Public reporting systems are revolutionizing the way municipalities manage public works. These systems provide an unprecedented ability to gain information from constituents about public works projects, initiatives, and program delivery. A public reporting system customized to your municipal operations can help your community members act like agents in the field without the overhead of managing a team of field staff. 

Furthermore, for clarification, public reporting systems in this context are not the same as an organization publicly reporting on its numbers. In this sense, public reporting means the community’s engagement to help participate in public works initiatives by providing feedback, comments, and suggestions via a publicly accessible reporting platform.

As public works is a broad category describing infrastructure projects that range from the construction of public buildings to the operation of everything from water supply to waste and recycling programs, it’s good to get a bird’ s-eye view of today’s advanced reporting systems and how they can have a tremendous impact on those of us managing public works initiatives and operations.

In this guide, we’ll examine public works in general and how your municipality can easily manage public works projects with the help of public reporting systems, such as the features of applications like 1^st Reporting.

The Current Challenges Facing Public Works

One of the biggest challenges to municipal public works management is communication between departments, field and administrative staff, and between the public and those managing public works initiatives. Often, communications are lost in the bureaucratic processes implemented to make a municipality operate under regulations. However, they often lose sight of efficacy as time goes on and as bureaucracy intrudes further and further into public works program management.

Some of the more challenging concerns that managers like you face in public works programs are delayed response times, inefficient documentation, and a lack of real-time data.

Teams that operate over a large area face a whole other set of challenges, ranging from field operations safety and management to the efficient and effective collection of data in the field. Public reporting systems can help alleviate these challenges, not by enabling the public to provide feedback but by the many lucrative features that come as part and parcel of a robust public reporting system. 

Let’s look at some of the ways that public reporting systems are transforming public works management to conquer these challenges mentioned above.

How Public Reporting Systems are Transforming Public Works

In 2023, the U.S. federal, state, and municipal governments spent almost 451 billion dollars on construction projects directly related to the public with whom they serve. ⁽¹⁾ 

Many of the projects relate directly to public works in one way or another. Given the enormous expenses involved, it stands to reason that ways to enhance management and make communications more efficient and effective are of great value to municipal public works project managers.

Public reporting systems provide municipalities with the tools they need to get the opinions of their constituents. When used with powerful mobile documentation platforms like the 1^st Reporting app, public reporting systems can take on multiple purposes with custom forms you can create for your specific public works project.

For example, let’s say you are in charge of developing new programs for the community center’s constituents. You could implement a custom form using the 1^st Reporting app and provide your municipal stakeholders with a link to the form so they can quickly provide feedback on community programs.

By providing community members with a mechanism to provide honest and anonymous feedback, you can better serve the community by providing the programs they care about the most. Furthermore, you can get these insights in real-time using 1^st Reporting’s custom notification system. 

Providing a feedback mechanism can help your municipality have faster response times, improved accountability, and access to feedback in real-time. Coupled with a dynamic form linking system, community feedback that shares information about dangerous or troublesome public works facilities or features can easily be turned into a workflow and tracked accordingly. I’ll talk more about that later and how you can take advantage of it to boost efficiency in your department.

Benefits of Dynamic Form Customization in Public Works

A robust public reporting system like that within the 1^st Reporting application benefits both community members and public works officials alike. Using the customizable forms within the app provides you with apparent oversight. It provides the data you need to gather about the custom public works-related issues you need to manage. Here are a few other benefits of using dynamic and customizable forms for your public works reporting:

You can create a work order and connect it directly to a public report mentioning a concern with facilities or equipment. In doing so, you create a traceable workflow with the appropriate documentation.

The customizable form feature of 1^st Reporting allows public works teams to create tailored reports for specific tasks. You can create custom publicly accessible forms, internal department reports, and forms for everything from incident reporting to inspection documentation.

The flexibility helps public works teams capture relevant data for various types of incidents, inspections, or maintenance tasks. As this system is capable of both internal mobile documentation and public reporting, you can use this one solution to manage multiple facets of your public works department’s operations.

The Role of GPS and Mobile Accessibility in Public Reporting Systems

You may have caught that I mentioned mobile reporting with the 1^st Reporting application. The application is built for versatile mobile use, so it is available on both Google Play and The Apple App Store. However, the custom public reporting feature is available to all with whom you share the link to the form. So, if you want all of your municipal members to complete the form, all you need to do is create it and share the link. Your community members can complete the form right on their mobile devices.

However, the features don’t stop there. Not only are the custom forms mobile-accessible, but depending on the form elements you choose, those forms may also have GPS time and location information included. So, although you can set up totally anonymous reporting, you can also set the GPS functionality so you can tell when and where a report submission occurred. Please note that municipal, state, or federal regulations may provide rules as to how much information you may gather with or without the user’s permission, so before you send out a public report link to your constituents, please ensure to follow all legislation regarding the collection and use of information.

Regarding the use of GPS-enabled mobile forms, GPS functionality really shines in managing your mobile field personnel. For example, you may have a municipal fleet safety policy that insists public works personnel do a pre-use safety inspection of their municipal vehicle. By including GPS time and location information in the safety inspection form, you provide your team with the oversight and information needed to ensure compliance with all safety regulations, whether your team is in the facility or out in the field.

Streamlining Public Works Operations with Dynamic Linking and Custom Notifications

I briefly mentioned dynamic linking and custom notifications. However, let me be clear about these features for a public reporting solution like the 1^st Reporting application. You can take full advantage of these features to help create a more streamlined and efficacious public works department. Here’s how:

1. Sign up for the 1^st Reporting application and build a custom public reporting form for one of your public works programs. For example, you could ask community members to provide feedback on your community programs by completing a public form you created pertaining to the program you want feedback about.
2. Create a custom dynamic link to another document to fulfill a specific workflow. For example, you may want to know about a specific community site. You could include a box on the form where the user could check whether or not they observed something hazardous. These may be events that do not warrant a call to emergency authorities but may require work to repair or prevent hazards, such as fixing a broken handrail. So, you could create a work order for your maintenance team that dynamically populates and links to the form submitted about the incident. That way, you can dynamically create workflows for your teams that automatically create the follow-up form required.
3. Create a custom notification within the 1^st Reporting application. The custom notification enables you to control the message, recipient and triggers that activate the notification, as well as the conditions required for said trigger to activate. It is what I call total and complete customizable control over notifications. Using this notification system, you can take your dynamically linked workflows to the next level by providing automated and instant notification of the issue to the appropriate personnel. Just think of the ways you could incorporate this technology into your departments for the ultimate benefit and decrease in potential response times.

Let’s consider an application where public reporting really shines. Take municipal road maintenance as an example. With 43% of U.S. roads in poor condition, it stands to reason that by eliciting the public’s help reporting potholes or other road problems, you could make a strategy to correct issues in a much more public-focused manner strategically. ⁽²⁾ 

This insight could provide a means and method to triage road condition concerns and road repair and maintenance in a fashion that benefits the community based on the community member’s input.

The Future of Public Works with Public Reporting Systems

As more municipalities adopt public reporting systems like the 1^st Reporting application, the future of public works management looks promising and technologically advanced. The integration of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (A.I.) and predictive analytics is set to further enhance efficiency, responsiveness, and community engagement in public works operations.

A.I. integration can revolutionize the way data from public reporting systems is analyzed and utilized. By automatically processing large volumes of feedback and reports, A.I. and intelligent software like the 1^st Reporting application can identify patterns and trends that might go unnoticed by human analysis. For instance, machine learning algorithms can predict infrastructure wear and tear based on historical data and real-time public input, enabling municipalities to proactively address maintenance issues before they escalate.

Predictive analytics takes management a step further by forecasting future public works needs. By analyzing current data alongside historical trends, municipalities can anticipate areas that may require more attention, allocate resources more effectively, and plan preventive measures. Addressing issues before they become problematic not only saves time and money but also enhances public safety and satisfaction.

Embracing these technological advancements is crucial for staying ahead in public works management. Implementing robust platforms like the 1^st Reporting application empowers municipalities to streamline operations, enhance communication, and foster a more engaged community. The mobile accessibility and GPS features ensure real-time data collection and response. At the same time, dynamic linking and custom notifications facilitate efficient workflow management.

In conclusion, the future of public works lies in the strategic adoption of innovative technologies that prioritize efficiency and community involvement. By leveraging public reporting systems equipped with analytics, municipalities can transform their public works management. These tools not only make operations more efficient and easier to manage but also build a stronger relationship with the community, ensuring that public works projects genuinely reflect and serve the needs of the constituents.

Article Sources

1. “Topic: Public Construction in the U.S.” 2024. Statista. Statista. 2024. https://www.statista.com/topics/1256/public-construction/#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20the%20Federal%2C%20state,%2C%20and%20non%2Dresidential%20buildings..
2. BigRentz. 2024. “American Infrastructure Statistics and Facts to Know in 2024.” BigRentz. BigRentz, Inc. February 15, 2024. https://www.bigrentz.com/blog/infrastructure-statistics?srsltid=AfmBOoqUAJ_2LsXiFPnpioBb80jz9BqbKWuUjptK8L0cKMnLrWzzGa0N.