At council we are constantly looking for the most efficient and effective delivery of our services across the region.
We’re actively seeking ways to work smarter, save resources, and enhance our everyday operations.
This requires us to better utilise our assets while trialling and adopting technology to streamline our processes and improve our output.
We are constantly exploring avenues that not only save money, but best support our teams to achieve the best outcomes for our community.
Our surveying teams have benefitted from a major timesaver, taking advantage of technology that has drastically cut down the setup time at building sites across Greater Geelong.
For the past 18 months we have used Total Stations surveying equipment to cut an average of five working days from road and other construction projects.
This equipment has the capability to map out areas using a mix of 3D modelling and conventional survey methods to a level of accuracy that previously couldn’t be achieved.
Other councils have used this equipment for a range of projects spanning public lighting design and street upgrades.
We have also harnessed new technologies to help our street sweeping services go the extra mile.
The City has employed telematic technology to collect and transmit data from our street sweeper vehicles to improve routes.
The GPS and data tracking provides insight into street mapping and route adjustments, as well as reducing idle time and fuel consumption.
Already this has significantly improved the efficiency of street sweeping by 20 per cent, equating to an extra 5000km of streets swept in our city in a year.
Keeping our streets clean is a fundamental council responsibility and we have also invested in new equipment to address the spate of illegal rubbish dumping in Greater Geelong.
Our team responds to almost 7000 reports of rubbish dumped on our nature strips, roadsides, parks and public places each year – which has increased by a concerning 18 per cent in the past year.
This increase is a huge cost to ratepayers, to the tune of more than $1,000,000 annually, and impacts our environment and wildlife, as well as public health and safety.
To address these concerns and alleviate the pressure this puts on our rubbish collection teams we have invested in a rubbish grabber attachment for our collection truck.
Previously, our teams would respond to rubbish dumping with a front-end loader, requiring more teams and trucks to be out on our roads responding to call outs.
The new grabber attachment significantly cuts down the clean-up time at collection jobs, helps protect our sensitive rural roadside vegetation and supports our team to keep our streets tidy.
We acknowledge that our population is growing rapidly, and for us to meet the changing needs of our city we need to be agile to work as an effective local government.
We are always considering new ways to save money and resources, so that we can deliver more projects that ultimately benefit everyone in Greater Geelong.
