Key Takeaways:
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Who: Municipal asset managers, Public Works leaders, and city managers
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What: A structured approach to defining, measuring, and improving Levels of Service (LOS) using asset management software and Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS)
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Benefit: Aligns service delivery with community expectations, improves decision-making, and supports data-driven budgeting
Municipalities rely on complex infrastructure systems to deliver essential services to residents, from roads and water networks to facilities and public spaces. However, many struggle to clearly define, measure, and communicate service performance.
Levels of Service (LOS) provide a standardized framework to bridge that gap. When integrated into a municipal asset management strategy and supported by tools like a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) or Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) platform, service level targets enable municipalities to balance cost, risk, and performance while improving transparency.
By digitizing LOS tracking and aligning it with asset data, municipalities can move from reactive decision-making to proactive, data-driven service delivery.
What are Levels of Service in Municipal Asset Management?
Levels of Service (LOS) define the quality, performance, and reliability of services delivered to the community, measured through both customer-facing outcomes and technical indicators.
LOS typically includes:
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Community LOS: What residents experience (e.g., road quality, service responsiveness)
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Technical LOS: Operational metrics that support delivery (e.g., inspection frequency, asset condition ratings)
For example:
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Community LOS: Percentage of residents satisfied with road conditions
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Technical LOS: Percentage of roads inspected annually
Using a centralized platform like Citywide Assets ensures these metrics are consistently tracked and aligned with broader asset strategies.
How Do You Define Your Current Levels of Service?
Municipalities define current LOS by auditing existing services, collecting performance data, and aligning metrics with community expectations.
Start by:
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Identifying core services across departments
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Reviewing existing performance data and condition assessments
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Engaging stakeholders, including council, staff, and residents
Many municipalities store this data across spreadsheets and disconnected systems. Consolidating it into a unified asset management system creates a reliable baseline and improves visibility across departments.
How do you choose the right LOS metrics?
The right LOS metrics are measurable, aligned with community priorities, and directly tied to asset performance and risk.
Effective metrics should be:
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Relevant to service outcomes (e.g., safety, reliability, accessibility)
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Easy to track over time
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Connected to financial and operational decisions
Examples include:
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Water main breaks per year
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Pavement Condition Index (PCI)
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Work order completion times
Using a CMMS like Citywide Maintenance allows municipalities to automatically capture and report on these metrics in real time, reducing manual tracking.
How Do You Align LOS with Asset Management Decisions?
LOS is integrated into decision-making by linking service targets to asset condition, lifecycle planning, and budget forecasting.
Municipal challenges often include:
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Different expected useful life for aboveground vs. underground assets
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Limited visibility into underground infrastructure
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Incomplete condition assessment data
A modern asset management platform connects LOS targets to:
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Capital planning
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Preventive maintenance schedules
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Risk assessment models
This ensures investments are prioritized based on service impact, not just asset age or reactive needs.
How Can Municipalities Track and Improve LOS Performance Over Time?
Continuous LOS improvement requires continuous monitoring, trend analysis, and reporting.
Key activities include:
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Regular condition assessments
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Tracking service requests and complaints
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Monitoring asset performance trends such as increasing service outages or degrading infrastructure conditions
These trends help decision-makers identify when and where new strategies are needed, such as increasing investment in deteriorating assets or reallocating resources to higher-priority areas. Regular reporting also creates a record to justify budget decisions to stakeholders.
Workflow Comparison: Manual vs. CMMS-Driven LOS Tracking
| Metric | Manual Approach | CMMS-Enabled Approach | Operational Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data collection | Spreadsheets, siloed systems | Centralized asset database | Single source of truth |
| Performance tracking | Periodic, manual reporting | More current dashboards | Faster insights |
| Work order management | Emails, phone calls | Automated workflows | Reduced manual effort |
| Compliance reporting | Reactive audits | Continuous tracking | Audit-ready at all times |
Municipalities using Citywide Software solutions gain visibility into trends like:
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Increasing service disruptions
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Declining asset conditions
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Shifts in community satisfaction
How Do You Adjust LOS Based on Budget and Resource Constraints?
LOS targets should be continuously updated based on financial capacity, asset condition trends, and community priorities.
Best practices include:
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Conducting thorough condition assessments for critical assets
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Collaborating with stakeholders, including staff, elected officials, and residents, to ensure alignment on priorities
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Adjusting service level targets based on trends, resource availability, and community feedback
For example, while a municipality may have a target for road conditions, achieving it might require incremental adjustments based on the budget, with clear communication to the public on how progress will be made.
Key Terms to Know
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CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System): Software that automates maintenance workflows, work orders, and asset tracking.
Explore Citywide Maintenance -
EAM (Enterprise Asset Management): A strategy and system for managing asset lifecycles, performance, and investment planning.
Learn about Citywide Assets -
Levels of Service (LOS): Defined service quality targets that align municipal operations with community expectations.
See LOS Best Practices -
Preventive Maintenance (PM): Scheduled maintenance to prevent asset failure and extend lifecycle.
The Path Forward
By integrating Levels of Service into a centralized asset management and CMMS platform, municipalities can deliver more reliable services, make defensible budget decisions, and improve transparency with stakeholders.
Ready to operationalize Levels of Service in your municipality? Explore how Citywide Software solutions can help you track performance, automate workflows, and improve service delivery.
