Infrastructure Outlook: Optimizing the Value of Digital Transformation

The digital transformation taking place in cities and towns across the country is at the stage where the major barrier to adoption is no longer a lack of awareness or even a fear of the unknown. Rather, those municipal leaders who have yet to fully engage with digital asset management are most likely experiencing a condition that psychologists call “choice overload.” With so many systems, software and platforms vying for their attention, the fear of investing in the wrong solution has understandably resulted in them clinging to familiar methods for managing assets, however inefficient these methods may have become.

The answer to this predicament, oddly enough, can be found in a study and craft that dates back to ancient times: cartography. In the context of infrastructure, cartography plays a crucial role by enabling the detailed mapping and visualization of an area’s physical assets such as roads, bridges, utilities and buildings. This geographical representation helps city planners, engineers and management teams understand the spatial relationships and connectivity among various infrastructure components. By creating a simple road map that begins with where an organization is today and where it would like to go in its digital journey, a clearer picture of what tomorrow should look like will come into focus.

“The City of Altamonte Springs’ innovative approach to digital twins started with the idea that the city could operate more efficiently if our digital platforms were integrated,” says Frank Martz, city manager of Altamonte Springs, Fla. “Combining our geospatial and existing city data together and visually referencing that information through cartography would improve speed of information and give the city the ability to make faster, more-informed decisions.”

Reaching that destination will require a few key components: strong leadership, a singular vision and total organizational buy-in. With the right project team on board to help explore the many routes available, the road map will quickly take shape.

The digital transformation taking place in cities and towns across the country is at the stage where the major barrier to adoption is no longer a lack of awareness or even a fear of the unknown.

Identifying the Destination

This journey begins by taking an inventory of all assets across every agency, office and department. Which systems are in place, and can they communicate? Are the data stored in siloed-off hard drives or on the cloud where they’re accessible and can be integrated holistically? The purpose here is to establish a baseline—the point of embarkment where the journey will begin.

The next step is to identify what the destination should look like. Thinking in terms of actual operations and service delivery, how can these processes be conducted most efficiently? How can information be made more easily available for analysis to help make decisions? Where are the barriers, and how can they be removed? It’s always a good practice when conducting such an evaluation to establish a “wish list” in which money is no object. Needs and objectives will be prioritized and aligned with budget realities later in the process, but, at this point, the idea is to dream big with the ultimate goal of complete integration and centralization into one smart, secure and finely tuned system.

Understanding the Starting Point

Not every digital transformation journey will be the same, and much of the difference derives from the characteristics of the communities themselves—with population and funding the primary drivers of which path should be taken.

A smaller town relying on limited grant funding will likely be starting from scratch. With limited, if any, existing data, a process will need to be developed to capture them. Such a process begins by recording all physical assets—every road sign, stop light, manhole cover and park bench—and placing them in an asset class based on importance and other factors.

Each asset will be assigned a maintenance and inspection schedule. During initial asset inspection, the current condition will be recorded so needs can be prioritized. Along with condition, assets are prioritized according to critical function. For example, maintaining the sewer system to avoid flooding during heavy rains and ensuring that traffic lights are functioning properly will take priority over other necessary but less-critical public amenities.

If the budget allows, sensors will be deployed so real-time data can be gathered, greatly reducing the manual workload while allowing for instant analysis and response. These sensors can measure traffic volumes and stormwater levels, which can rise to critical levels quickly and may require an immediate response from workers. In addition, the amount of historical data created is invaluable for making informed decisions around budgeting for longer-term investments and future planning.

A second common scenario is a city with a significant level of annual funds to dedicate to smart-city initiatives as well as leadership in place that’s dedicated to pursuing digitalization to the fullest.

In this instance, an initial investigation will determine where the city’s various departments stand in their journey and then a similar approach to the first scenario will take place in a comprehensive fashion. Because of the much wider scope and volume of assets, along with a larger team of personnel assigned to maintain them, it’s important to develop a well-defined work- and asset-management program. This will help ensure continuity and the establishment of milestones. In an organization with a good number of executive-level positions overseeing agencies and departments, it’s important that an individual or office be given the responsibility and authority of leading the project. A centralized innovative project team in charge of setting priorities, assigning tasks and being the hub of communication will help ensure a consistent effort, which will result in a more seamless, comprehensive system.

Large municipalities in metropolitan areas present unique challenges all their own. The various city departments may operate more as fiefdoms, led by their own leader. In these instances, there can be a reluctance to take part in an initiative in which it’s perceived they’re being asked to cede ownership of their assets and mission. External stakeholders operating in large cities (e.g., private utilities, waste management and fiberoptic providers) also are typically more protective of their own interests. Even if all these individual entities are sold on the value of full digitization, their vision for how that should be achieved, along with their desire to maintain autonomy, can present significant challenges to establishing and managing a single vision for transformation.

In any scenario, success is best ensured when complete buy-in can be achieved at the mayoral or town-executive level. From there, a singular purpose must be communicated—one in which improving the quality of life for residents while achieving optimal delivery of city services are the overriding goals that all objectives then will serve. A clear understanding of roles and how the various departments complement each other in the services they provide will help establish a team concept and the synergy needed to make such an ambitious effort an attainable outcome. Transparency and communication will be a hallmark trait of any successful implementation.

A fully functional digital twin will integrate multiple software applications.

Finding the Best Path

Regardless of size, the reality in these situations is that there’s no magical system that will effectively address a municipal organization’s many unique needs and situations. There is no “out-of-the-box” solution that can be plugged in and accessed across the organization for instant integration. Nor is it feasible to take a DIY approach and build the system internally, which always ends up being more costly than anticipated. And even if a city is fortunate enough to have the talent and know-how to create a proprietary digital asset platform, which would be rare indeed, it would be in a precarious situation should that talent ever leave for another a job.

A method that’s proven effective is taking a “best-in-class” approach that identifies the technologies and providers that offer the most value in providing the functionality needed for the budget available. An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system should be able to store and process an adequate amount of data, while also providing the tools needed to communicate across departments and out to constituents. The best-in-class approach supposes that the optimal solution does exist, but it will take some effort to identify it.

“Esri’s GIS technology coupled with a robust ERP system can create a powerhouse of digital transformation for cities, enabling leaders to not only visualize the future but also efficiently manage resources and make informed, data-driven decisions,” says Marc Goldman, director of AEC Industry Solutions at Esri.

The journey to a fully digitized municipal asset system requires an expertly surveyed and plotted roadmap with a clear pathway to the ultimate destination. Creating this map will most often require the services of a project team familiar with the terrain that knows the best routes for getting from point to point. This project team will serve as a sort of sherpa, guiding the initiative along its way, while offering the type of expertise and advice that can only be earned by having taken this journey many times before. With such navigation, the journey can be embarked with total confidence.

Daniel Johns, GISP, is Director of Geospatial Technologies with England-Thims & Miller, Inc. He can be reached at JohnsD@etminc.com. Shawn Barnett contributed to this article.