Some of the most common frustrations of building departments can already be resolved with the right digital tools — it’s just that staff might not know the full extent of what they can do with their own software.
That’s why Cloudpermit recently hosted 11 municipalities from across Ontario for a Building Optimization Discussion, bringing together more than 20 municipal users to learn all about the latest and greatest features available to their departments.
Customer Success Specialist Lianne Slichter realized there was an opportunity to help users boost efficiency with building permitting software.
Rather than send an email or make phone calls, Slichter invited neighboring municipalities for an in-person session in early May, complete with Tim Hortons coffee and doughnuts in the morning to get everyone ready for a productive day.
The group of attendees made it an incredible success,” she said. “It became a true working session, with constant involvement, thoughtful feedback, and valuable discussion throughout.”
Connecting With Municipal Staff
The May 7 event, which was held at the Township of Oro-Medonte's council chambers, was a chance to explain recent updates and upcoming changes to the Cloudpermit platform and help users get answers to their questions right on the spot.
Melissa Peyton, a Plans Examiner for the Town of Innisfil, said webinars help, but this was a more effective way of learning about what Cloudpermit can do.
It’s great to have someone walk through some of the new details on a personal level,” she said.
Cloudpermit Training Specialist Brian Tran was there to engage with customers and help them use the software to get more done.
Our software is constantly evolving, and sometimes new functions and features are released but our clients are either unaware, or they do not understand exactly how to utilize them and potentially save lots of time and increase their productivity,” he said. “With Lianne leading the session, we were able to really connect with the end users in real time, discuss their needs, and troubleshoot problems along the way.”
AI in Municipal Permitting: What It Can Do
During the discussion, attendees learned more about NoVa, Cloudpermit’s AI-powered support assistant for local governments.
While this new feature has potential out of the box, such as its ability to help applicants figure out the steps of the building permit process and step-by-step instructions for municipal users to do things like add a new inspector, even more can happen with local information.
By uploading municipal details, such as zoning by-laws, fee schedules, and accessory structure regulations, staff can ask plain-language questions like:
- “What are the setbacks for a residential build?”
- “What are accessory structure rules in rural residential zoning?”
- “What fees apply to this permit type?”
This means they can spend less time searching PDFs while improving the consistency of responses and focusing on more important tasks.
As Slichter highlighted this way of using the AI assistant, attendees realized NoVa could have a significant impact on their own work.
Get out,” Nancy Laythorpe, the Deputy Chief Building Official for the Town of The Blue Mountains, said. “That’s amazing!
How Property Data Can Be Better Used
Much of the discussion involved Cloudpermit’s Property Data Management, which goes far beyond a database and can automate and streamline all kinds of things that attendees deal with on a daily basis.
Slichter showed how this feature could be used to set up hundreds or even thousands of recurring inspections on septic systems — a common issue in Ontario — in just a few clicks, potentially saving many hours of staff time spent on manually adding inspections one property at a time.
Using the property database, I can take 10,000 septic systems essentially and put them into that system,” Jeff Lewis, the Township of Algonquin Highlands’ Deputy Chief Building Official and By-Law Officer, said.
Learning From One Another
Attendees saw a demonstration of ways to better optimize online municipal inspections with features to reflect things like business rules, comply-by dates, and stop work order management.
While much of these helpful tips and tricks were provided by Cloudpermit staff, attendees also spoke with one another to learn how their peers were maximizing efficiency and using the software.
Nancy Laythorpe said it was a good opportunity to see how municipal staff are using features like standard text and workflow setups to get more done.
It’s nice that we have something like this to attend and learn from,” she said.
Mike Ryan, a Building Plans Examiner and Inspector for Oro-Medonte, said he doesn’t deal with back-end stuff much in his role, but he appreciated the chance to learn more about how Cloudpermit is adapting and changing to meet new challenges for building departments.
It's really nice for me to see what is going on in the background,” he said.
What’s Ahead for Local Government Software
Local government software continues to evolve as emerging technologies like AI and improved digital tools make work better than ever.
Cloudpermit continues to embrace the latest technology as it adds to its online platform for municipalities — and it is just as important for the company to share these new features with customers as it is to learn from them about their needs from the software.
I’m excited to bring these insights back to the Cloudpermit team as we continue striving to provide the best possible client experience,” Slichter said.
Want to see how Cloudpermit can help municipalities make building permitting better than ever? Book a demo with us today to learn what our software can do for you.
