusion and anxiety.
- Citizens and contractors can track the status of their permits within the system so you get fewer phone calls.
- Coordination between agencies, contractors, and relief organizations means a more unified recovery effort.
- You’re able to uphold safety and compliance standards despite high demand.
- Data analytics and reporting help you understand patterns, track progress, and make informed decisions.
Ultimately, reconstruction begins sooner, and citizens return to their homes, offices, and lives faster. The community learns that their government agencies help them even in the most stressful circumstances.
There’s no world in which a disaster doesn’t mean more work for building department staff. But with the right permitting software in place, you can rise to the occasion.
Choosing a Disaster-Ready Permitting Software
When selecting your permitting software, think about how it will perform in a disaster situation. Some key features to consider include:
Low-Code/No-Code Configuration
As much as we may want to, it’s not possible to prepare for every scenario that could possibly arise. So choose a low-code/no-code software that allows teams to quickly create or modify workflows. MCCi Community Development has a no-code, user-friendly workflow interface. You get flexibility in emergencies where processes may need to change rapidly.
Comprehensive Data Analytics and Visualization
In a disaster, you’ll need tools for tracking reconstruction progress, identifying bottlenecks, and prioritizing resources effectively. This feature is vital for making informed decisions and monitoring recovery.
Ease of Use
A disaster situation may mean bringing on temporary staff who aren’t familiar with your software. Confirm that the user interface is intuitive, reducing the learning curve for staff and field workers.
Integration with Existing Systems
Check that the solution is compatible with existing software, such as geographic information systems (GIS), to minimize disruptions. MCCi Community Development is built on an open-API architecture so that it integrates easily with other systems. Read more about our integrations.
Secure Cloud Storage
Cloud storage ensures continuity and prevents data loss in disaster zones, even if on-site servers are damaged. MCCi Community Development is hosted on the Microsoft Azure cloud so authorized personnel can access data remotely.
Mobile Compatibility
Enables field workers to submit and access permits directly from disaster zones, reducing delays in processing and accelerating reconstruction. MCCi’s mobile app is designed for maximum convenience from the field. Inspectors can work in offline mode if cell service is not available—no need to wait around for a better signal.
Preparing Your Team for Disaster
Once you’ve selected your permitting software and trained on it for everyday use, it’s time to set up processes specific to disaster recovery.
Disaster Recovery Templates
In a disaster situation, your workflows may change. Create templates within your permitting software specific to different disaster situations. For instance, you may need a workflow that involves the fire department in the aftermath of a wildfire. Design templates in advance for the disasters that are most likely in your region.
Continuous Training
Regular training sessions help staff become familiar with disaster protocols. That way, your team can deploy disaster-specific workflows quickly when the time comes. Multiple people on your team should also be able to create or modify no-code workflows in case a situation arises that you didn’t explicitly plan for.
Cross-Agency Collaboration
Foster collaboration between different government departments and relief organizations by holding joint training sessions. This aligns everyone on the common goals of recovery and reconstruction.
Now is the Time to Prepare
Incorporating a permitting solution into your disaster recovery plan helps your community recover faster and with less disruption.Â
If your building permit process isn’t disaster-ready today, don’t panic—but don’t wait around, either. Schedule a demo of MCCi Community Development today to see how it can help your agency strengthen your disaster recovery plan and better serve your community.