Position: Database Expert
Location: Sacramento, CA (Remote)
Duration: Contract
Clients''s Vegetation Management (VM) organization seeks professional services to design, develop, and implement a Vegetation Management Database (VMD) utilizing Microsoft SQL Server. The VMD will serve as the central repository for historical vegetation management data, reference data, and approved operational data sources.
The VMD will provide a secure, scalable, and maintainable platform that supports:
• Data integration and management
• Reporting and dashboards
• Operational analytics
• Predictive analytics
• Forecast modeling
• Performance scorecards
• Decision support capabilities
The solution shall support secure maintenance of approved datasets by designated non-technical business users while preserving data integrity, security, and auditability.
The Contractor shall assess existing data sources, gather business requirements, design the target architecture, load historical data and reference tables, establish data relationships, and implement secure methods to access approved external data sources without duplicating or permanently storing such data unless specifically authorized by client.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND DELIVERABLES
Data Management
• Load historical data and reference data into VMD.
• Design and implement database structures, relationships, keys, and supporting components.
• Establish repeatable data loading and maintenance processes.
Data Integration
• Implement secure methods to access approved external data sources.
• Minimize data duplication whenever possible.
• Support reporting and analytics using both VMD and approved external sources.
User Enablement
• Provide secure low-code or no-code solutions for designated business users to maintain approved datasets.
• Implement role-based security and auditing controls.
Reporting and Analytics
• Develop dashboards, scorecards, reports, visualizations, and analytical solutions.
• Support predictive analytics and forecast modeling.
• Enable operational planning and performance management.
Knowledge Transfer
• Deliver technical documentation.
• Conduct training sessions.
• Transfer knowledge to designated clients personnel.
Discovery and Requirements Analysis
The Contractor shall:
• Review existing source systems, spreadsheets, databases, reports, and documentation.
• Conduct stakeholder interviews and requirements workshops.
• Assess data quality and business rules.
• Identify reporting, analytics, and forecasting requirements.
• Produce a source system inventory and current-state assessment.
• Recommend implementation and integration approaches. Deliverable
• Discovery and Requirements Assessment Report
Data Architecture and Database Design
The Contractor shall:
• Design the target SQL Server architecture.
• Develop logical and physical data models.
• Define tables, relationships, joins, keys, indexes, and constraints.
• Establish metadata standards and naming conventions.
• Design raw, staging, curated, reference, and reporting layers as appropriate. Deliverables
• Logical Data Model
• Physical Data Model
• Database Design Documentation
Data Loading and Integration
The Contractor shall:
• Load historical VM data and reference data into VMD.
• Cleanse, standardize, and transform source data.
• Validate data quality and completeness.
• Establish repeatable update processes.
• Implement secure methods for accessing external data sources without permanent storage when feasible.
Deliverables
• Data Migration Plan
• Data Load Scripts
• Data Validation Report
Business User Data Maintenance
The Contractor shall:
• Design secure methods for approved business users to update data.
• Provide low-code or no-code maintenance solutions.
• Implement validation rules and error handling.
• Maintain audit trails.
• Enforce role-based security. Deliverables
• Data Maintenance Solution
• User Procedures
• Security Design Documentation
Reporting, Dashboards, Analytics, and Forecasting
The Contractor shall develop reporting and analytical solutions supporting the enhancement requests identified in Attachment A.
Services may include:
• Dashboard development
• Executive scorecards
• KPI reporting
• Data visualizations
• Forecasting models
• Predictive analytics
• Python-based analytical workflows
• Query optimization and performance tuning Deliverables
• Dashboards and Reports
• Forecast Models
• Analytical Models
• Technical Documentation
Testing, Documentation, and Training
The Contractor shall:
• Develop and execute test plans.
• Support User Acceptance Testing (UAT).
• Produce technical and operational documentation.
• Conduct training and knowledge transfer sessions.
Enhancement Requests : The Contractor shall support implementation of the following business capabilities.
A. Operations Plan Tracking (PI-to-Invoice)
Develop an integrated planning and tracking solution that supports:
• Operational planning
• Inspection tracking
• Tree work completion tracking
• Scheduling
• Resource management
• Budget monitoring
• Progress-to-plan reporting
• Forecasting and actuals reporting
B. Vegetation Management Scorecard
Develop internal and contractor scorecards that measure:
• Safety
• Quality
• Productivity
• Compliance
• Service delivery
The solution shall support reporting for executives, directors, managers, supervisors, and contractor partners.
C. Outage Investigation Analytics
Develop analytical capabilities supporting investigation of vegetation-related outages including:
• Weather conditions
• Tree species
• Failure mechanisms
• Geographic trends
• Root cause analysis
• Risk identification
D. Planner and Labor Hours Dashboard
Develop dashboards supporting:
• Labor allocation
• Straight-time and overtime tracking
• Resource utilization
• Productivity monitoring
• Cost management
E. Vegetation Management and Line Contract Dashboard
Provide visibility into:
• Contract values
• Remaining funding
• Burn rates
• Change orders
• Financial performance
• Budget risk indicators
F. Wildfire Mitigation Metrics
Develop reporting solutions supporting Wildfire Mitigation Plan KPI reporting, including:
• Inspections completed
• Quality assurance activities
• Vegetation clearance metrics
• System hardening metrics
• Equipment upgrades
G. Historical Data Analytics and Forecasting
Load historical VM program data and develop forecasting capabilities supporting:
• Staffing forecasts
• Contractor demand forecasts
• Unit production forecasts
• Removal forecasts
• Species trend analysis
• Budget forecasting
Deliverables
• Test Plans and Results
• Data Dictionary
• Runbooks
• Training Materials
Project Management and Implementation Support
The Contractor shall:
• Coordinate with VM staff and designated Clients personnel.
• Provide status reporting.
• Support implementation and stabilization activities.
• Provide post-implementation support as requested.
Mandatory Requirements
• Minimum ten (10) years of experience performing comparable services.
• Demonstrated expertise in SQL Server database design and development.
• Experience with data integration, reporting, analytics, and forecasting solutions.
• Experience supporting utility, vegetation management, asset management, or similar operational environments preferred.
Technical Requirements
• All documentation shall be delivered electronically in editable formats.
• Design documents shall include table of contents, indexes, and revision history.
• Detailed Design Documents (DDD) shall be maintained throughout the project lifecycle.
• Development work shall conform to clients data architecture standards, naming conventions, and data modeling practices.
• Contractor personnel shall coordinate with clients IT and GIS staff regarding standards, integration approaches, and technical requirements.