Sunshine Coast Council and Pitney Bowes Develop Smart City Results

Australia’s Sunshine Coast, in the state of Queensland, is home to 300,000 residents, and is served by the Sunshine Coast Council (SCC) which delivers a range of public services to the region. The council’s vision is to be Australia’s most sustainable region – healthy, smart, creative. With the region experiencing high levels of growth and development, the council manages a significant number of built and natural assets, from roads to playgrounds, buildings to parks and Smart City supporting infrastructure.

The region is expected to grow to over 500,000 residents by 2041, therefore SCC is looking for solutions which will enable them to deal with and manage this growth efficiently and effectively and to also assist their employees with the challenges that this growth in infrastructure will bring.

For the Sunshine Coast region, smart technologies provide real opportunities to build a stronger economy and improve service delivery to residents, businesses and visitors. SCC is harnessing the benefits of Smart City technologies to manage their assets by upgrading digital systems that work together to deliver real-time information and value to residents and benefit their communities through digital connections, systems and sensors.

SCC is taking a ‘Cloud First’ Information Communication Technology Services strategy, which provides a framework for the council to deliver an intelligent, open approach to data built on an API-based structure. Confirm interfaces with SCC’s financial solution, as well as with its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Geospatial systems, ensure seamless data management across the organisation.

The SaaS-based Confirm asset management platform will:

• Increase the mobility of the council’s workforce to allow it to serve its community more efficiently
• Collate data on SCC’s digital and physical assets, helping to drive its capital budgets through fact-based asset management
• Deliver accurate, consistent management information in real time
• Deliver cost savings as a result of improved business processes and innovative technology
• Give the council insight to make informed decisions on the repair, maintenance and investment of its critical assets

The platform includes the user friendly ConfirmWorkzone® map-based scheduling solution which SCC will use to:

• Improve field resource management
• Boost workforce visibility
• Help to efficiently schedule and dispatch field crews

A key component of the solution is ConfirmConnect®, which ensures data is accessible in the field to the hundreds of staff and contractors involved every day in maintaining and inspecting SCC assets. ConfirmConnect ensures data and can be quickly shared via mobile devices and tablets, driving collaboration and productivity.

“The complexities of managing billions of dollars of assets, while undergoing substantial growth, can be challenging. We are responsible for forecasting the long-term strategic impact of every SCC investment,” said Tom Jamieson, Sunshine Coast Council Group Executive for the Built Infrastructure Group. “The Pitney Bowes Confirm solution helps us accelerate our drive to digital. It also supports our mobility strategy, fits with our SaaS strategy and will deliver significant benefits to our council and community.

“This is one of many major system upgrades the council is investing in, along with our Customer Relationship Management System and Human Resources Management System, so having an Asset Management System that interfaces with our other systems is essential. We are delighted to be working with a company of the stature of Pitney Bowes. They share our values and our pursuit of significant savings as a result of a successful implementation.”

Nigel Lester, managing director ANZ at Pitney Bowes Software said, “We spent time understanding SCC’s vision for the future, as well as their immediate needs. Understanding the drive towards becoming a smart region helped us deliver a robust, futureproof foundation for asset management. Confirm meets the council’s objectives. Employees enjoy using the solution and it will help them work, connect and collaborate quickly and effectively.”

Bob Guidotti, executive vice president and president, Pitney Bowes Software said, “Access to real-time data is a very powerful proposition: it can transform an organisation, connect and empower teams, reveal insight and generate productivity. Using Confirm will benefit SCC by providing them with up-to-the-minute, SaaS-based information on millions of dollars’ worth of assets, accessible from desktops and devices. Confirm will help SCC manage risk, stay on top of maintenance, mobilise field workers and make decisions with confidence.”