Autodesk MapGuide helps Victorian council cut form processing from hours to minutes

“Autodesk MapGuide is vital for real work such as asset management, operational reporting and responding to customer service enquiries. Instead of taking an hour to process a form, the council’s MapGuide-based geographic information system now does it in 60 seconds.”
– Recep Alakus, GIS Co-ordinator, Hume City Council

For the uninitiated, the word ‘council’ can invoke an image of little more than roads, rates and rubbish. Yet for those who actually manage an enterprise as large and complex as Hume City Council, the reality is far removed from that simple image.

Located in Victoria on the northern fringe of metropolitan Melbourne, Hume City covers an area of 503 square kilometres. As a municipality, it is moving ahead emphatically, ranking as one of the five fastest growing cities in Australia.

This constant growth in both population and businesses brings a corresponding growth in statistical data. The municipal landscape facing the council is subject to frequent change. To accommodate such vitality, as far back as 1996 Hume City Council began a carefully planned three-stage project to convert its records from paper to digital. The objective was to facilitate faster and more accurate record-keeping for the whole community.

Hume City started using AutoCAD software as a flexible solution that allowed schematic drawings and plans to be created, stored and managed in an efficient online digital format. In 1997, the council deployed Autodesk MapGuide to increase productivity and functionality in the creation, maintenance, analysis and sharing of design and spatial data.

Hume City Council chose Melbourne-based Autodesk partner Geomatic Technologies as its business partner for these technological changes. As a leader in spatial business solutions, Geomatic Technologies develops, implements and supports geographic data systems for desktop, Web and mobile environments.

Assistance from Sam Majid at Geomatic Technologies helped the council develop a robust geographic information platform within tight budgetary constraints. This IT environment continued to evolve until 2003, when the completion of the project’s second stage heralded a significant milestone: a fully fledged geographic information system (GIS).

Autodesk MapGuide provides greater efficiency across council operations
From 2003, Hume City Council began using Autodesk MapGuide 6.0 coupled with an Oracle Database server as a back-end repository for all GIS data. Autodesk MapGuide is the heart of the system, helping users develop, manage and distribute GIS and design applications via the Internet and the council intranet.

According to Hume City Council GIS Co-ordinator Recep Alakus, the Autodesk MapGuide solution significantly broadened access to mission-critical geospatial and digital design data. “With the addition of Autodesk MapGuide, we have moved from just having pretty pictures that support pan and zoom to a full-scale geographic information system,” said Mr Alakus.

“Autodesk MapGuide is vital for real work such as asset management, operational reporting and responding to customer service enquiries from both council staff and the public. A user only needs to type their address and the intranet does all the work. It goes to the Oracle server, finds the data and processes it out onto pre-populated forms. So instead of taking an hour to process a form, the council’s MapGuide-based geographic information system now does it in 60 seconds.”

Mr Alakus believes that Autodesk MapGuide is an ideal platform to respond to the needs of different groups within the council. “The system is flexible enough to support customised views for users ranging from our engineers sharing data for technical analysis to financial controllers who need to report on asset management. The Autodesk MapGuide GIS also supports our Web-based ‘Map Room’ where we publish geographic data for residential customers.”

Future plans at Hume City Council
Stage three, the final step in Hume City Council’s evolution from paper to digital, is scheduled for completion in 2005. This will involve using mobile PCs and other handheld devices to access the MapGuide-based GIS environment from anywhere in the local government area.

“We’re taking GIS to the streets – and anywhere else council staff might need to go within the municipality,” said Mr Alakus. He sees mobility as a logical extension to the GIS platform, enabling remote data entry to provide instant updates on issues like damaged council assets, trees that require pruning or grass in need of mowing.

“Instead of council staff waiting until they return to the office to fill out a report, they can fill out a job request on the spot from their handheld PC. The data is sent back to the GIS system via wireless modem for instant response,” he said.

“Wherever it is used, Autodesk MapGuide puts a wealth of GIS information at the fingertips of council staff and helps streamline all their work functions.”

About Hume City Council
Hume is a city of diverse groups and physical contrasts, from major industrial corridors to urban residences and rural land holdings. The area is populated by a culturally rich and varied community that draws on the collective experiences of 132 ethnic groups to create a prosperous, progressive and vibrant city. For further information about Hume City, visit www.hume.vic.gov.au.

Autodesk GIS Software Helps Australian City Workers and Residents Easily Access Information and Services from the Internet
June 26, 2002

Company: Autodesk, Inc
Industry: Local Government

Mobile Capabilities Enable City Workers to Access Data in the Field to Improve Infrastructure Management

San Rafael, CA -- Autodesk, Inc.(Nasdaq: ADSK), the world's leading design software and digital content company, today announced that the Darebin City Council is using its GIS (Geographic Information System) software to provide easier access to information and services to city residents and merchants via the Internet.With fast access to data using Autodesk GIS software, council employees are able to more efficiently manage the city's drainage infrastructure systems saving time, money, resulting in improved service.

The GIS solution was developed for Darebin City Council by Sam Majid at Geomatic Technologies, an Autodesk System Center, and went live in Q1 of 2002.The solution uses Autodesk Map for creation and maintenance of map data, Autodesk MapGuide for data access and distribution, and Autodesk OnSite View for mobile viewing and editing of data by council employees on a handheld device.

Easy Internet Access
Using a browser, residents now have 24/7 access to a range of useful government services and information including waste/recycling collection, garbage collection details, speed limits, parking information, and street cleaning times.In addition, residents are now able to access city maps for finding public facilities such as schools, libraries, halls, and recreation areas including information on business hours and services provided.Local businesses benefit as well with real-time access to zoning information for building and development purposes.

"Over the past five years, the Internet has transformed many segments of our society including how businesses operate, the ways in which people communicate, and how services are delivered," said Dino Marino, GIS/Asset Systems Coordinator for Darebin City Council."It is important for governments to keep pace with residents' changing needs by bringing more services online and more efficiently managing operations.Autodesk's software gives council employees powerful design tools and residents an easy-to-use interface to more readily access government information and services in more meaningful ways."

In addition to providing residents with online access, council employees are using the system to manage and maintain the city's drainage infrastructure.Using a centralized spatial database connected to Autodesk MapGuide, city employees are able to view maps from their desktop of the entire drainage system including drainage outlets and fixtures, helping to identify, prevent, and manage maintenance problems.Using Autodesk OnSite View, council workers are able to capture data in the field and securely input it into the database helping ensure accurate and useful information.

About Darebin
With over 130,000 residents and 55,000 properties, the City of Darebin is home to one of the largest and most diverse municipalities anywhere in Victoria.Located within 20 minutes of Melbourne Airport, the Melbourne CBD and Melbourne Port, the City of Darebin owns, controls, manages or maintains an extensive range of physical assets.These include over 370 miles of roads, 1,240 miles of drains, 300 buildings, 1,100 acres of parkland, and over 45,000 street trees.Traditionally dominated by blue collar industrial employment, Darebin's two major employers include the manufacturing industry and the retail sector.