By XAVIER SMERDON
GONE are the days where a long line of telephone calls and endless amounts of paperwork were required to get a cracked footpath or damaged sign fixed.
A little-known Wyndham City Council team took home a national award late last month for developing a new smart phone and tablet application that will allow maintenance teams to inspect and report faults within the municipality.
The Spacial Systems and Application Development team, led by Adam Mowlam, created the FiledInspect application which won it an Asset and Financial Management Category award at the National Awards for Local Government.
Councillor Shane Bourke said only 18 of Australia’s 565 Councils received awards.
“The new app allows council staff to more efficiently record details of each inspection they conduct as they move around the municipality,” Cr Bourke said.
“FieldInspect uses GPS technology, aerial photography and easy navigation of maps by swiping to scroll across or pinching the screen to zoom in on a particular location, which is faster and greatly improves productivity.”
“The user finds the road, footpath or other asset they are inspecting in the app, either via the navigation or built-in location services, and records the details directly.”
“These details are added to automatically generated information about the asset such as the nearest property and depot zone, which assists with any required maintenance works.”
Mr Mowlam said the app would help make the council more efficient and he was honoured to receive the award.
“It’s always nice when your work is recognised,” Mr Mowlam said.
For more information about FieldInspect, phone Wyndham City on 9742 0777.
