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 The Operations Support Branch, led by Deputy Assistant Director Cal Wolferd, provides a variety of administrative services to the citizens of Houston, engineering contractors, the Department of Public Works and Engineering and other departments within the City. These services are divided into three primary areas as follows:
Graphics and Engineering Management Systems
 GIS Services is a group within Operations Support Branch which is tasked with providing GIS technology to all branches within the Public Utilities Division. The group is comprised of Data Management and Applications Teams working towards a common goal of developing the most accurate GIS data sets. These data sets are made available to all branches within PUD, enabling them to perform their Core Business functions effectively.
The data Management Team creates and maintains quality geospatial data for the City's water distribution systems and wastewater collection systems while the Applications Team focuses on data analysis and the implementation of GIS technology. These infrastructure services are the cornerstone of the functional duties of COH Public Utilities Division branches. Geospatial analysis of customer complaint data helps to identify and resolve problems with the water distribution and wastewater collection systems more effectively and efficiently which in turn improves customer satisfaction.
The Drinking Water Operations and Wastewater Operations use GIS technology to develop preventive maintenance schedules, design facility master plans and outline operational budget. The availability of the data provides for better decision making regarding the maintenance and planning of infrastructure facilities. The Facility Asset Mapping Program, currently underway by the GIS Services group, will prove to support these core business functions significantly.
GIS Services routinely provides mapping documents for job tracking, density maps to analyze specific problems, creates proximity maps to study the impact of infrastructure alignment and identifies specific infrastructure components such as community sewers, and service connections.
 Human Resources
Human Resources consists of five sections as follows: The Personnel Section is responsible for personnel actions for the 1626 Public Utilities Division employees. This section processes job postings, position control/budget coordination activities and division personnel records. The Payroll Section processes transactions including various items of pay, benefits and deductions and insures that all employees are paid in an accurate and timely manner. The Employee Relations Section processes employee performance evaluations, grievances, concerns, and disciplinary actions in accordance with the Superior Performance Program (SPP) and other applicable policies and procedures and monitors the Division’s drug and alcohol program. The Safety & Training Section proactively strives to protect the Division’s employees by providing proper certification and safety training and inspecting over 550 work facilities and sites for possible injury causing conditions to create a safe working and living environment. The Security Section is responsible for the security of Public Utilities Division facilities, work sites and personnel.
Financial Management
Financial Management consists of five sections as follows: The Accounting and Budget Section drafts and tracks the Division’s annual Fiscal Year (FY) budget and accounts of over $250 million for all operational & maintenance (O&M) and capital equipment encumbrances and expenditures in accordance with all applicable city, state and federal policies and procedures. The Contracting Section provides contracting support to the other three branches in the Division in order to insure that all professional services are authorized and paid in proper order. The Materials Management Section processes Division requisitions, purchase orders, purchasing cards and petty cash transactions in accordance with established guidelines in order to procure the necessary supplies and services required to support the operations and maintenance activities of the Division. The Warehousing and Distribution Section and the Vehicle and Fixed Asset Section are responsible for the materials, fleet and fixed asset inventories of the Division. These sections insure that there are adequate materials, equipment and vehicles available to respond to operational and maintenance activities on a daily basis.
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