Creating “wow moments” in Vaughan
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City showcases innovation during Public Works Week
As National Public Works Week comes to an end, the City celebrates those who work behind the scenes in Vaughan. From water and wastewater to waste collection and beautification to everything in between, Public Works is there. To ensure Service Excellence is always top of mind, the City has introduced a number of innovations to help keep the city moving.
As National Public Works Week comes to an end, the City celebrates those who work behind the scenes in Vaughan. From water and wastewater to waste collection and beautification to everything in between, Public Works is there. To ensure Service Excellence is always top of mind, the City has introduced a number of innovations to help keep the city moving.
Winter maintenance using Artificial Intelligence
The City uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, known as the Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS), in its winter maintenance operations. It leverages weather forecasts, data from actual road conditions and Vaughan’s operating best practices to recommend the best treatment for the City’s roads and sidewalks. Vaughan was the first municipality in Canada to use this technology, which has since been adopted throughout Ontario.
Although salt application is an important and necessary piece of keeping roads and motorists safe throughout Canada’s winters, it can have an impact on the environment. Since the adoption of this innovative AI technology in 2020, the City has reduced salt usage by 30 per cent and saved approximately $400,000 to date. This has positively affected environmental and fiscal sustainability and, most importantly, enhanced the citizen experience.
Digitizing catch basins
Building on the lessons learned and knowledge gained during the City’s catch basin cleaning contract last year, the City is on its way to completing this work even faster in 2021. Not only have more than 30 per cent of the planned catch basins for this year been cleaned and inspected, beginning in 2020, data was collected digitally for the first time using InfoAsset Manager. Digitizing has allowed better access to the data, improved responsiveness to customer concerns and better tracking of asset condition, providing excellent value to citizens and business owners.
Blue box and green bin delivery
Given the COVID-19 pandemic, most City facilities – including the Joint Operations Centre – were closed in March 2020. With this change, the City responded quickly with new ways of serving the community, while protecting the health and safety of all citizens and staff. For instance, instead of curbside pickup for new blue box and green bin requests, the City opted for home delivery, which can be lined up easily using Service Vaughan.
The home delivery and exchange project has improved service. Instead of having residents in Vaughan drive to a City facility, bins are scheduled for delivery directly to their front door, where they would normally receive packages. Residents are asked to place broken bins for pickup, which are taken back to the Joint Operations Centre and sent for recycling. Delivery falls on the day after regular waste collection.
The City was able to conduct more than 4,000 individual deliveries in 2020, representing thousands of avoided trips by citizens to a City facility during the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. The success of this program has allowed the team to continue to investigate additional services to add to the digital counter initiative and position Vaughan to continue to keep Environmental Stewardship top of mind.
Anti-stagnation valves
In 2020, the City installed 13 anti-stagnation valves in its water distribution system. These valves strategically control the way water flows through the water distribution system improving water quality and reduce pumping costs. Instead of sending a water operator to flush the system, Water Services uses software to program the valves to operate automatically, saving time, effort, and non-revenue water. Later this year, the City plans to add six more anti-stagnation valves to the water distribution system.
Quick Response (QR) Code pilot
The City launched a pilot project using Quick Response (QR) Codes to alert staff about full garbage cans in City parks. Residents can scan the code found on the garbage can using their smartphone to notify City staff when it is full and needs to be emptied. Regular waste collection of these bins continues, but the codes will allow residents to alert the City when additional pick-up is required.
The Public Works team’s dedication to these initiatives is reflected in the city-building priorities of the Council-approved 2018-2022 Term of Council Service Excellence Strategic Plan. Enhancing operational performance and fostering a culture of continuous improvement is central to the mission of Vaughan’s Public Works employees. Their achievements continue to receive national recognition for innovative thinking, the development of new best practices and a commitment to Service Excellence. To learn more about the City’s Public Works services and innovations, listen to the Municipal World podcast and read the Municipal World article featuring Deputy City Manager of Public Works Zoran Postic.
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