Article Author: Andrew Bartell, GIS/Project Specialist
The City of Sheboygan’s Director of Public Works, David Biebel, began an ambitious initiative in 2017 to make an investment in a digital technology that would help modernize many DPW operations that needed updating to match that efficiency that our digital world requires. This technology called a Geographic Information System (or “GIS” for short), connects people with data, and allows for gathering, managing, analyzing, and sharing data. Investment in this technology allows the DPW to take strides towards becoming a smart city and empowering our employees, residents, and others with the information they need to see. This investment helps the DPW identify problems, monitor change, accurately manage infrastructure and assets, and streamline tasks, workflows, and projects more efficiently.
Esri dashboard example (click to enlarge)
Many of the increases in efficiency that this technology allow the DPW to embrace are replacing paper workflows with digital field data collection and live access to data on operations dashboards. An operation dashboard (as shown to the right) allows office staff and supervisors at the DPW to view the work that the field crews are doing in a real-time format. This real-time data access using field data collection on smart devices (like iPads and smart phones) has replaced cumbersome manual data entry in notebooks and Excel spreadsheets. In addition to saving time, this allows for an increase in both the precision and the accuracy of the data and metrics that the DPW uses for quarterly reporting.
GIS supports the DPW’s efforts to improve the quality of life by effectively developing, maintaining, and improving the infrastructure, natural resources, and providing community services. GIS is also providing information that helps the DPW and the members of our community to make better decisions about how we manage and interact with our community.
In 2020 the DPW plans to continue our expansion of the GIS resources we provide to our citizens with many new, interactive web-based mapping products. One of the most exciting is an interactive map of the Wildwood Cemetery that will allow the public to search for their loved ones, locate their resting places, and also see where available lots are.
►Click HERE to see the collection of GIS maps that are already available to the public.