The Enabling Technology
3SW - Working smarter and greener |
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Winchester Guildhall, 21 May 2008
Winchester City Council is working smarter and greenerCouncil staff have been learning how to ‘work smarter’ by using a combination of specially adapted IT systems. The new ‘smart’ technology is designed to provide staff with greater flexibility within their roles and, more importantly, enable them to work more effectively. The technology will also play a big part in helping the environment by drastically reducing staff dependence on car travel and reducing paper use. The city's Neighbourhood Wardens have been equipped with specially adapted smart phones which give them remote access to personal file networks, and enable them to access the internet and send emails. Neighbourhood Warden, Darren Sedman-Hobson believes that the technology is having a positive impact upon the way he works, "The technology has given us so much more freedom to do our jobs by removing much of the paperwork we were required to deal with before. We now have access to information as and when we need it, and we no longer need to travel backwards and forwards to the office as much. As a result, we can spend more time helping our residents." The technology has opened up new opportunities such as being able to take photos of graffiti and other acts of vandalism which can then be instantly emailed back to the office or even to the police. Wardens also have access to resources such as the DVLA online database which will enable them to easily identify unlicensed vehicles at the press of a button. The Neighbourhood Wardens aren’t the only ones who are embracing the new technology to change the way they work. Staff within the Building Control unit have been equipped with specially adapted tablet computers which they can take with them on site visits. District Building Control Surveyor, Graham Walsgrove says that the tablet computers are changing the way in which he and his colleagues are managing their information, "The tablets give us instant access to the information we need. We rely much less on paper documents and, as such, we are gradually changing the way we manage all our information to enable us to work more effectively and provide a better level of customer service." All information held on the applications is encrypted and password protected, meaning that if the worst was to happen and one of the units was lost or stolen, the information contained within them would be completely secure. The success of this ‘smarter’ approach to working is likely to result in the expansion of the scheme throughout the City Council. reproduced withe the kind permission of Winchester City Council
If you are interested in this stroy then why not come to the eHampshire 3SW Conference on 21st May? |