4-page Case Study - Posted 2/18/2008

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Taipei City

City Council Boosts Maintenance Capability 300 percent with Mobile Reporting

The Department of Civil Affairs, Taipei City, handles resident issues relating to household registration, public construction, sanitation, social relief, and social welfare. It wanted to increase the response speed for its ongoing maintenance queries and feedback. In the past, these operations were partly paper-based with some Web capability. This resulted in time-consuming document processing and slow data access. To offer a more robust system, the department implemented mobile access for its online services. Both the public and staff—equipped with 700 Windows Mobile® 5.0 Pocket PC devices—can now submit and access vital information in real time. As a result, the department can carry out remedial actions much faster, there is more active citizen participation, customer needs are met more effectively, and the city runs more smoothly.

Situation

The Department of Civil Affairs, Taipei City (the Department) is tasked with handling issues relating to the daily needs of its 2.6 million residents. It also promotes the city, maintains basic services, and handles household registrations across its 271 square kilometer jurisdiction. It administers street naming, public event promotion, public construction, sanitation, social relief, and social welfare.

By harnessing the power of Windows Mobile® we can now respond to citizen alerts on environmental issues almost immediately. Chai Qiu Lin, Director, Information Office, Department of Civil Affairs, Taipei City

To serve residents, the appointed Li Executive travelled around his ward to inspect the environment. He then had to produce handwritten reports in triplicate to be forwarded to the relevant units for action. This document flow process was time-consuming resulting in inefficient reporting and laborious tracking and monitoring.

“In the past the process of handling problem reporting was hampered by a lack of information transparency, often resulting in more than six months being spent on a single case,” asserts Chai Qiu Lin, Director, Information Office, Department of Civil Affairs, Taipei City.

However, advancements in technology were changing the landscape of the city. The local government had previously embarked on a city-wide Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) deployment called “WIFLY”. Through this service, anyone within the city was able to  wirelessly access the Internet at broadband speeds. The department realized it could leverage on this existing wireless infra-structure to give access to its online systems.

Using this approach, the Department wanted to move its paper-based operations, such as the environmental management system based on embedded Geographic Information System (GIS) technology since 1999, onto a real-time Web-based environment. At the same time, it wanted to give the public mobile access to its online systems, as well as give its staff wireless access to its internal systems from anywhere in the city.

Solution

After looking at a variety of solutions, the Department decided to expand its mobile environmental management system and use Microsoft technology loaded onto 700 Dopod CHT 9100 Windows Mobile® 5.0 Pocket PC devices to access the system.

Microsoft was chosen because it offered the best end-to-end solution from system right through to access device, while several other solution providers only had expertise in rolling out systems.

Chai Qiu Lin says, “We were assured that by opting for a mobile solution based on a Microsoft environment, we would not encounter problems with slow speed and blocked access as experienced by some other non-compliant handsets.”

With the help of GAIA GIS Consultant Co Ltd, the Department began to convert its environmental management operations to a Web-based system in 2006, utilizing the existing GIS technology. This was followed by the construction of a mobile Web site in 2004—accessible through Windows Mobile-based devices.

This approach enables all the Li Executives in Taipei City to access the environmental management system through their mobile devices as well as home PCs. They can report issues, track progress, and receive assignments remotely. Other innovative features include image upload, the ability to issue alerts, online amendments, online tracking, and online chat. Taipei residents can also access the mobile environmental management system from any WIFLY wireless hot zone and alert city officials of any civic problems, service issues, or problems that they encounter.  

In 2006, both Li Executives and the public were still becoming familiar with the mobile system, but even then promising results were visible. Li Executives who are often slightly older and less familiar with technology find it easy to access the mobile system with the simple-to-operate mobile device. They submit up to 10,000 mobile reports monthly whilst residents submitted up to 600 reports per month directly into the new system.

“In addition, pictures taken with Windows Mobile devices can be combined with electronic maps embedded in the GIS system to give the exact location of any reported problem," says Chai Qiu Lin.

As a result, the Department is looking to extend its mobile system to cover disaster prevention in the future, to offer greater and more effective municipal service coverage.

Benefits

The Department has seen the efficiency of its environmental management rise significantly following the Windows Mobile implementation. Says Chai Qiu Lin, “By harnessing the power of the Windows Mobile environment we can now respond to citizen alerts on environmental issues almost immediately.” Access to key information while on the go, and a simple-to-use reporting channel have helped lead to a 300 percent increase in case handling. 

Improved City Productivity

With mobile connectivity to internal processes, solving problems around the city is quicker. The Windows Mobile system simplifies work processes and communications, and Department officials can readily check on status issues. For example when an environmental case is solved, the dispatch centre updates the relevant Li Executive through his mobile device, so he can immediately perform a final inspection.

"With ready access to information and real-time reporting and updating, problems can be attended to in the shortest possible time; unnecessary or repeated site inspections are avoided," says Chai Qiu Lin. The use of Windows Mobile 5.0 Dopod devices has allowed cases handled to rise from 20,000 to an average of 80,000 annually—a 300 percent increase.

Easier Citizen Participation

Citizens can now easily report on issues around the city by completing online forms. One resident has already submitted more than 9,000 reports on defective roads and unhygienic environmental conditions. For this, he has been awarded a medal for his efforts towards environmental protection and helping ensure a pleasant living environment for all citizens.

Says Chai Qiu Lin, "Now, everyone can be involved in the maintenance of the city using mobile access into our online systems.” With the widespread use of mobile devices and the easy-to-use system, the number of cases reported by residents has increased greatly. 

Rapid Response Capability

In the past the process of handling problems was hampered by a lack of immediate information. This resulted in more than six months spent on some cases. The new Windows Mobile-based system eliminates the need for handwritten reports and accelerates their submission. Before the implementation, officials also reported disaster situations through telephone or facsimile to district offices, which in turn relayed the information to the city office. A lot of time and effort was needed to compile information with the possibility of verbal miscommunication leading to a delayed response to emergency situations. 

Now, with the real-time transmission of reports through the 700 Dopods, rapid and timely response to emergency situations can now be expected. "With this mobile system linking seamlessly to our internal databases, Li Executives can rapidly send information and also gain access to key data while out in the field," says Chai Qiu Lin.

More Precise Reporting

Using images captured with the camera in any of the publics’ or Li Executives’ mobile devices, the Department is able to target the location of civic problems much more accurately than before. The images can be combined with the electronic map embedded in the Department GIS system to give extremely precise location to problem reports.

This facilitates the rapid dispatch and arrival of response teams, saving time and offering better overall service to citizens.
“The new Windows Mobile system gives pinpoint accuracy to help provide all residents with a multi-faceted and more efficient management environment,” Chai Qiu Lin adds.

Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile brings the power of the Windows® operating system to mobile devices, helping businesses and their mobile employees stay connected while on the go. Windows Mobile runs mobile versions of Microsoft programs, including Microsoft Office Outlook® Mobile, Internet Explorer® Mobile, Pocket MSN®, Windows Media® Player Mobile, and Microsoft Office Word Mobile, PowerPoint® Mobile, and Excel® Mobile. With Windows Mobile, information workers get powerful software combined with the familiarity of Windows. Combined with available service plans and connectivity options, Windows Mobile–based devices, available from 48 device makers and 125 mobile operators in 55 countries, can be used to make calls, send e-mail and instant messages, surf the Web, and access critical business information even when users are away from the office.

More information about Windows Mobile can be found at:
www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile

For More Information

For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to: www.microsoft.com

For more information about Department of Civil Affairs, Taipei City products and services, visit the Web site at: www.english.taipei.gov.tw/civil/index.jsp

For more information about GAIA GIS Consultants Co. Ltd products and services, visit the Web site at:
www.kompass.com/zh/TW611537

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published January 2008