Doing More With the Same Crew
05 · EMPOWER — Technology and practical AI for the Public Works workforce shortage. Public Works departments face experienced employees retiring, difficulty recruiting skilled replacements and increasing demands on existing staff. Technology will not eliminate the workforce problem, but it can change how limited staff time is used. This session looks at mobile workflows, automation and specific AI uses that are working today: drafting reports and work orders, searching records and standards, capturing retiring employees' knowledge, and answering routine resident requests. The focus is on what departments have actually implemented, not demonstrations. Each event becomes an Asset Mapping Intelligence Report — a permanent, searchable record of the session: the full write-up, the archived video, every audience question and answer, a practical field guide, a glossary, direct speaker contacts, and supporting material from the technology partners who took part.
Key Takeaways
- Where technology can realistically reduce workload rather than create another system to manage.
- How mobile and automated workflows can eliminate repetitive administrative tasks.
- Which AI uses departments have actually put into production today.
- How technology can preserve institutional knowledge as experienced employees retire.
Why Attend?
The workforce problem is not going away, so the practical question is where staff time is being lost and what can be automated safely. This session sticks to what departments have already put into production.
Who Should Attend
- Public Works Directors
- Operations and Maintenance Managers
- City and County Managers
- HR leadership
- Fleet and Facilities Managers
- Water and Wastewater Directors
- Engineering
- GIS and IT leadership
Agenda
- 01 The Public Works Workforce Challenge
- 02 Where Does the Time Go? — activities suitable for automation
- 03 The Connected Field Worker — mobile workflows, digital forms and field access to information
- 04 The AI Assistant — drafting reports and work orders, searching records and standards
- 05 Answering Residents — routine service requests and repetitive correspondence
- 06 Capturing Institutional Knowledge — preserving decades of experience as employees retire
- 07 Panel Discussion + Audience Q&A
