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The Department of Conservation has a Quality Conservation Management (QCM) System for design, construction, inspection and maintenance of visitor related structures developed and introduced in 1995. As part of this, regular surveys and ongoing inspection work is carried out on all related assets.
The Psion Workabout is the standard tool being used for the automated capture and authentication of the survey or inspection data in the field, which includes interfacing to a GPS receiver for position coordinate information.
Once captured, the data is automatically uploaded from the Area Office to the Department's Visitor Asset Management System where the data is processed, archived and work programmes, costings and reports are generated.
This system has met DOC's objectives to capture data at source to reduce potential errors and eliminate double processing of information when using paper based system. Also accomplished is the simplification of the survey / inspection process, only presenting relevant information and questions to the user, something that is not possible with long and complicated forms.
The Department of Conservation considers the Psion Workabout a key component in its visitor asset management programme. The Workabout has been used for several years now, in the inventory and ongoing inspection of 12,500 km of track, 14,000 structures and over 13,000 signs. It has proved to be incredibly reliable, versatile and ideally suited to the rugged conditions in which Department staff have to work. The Department will shortly start to use Workabouts and the associated systems for all other visitor assets (such as huts, amenity areas and campsites etc) and for the inventory and ongoing inspection of its thousands of kilometres of fences.
- Question server allows DOC to create custom question sets quickly
- Handheld System uses GPS to capture coordinates of location of asset.
- Asset data is uploaded via landline modem to head office.
“Pocket have provided exceptional service, taking up the challenge to produce (and support) software that had to deliver a high level of functionality but be very simple and strait forward to use in the field. They have always taken an innovative approach, and delivered on time, often within very tight deadlines”.
Mike Edgington, Senior Technical Officer, Central Region of the DOC. Ph:+64 4 494 1469
Update 2006:
Pocket Solutions have won the tender for a 5 year supply contract for all field data collection terminals and software.
Update 2009:
DOC have implemented a mobile SAP solution to integrate with their in-office SAP system. They are now using both PsionTeklogix Workabout Pro G2 and Ikon with integrated GPS receiver.
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