Municipalities have had to rapidly implement new process and procedures with their employees to ensure both their safety and the public’s, as well as retain productivity which has proven to be a challenge while keeping the workforce resilient and focused on the infrastructure tasks at hand.
Some of these new changes include:
4 day work week
Some municipalities like the City of Birmingham have transitioned to 4-day/10-hour workweeks to minimize crew member exposure.
Sanitizing public spacesÂ
In addition to public transit areas, municipalities are required to regularly sanitize public restrooms, benches, and other public spaces.
Expanded responsibilities
Public Works departments have been at the forefront of the pandemic response as city leaders assign incident managers for COVID-19 to specific members in addition to their daily roles.
Rotating staff
Work crews alternate weeks on and off to minimize crew member exposure.
Adoption of digital technology
Mandated work-from-home orders shocked public works departments that depended on locally-stored files and paper records. Municipalities are rushing to implement more permanent methods of managing assets and work orders to avoid further disruptions of tasks. This includes video meetings, web-based inspections, online form submissions, and digital roadway asset management. This is extremely critical as governments will be expected soon enough to focus on infrastructure projects to reinvigorate the industry.
Keeping track of municipal street assets on paper and searching through email or excel sheets to find maintenance dates is inefficient and halts the growth and progress of a town or city. Throughout the pandemic, Public Works departments demonstrated their resilience and fortitude by executing on essential city projects and services and continuing to keep our communities moving. Many work remotely despite not having the proper resources. Now is the time to transform Public Works departments and give them the critical tools that they need in their day-to-day roles.
Infrastructure asset management software built on GIS is key to a successful digital transformation. At a tiny fraction of the budget, it offers a highly intuitive platform to manage 100% of a city’s roads, sidewalks, and ROW assets. No technical training is needed, which especially gives small departments (that operate without a GIS team) an incomparable value that can increase funding for future projects thanks to rich reporting.
Contact Streetlogix today to have a chat about your department’s project workflows and work order management.
