Digital working in grounds maintenance and street cleansing is about more than replacing paper maps or spreadsheets. Its real value comes from connecting planning, work preperation, execution and reporting.
When teams work digitally, field professionals have clear information about what needs to be done, planners can follow progress and completed work creates data that can be used to improve future planning.
According to grounds maintenance expert Jeroen van Ammers, this has a direct impact on quality:
“Quality is always guaranteed because we have the same route every week and everything is done properly as asked.”
Digital working helps turn a plan into clear instructions for daily execution. Routes, tasks and relevant information are available directly to field professionals, making the work less dependent on paper instructions or individual area knowledge.
The City of Utrecht experienced this in its street cleansing operation. Before digitalisation, drivers often knew only certain districts, making them difficult to interchange. After digitalising its sweeping routes, route knowledge was no longer a requirement and planning became easier. The city can now also see where sweeping has taken place, how much has been completed and how well the work was carried out.
At contractor Knipscheer Infra-Clean, the change is visible directly in the field:
“You can now clearly indicate where people need to be and in which area something needs to happen.”
Field professionals see this information live on their tablets, while their work is recorded automatically.
Digital working also changes how teams collaborate.
Instead of the office and field relying on separate information, everyone can work from the same operational picture. Planners know how far teams have progressed and can adjust the operation when necessary.
Knipscheer describes the practical impact clearly:
“You can see live how far along the team is, how much of the work is done, and whether there are any issues. That allows us to make adjustments much more effectively.”
Huntingdonshire District Council experienced a similar change. Previously, GPS provided only snapshots and there was no consistent record of completed work. With digital working, mowing progress is automatically recorded. If mowing takes several days, teams can see exactly where colleagues stopped the previous day and what still needs to be done.
Map layers also make it immediately clear which assets and areas belong to which party, giving both planners and field teams greater clarity about responsibilities and where work needs to be carried out.
The biggest impact, however, comes over time.
Every route that is executed digitally generates information about what actually happened outside. Instead of losing those insights at the end of the working day, organisations can use them to improve future planning.
Jeroen connects this directly to continuous improvement:
“Another thing is the Plan-Do-Check-Act, so we can learn from the data from previous years to make better plans for the future.”
This creates a feedback loop between planning and execution. Plans guide the work outside, execution provides new insights, and those insights can then be used to strengthen future plans.
The City of Utrecht demonstrates this principle in practice. Reliable execution data does not just support reporting. The team actively uses its new insight to look for further improvements to its street cleansing operation.
Operational reporting is not simply about recording completed work.
It also captures situations that require follow-up.
When field professionals identify something that needs attention, they can report it immediately. Local authorities and contractors gain instant visibility, allowing them to prioritise the issue and respond much faster.
As Jeroen explains:
“Detailed information helps customers make better decisions. It makes the process easier and faster, and helps them keep their work processes under control.”
Digitalisation should not simply turn a paper process into a digital one. It should help organisations learn from the work they perform every day.
By connecting work preparation, planning, execution and operational insights, teams can deliver work more consistently while building a better understanding of how their operation actually performs.
Discover how Jewel Grounds Maintenance brings work preparation, planning, execution and insights together in one shared environment, helping grounds maintenance and street cleansing teams stay in control of daily operations and continuously improve future planning.