Tutorial: Getting Started with Cityworks

Introduction

Cityworks is a set of cross-platform applications for asset, work, and property management designed to serve public works, utilities, and other organizations. The applications leverage GIS to provide communities with real-world representations of their assets to provide insight and inform decision-making. 

Integrate the FME Platform with Cityworks to help manage and maintain your workflows and data across applications. Combine the power of FME to connect, transform and automate data processes with Cityworks’ GIS-centric asset management system to build integrated workflows tailored exactly to your needs. 

Getting Started with Cityworks is your source for all things Cityworks and FME. Here you can find the resources and tools to start building your workflows.


 

Why Use Cityworks with FME?

FME leverages the Cityworks REST API for a completely web-based integration. Compared to a typical database-driven approach, APIs offer a more robust solution. The Cityworks REST API is supported and stable across multiple versions and deployments of Cityworks. This means that you can build custom solutions that can easily be shared, reused, or updated - even as versions, applications, ownership, and systems change.

Integrate and transform all your Cityworks data. FME can access and manage data across Cityworks Services, such as Asset Management System (AMS), Permitting, Land, and Licensing (PLL), Geographic Information System (GIS), and administration. 

Consider how your organization uses Cityworks. Many processes become repetitive, time-consuming or cause problems, such as erroneous or duplicate data entry. Example scenarios:

• Assigning work to a specific employee
• Chaining related work orders, service requests, or inspections
• Updating the status of a service request, inspection, or work order
• Merging other systems with Cityworks, like financial or HR systems
• Sending notifications to stakeholders
• Data QA and validation

Need more proof? Check out our Customer Stories to learn about organizations that are using FME and Cityworks in the real world. 

Articles

Connecting to Cityworks with a Web Connection

This exercise sets up a Cityworks Web Connection in FME Workbench. A web connection is required for all other exercises. 
 

Sending a Work Order to Cityworks 

Use pre-built custom transformers in FME to perform routine tasks in Cityworks, like creating work orders, service requests, or inspections. This exercise uses the WorkOrderCreator to create work orders from spreadsheet data.

Self-Serve Cityworks Workflows with FME Flow Apps

Build self-serve Cityworks workflows in FME Flow. This exercise creates an FME Flow App that allows end-users to submit files for work order creation. 
 

Real-time Automations with Cityworks Webhooks

Webhooks push real-time messages to FME Flow in response to activity and events in Cityworks. By facilitating communication in both directions, we achieve bidirectional data flow. This exercise introduces two essential tools: Cityworks Action Manager for configuring webhooks and FME Flow Automations for receiving webhook messages.  
 

Custom Workflows for Cityworks with FME

If there isn't a custom transformer available for your task, we can build any request available for Cityworks in FME Workbench. This exercise uses the Cityworks REST API Documentation with the HTTPCaller to build and chain custom requests. 
 

Additional Resources

• Tutorial: Pothole Reporting Demo focuses on a Cityworks AMS workflow. 
• Cityworks and Esri Apps are common integration. Refer to the Automating Workflows from Survey123 to ArcGIS for inspiration.
• Webinar: Automated Application Integration with FME & Cityworks
• Webinar: Application Integration for Smart Cities
• Blog: New FME Tools for Cityworks Integrations
• If you're new to working with REST APIs, our Tutorial: Getting Started with APIs is a great resource for learning the ropes.