When Gresham’s primary FOG inspector left the city, the program suddenly had a gap at its core. On paper, it still looked fine, with inspections and pump-out reports recorded in the system. But as leadership started looking more closely at the data and follow-up, it became clear there was room to strengthen the foundations.
Andrew Degner, the city’s Wastewater director, originally asked Cody Anderson and Clay Walker to “keep the heartbeat of the program going” until a replacement could be hired. Instead, they stepped in as interim leads, determined not just to keep the program running, but to improve it.
Neither of them had been hired to run the FOG program, but both had deep experience with the city’s Groundwater Protection program, where they were already using SwiftComply as a structured, risk-based inspection and compliance tool. They brought that same mindset into FOG from day one.
Stepping into a program in transition
Cody’s approach was to get inside the system, understand the workflows, and see what needed attention. “All the tools were there,” he said. “We just needed to build the right inspection form, set a new schedule, and dive into what the program actually required.”
Leadership noticed quickly. “They could have coasted,” said Andrew. “But instead, they built a program the next inspector will walk into fully set up for success.”
Once Cody and Clay stepped in, they reviewed the program’s records and workflows to understand where things stood. What they found was a mix: pieces that worked well, and others that needed clearer structure.
From a management perspective, that same data gave Andrew a clear view of the gaps. “I started looking at reports and saw red flags,” he said. Some inspections had very few notes. Verbal warnings weren’t always backed up with detail. And one location appeared to have closed before the most recent inspection was recorded.
On the surface, the program appeared to be in good shape. But as Andrew put it, “SwiftComply made it clear there was a lot more we could do here” to meet the city’s needs.
Building structure into their day-to-day tasks
Knowing where the gaps were, the team applied the same structured approach they’d used in Groundwater Protection.
The first priority was the inspection form. The current version covered the basics, but it didn’t capture everything inspectors needed in the field. Cody rebuilt it from the ground up, adding clearer categories, expanding comment areas, and using drop-downs where they made inspections more consistent.
“Once we had all the categories we needed, everything else flowed pretty smoothly,” he said.
Inspectors could now walk through a kitchen “from the exhaust fan down to the grease control device” with a form that matched the real workflow instead of forcing the workflow to match the paperwork.
Next came structure. They introduced a risk-based inspection schedule, an approach Gresham had used successfully in groundwater protection. Higher-risk establishments receive more frequent visits, while lower-risk ones stay on a predictable cadence.
Alongside that, Cody and Clay made a point of getting back in front of people. “That one-on-one communication had been missing,” Andrew said. “Building those relationships helps everyone understand what they need to do and why.”
They got back into kitchens, talked with staff, walked through equipment, and explained why proper maintenance matters. “When you show them what you are seeing and why it matters, compliance goes up.”
One system for the field and the office
With the updated forms and schedules in place, SwiftComply now serves as both a field tool and a management dashboard for the FOG team in Gresham.
Cody uses it to plan and document inspections: “I can pull a list of all our businesses, see when they were last visited, and look at past reports before I even walk in the door.” That lets him start conversations with real context, showing businesses what was flagged on a previous visit before he even asks a question, and opens the door to more honest questions, training, and follow-up.
For Andrew, the same data is what gives confidence that the program is on track. “It’s a really powerful management and supervisory tool,” he said. “When you take the time to go through the details, you can see where things are working and where there’s more you can do.”
Both of them see what they’ve built as a foundation the next inspector can rely on. “We’ve got the tools set up now,” Cody said. “The next person is going to walk into something that works.”