Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Central Internet hotline makes operation of Bruges city services more transparent

To read the release in French or Dutch

 

Flexible templates for e-gov services cross-platform

Bruges, August 11, 2009 -- Bruges let its citizens communicate directly with the appropriate urban transport through a simple Web interface. For the technical development of the urban hotline, Bruges hired IT services firm CTG. The computer system centralizes all the questions, reports or incidents and streamlines them automatically to the competent urban transport. The inter-service platform is built on the e-gov templates omni tracker and its objective is a smooth, transparent handling of the reports.

To 15,000 reports per year provide useful management information
The municipal decree of 15 July 2005 requires cities and towns to set up a system of first complaint. Bruges therefore developed its own urban reporting point out. The starting point was an accessible service for the public and handling of the reports within 30 days.

Used to have a separate reporting system each urban transport. Who were not connected, which often led to unresolved complaints. Today, the city of Bruges on a standardized system that will bring together forty city services. Notifications come through one central point, are centrally coordinated, but decentralized (by a separate department responsible) treated. Bruges city now covers an annual total of 10,000 to 15,000 reports semi-automatically and in a uniform way. This collection of reports is useful information for Bruges. Annually, the nature and quantity of the complaints are analyzed by region so that, where necessary, adjusted.

Theo Verhaegen, Government Sector Manager at CTG, explains the uniqueness of the Hotline: "The hotline has the benefit of urban citizens, through the central office immediately to correct the urban transport company and the status of their application via the Internet using a personal registration always able to follow. Bruges undertakes all reports within a reasonable time to treat. Unique to the hotline is that when a message is not resolved after 60 days, the hotline Mediation automatically notifies you. They shall have access to file the complaint, see where it went wrong and, according to its own independent assessment startup file a complaint "

Flexible software service for cross-platform front-end
The hotline is the first inter-service platform of the city of Bruges to interact with citizens. Bruges city wrote a specification for a first web application for the citizens. A dozen Belgian traders reacted to the end of 2008 a project to create software tailored to the city of Bruges. After an analysis of the candidate ate Bruges finally opted for the flexible omni tracker software service provider and the skills of CTG.

Lode Nulens, head of ICT at Bruges, said: "The bids we received came three large software forward: MS CRM, arco router and omni tracker. Given the difficulty of the project consisted in determining the workflow to reflect different services rather than in the configuration, we chose the most flexible framework, obviously taking into account all the award criteria. That was omni tracker with easily customizable e-gov templates. The ICT companies omni tracker in their bids recordings, opted we CTG. They proved to have the know-how around omni tracker and have proven experience in supporting similar e-government projects."

Define and implement efficient workflow
The greatest work was to define the workflow from the notification to the settlement. The entire process of digital reporting, auto registration, specific assignment to a controller via (sub) categories for automatic notifications to responsible citizens, and was defined in omni tracker. The software was implemented on a Windows Server behind an MS SQL database. Which stores all the registered person's messages and their respective status and all actions taken. The database also allows a link to the internal local people file for fast and personal record.

The complete setup was duplicated in half server room via optical fiber connected to the first. Failure of the first server room hotline remains available to the public. Furthermore, existing systems such as the Roads and Environment Foon Foon integrated into the platform. And the police of Bruges was connected to the platform. They will receive an automatic notification by e-mail messages relevant to them via a Citrix server that they reference.

Used technology offers opportunities for future projects
City of Bruges, the past three years its back-office point. The next step in the IT plan, the front-end applications. The hotline is the first. Next projects will be addressed are a CRM package, a Digital Asset Management with Document Management and Enterprise Database. The technology used for the hotline also offers immediate opportunities to automate other applications.

Lode Nulens concludes: " The framework we set up the hotline, we internally for other purposes. I am thinking of booking meeting rooms, city council members to ask questions, etc. Once the process is defined, it is relatively easy with the same technology to work out other solutions."

If you would like interview a CTG consultant, please contact Bert Bouserie
bert@luna.be


About CTG
CTG is an international organization with a complete range of IT solutions and services to customers in various sectors. An international network of offices in North America and Europe offer more than 3,300 IT professionals solutions that work. In Europe, CTG represented in Belgium, Luxembourg and the UK.

CTG combines an extensive knowledge and over 40 years experience with a full range of integrated services and methodologies. Application Solutions, IT Service Management, Regulatory Compliance and Testing belong to their domain knowledge.

For more information, please visit www.ctg.be