Digitization of Municipal Utilities: A necessity
In recent years, digitalization has affected almost all areas of life and brought about far-reaching changes in the economy, society and everyday life. Municipal administrations, the public sector and municipal utilities as key players in local energy supply are facing particular challenges - but also a wide range of opportunities. The digitalization of municipal utilities and municipal administrations offers numerous opportunities to make processes more efficient, use resources more sustainably and improve customer service.
Advantages and challenges of digitizing municipal administration, municipal utilities & public services
A digital public administration is a central building block for a modern, efficient and citizen-friendly municipality. It includes the transformation of analog processes into digital workflows, the introduction of new technologies and the networking of various municipal services. This development holds enormous potential: administrative processes can be handled faster and more transparently, citizens have the opportunity to make use of services regardless of time and place, and resources can be used more efficiently. At the same time, however, digitalization also poses challenges for municipal administrations and public utilities. Data protection regulations must be observed, IT security must be ensured and employees must be prepared for the new technologies and working methods. It is also crucial that digital services are designed to be user-friendly and also reach those who are less tech-savvy. This is the only way to make the digital city a success.
Digitization of Stadtwerke Bochum
Stadtwerke Bochum Netz was looking for a smart solution that would allow them to control and manage various objects. These included the trees on many properties in the city, but also objects from the area of building management, such as roof cable safety devices.
Since August 2019, the employees of Stadtwerke Bochum Netz and the building yard have been monitoring various objects using the digital maintenance software EineStadt. A half-day training course by Sebastian Seitz prepared them for field work. Using an app on their smartphones and tablets - these were already available in the companies - the employees now digitally record the conditions and characteristics of trees and cable protections via the NFC app.
Digitalization of the city to progress
Stadtwerke Bochum Netz's next plan is to use EineStadt to organize the maintenance of the company's own properties in the city area beyond tree control. The project is already underway: "The building yard colleagues and external service providers will then be able to see the list of work such as grass cutting, hedge trimming or leaf sweeping on their devices on site. In addition, findings can be noted directly and processed further by other specialists. For example, if a fence is broken, graffiti is discovered on a house wall or if there is illegal dumping." Together with EineStadt, the city wants to successively identify and implement further use cases.
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