Problem:

The City of Hidalgo’s public works department needed a digital software solution to manage work orders better, improve internal communication and efficiency, and address the needs of the 15,000 residents they serve.

Solution:

In 2019, Irys launched Irys I.AM; a web-based application utilized internally by government staff and field operations. The Irys I.AM app allows City of Hidalgo staff and field operators to report infrastructure and other non-emergency issues to the departments that address these issues, providing an easy way to identify, track, and resolve issues in the community.

Irys also launched the Dashboard, a platform that allows City of Hidalgo employees to manage service requests and user data from multiple channels, including the Irys I.AM web app, city department call centers, email, etc. All service requests submitted are organized and centralized in the Dashboard and channeled to the respective department work order management systems.

The Irys Dashboard has provided the City of Hidalgo with better planning and management capabilities by implementing improved data collection, communication, and work order management modules.

Results:

Through the Irys I.AM app, the City of Hidalgo has engaged with 19,000 city requests received from constituents. The requests ranged from property maintenance to broken traffic signs or missing street lights.

Additionally, since implementing the Irys I.AM app, there has been a 250% increase in the number of potholes reported, resulting in more potholes repaired and decreased amount of complete road repairs. The cost to rebuild an entire road costs 14 times more than pothole repairs.

The Irys Dashboard has helped the City of Hidalgo save time and money by unifying departments onto the same software. This has eliminated the costs of operating and maintaining multiple systems (25% cost savings). The Dashboard has increased time savings by 20%, providing a more efficient system. These efficiency improvements include improved communication and planning, prevention of duplicate work orders, and easy data collection and report creation.

Before implementing the Irys I.AM app, the City of Hidalgo could not receive reports with exact GIS location and photos. This caused rolling trucks to waste more time and money to identify where the issue was located. The Irys I.AM app has helped crewmen to quickly and accurately identify the location of infrastructure issues (such as potholes).