FixMyStreet Pro has several features that are designed to help authorities prevent avoidable contact and report duplication.
Let’s look at some of them below.
Communicate your maintenance schedules
FixMyStreet Pro enables you to inform report-makers of your maintenance schedules to help manage their expectations at the point of making a report.
For example, Gloucestershire County Council has configured its FixMyStreet Pro workflow so that when a user selects a certain category, such as grass cutting, a message is displayed to explain more about when grass cutting happens, along with a signpost to further information.
By doing this, members of the public can feel confident in not needing to report something that is already on your radar.
Show exactly which issues you’re aware of…
As a map-based reporting solution, FixMyStreet Pro displays existing reports on the map publicly so that anyone can see what has already been reported.
Potential duplicates are actively suggested to users at the point of making a report, and interested members of the public can subscribe to existing reports to receive updates on their progress.
Different map pins can be used to represent different types of issues. If we use Gloucestershire again as our example, as well as displaying problems reported by residents, the highways team uses blue map pins to represent specific issues raised internally by staff or contractors.
The data to generate these special map pins is shared directly from the council’s integrated system via an API.
Using map pins in this way helps to demonstrate commitment from the council to find and resolve problems, and further supports the avoidance of duplication.
…and even those you’re not responsible for!
Cleverly, thanks to FixMyStreet Pro’s connection to the national FixMyStreet service, you can also display issues that have been reported in your area but are the responsibility of another authority.
For example, Lincolnshire County Council displays on its FixMyStreet Pro service grey map pins to represent issues that have been diverted to Lincoln City Council.
Members of the public do not always know who’s responsible for fixing different problems, and in places where more than one level of authority covers the same area, this is a great way to increase transparency and, of course, reduce unnecessary and incorrect contact.
Display site messaging
Messaging can be displayed in various places across an installation of FixMyStreet Pro, such as on the homepage or as part of the reporting workflow.
This functionality can be used to share information about significant upcoming works, or to advise of specific actions due to be taken.
For example, you can provide notice of upcoming roadworks on a particular road when a user starts a report in that location and selects a category associated with road maintenance. Here’s an example of how Bromley Council does this:
Or you can display messaging on the homepage to explain any changes to scheduled maintenance during particular seasons, such as to advise on grass cutting schedules during spring and summer, or gritting during the winter months.
These messages can be managed by staff with the associated permissions from the administration dashboard.
Tailored response templates
Another good way to prevent unnecessary contact via FixMyStreet Pro is within responses to reports where it is appropriate to do so.
An example of this in practice can be found on Buckinghamshire Council’s FixMyStreet Pro in response to reports of overflowing bins, advising of the schedule on which bins are emptied and changing the status of the report to ‘action scheduled’.
As well as being published on the map, responses are sent directly to report-makers and to anyone else who has subscribed to the report.
This enables members of the public to see what’s being done and educate for future reference.
Response templates can be managed either from the FixMyStreet Pro administration dashboard, or they can be shared directly from an integrated CRM or asset management system via API integration.
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For more information about FixMyStreet Pro and how it works, get in touch with our team.