Digitising grass cutting programmes with Grass SMART
Many local authorities struggle to efficiently manage their grass cutting programmes. This can be due to a lack of grass inventory, inadequate records or inaccurate historic programmes. This makes efficiently planning maintenance difficult, leading to wastage, delays and ineffective scheduling.
Suffolk’s grass cutting problem
Suffolk County Council found themselves in a similar situation, with no accurate grass inventory and no record of where cuts were taking place. Historically, the same three contractors had carried out the grass cutting, however they hadn’t kept records and lacked any solid evidence. The council called in KaarbonTech to help by providing a digitised grass cutting solution – Grass SMART.
This solution starts with data collection, accurately classifying road sections and prioritising maintenance based on road type. Polygon areas are created, digitally drawn over a roadmap of the area, representing the grass verges that are then classified. Filters can be set, giving a clear view of all the roads that fall within a specific category.
Reliable data was crucial for Suffolk, and Grass SMART gave them a clear view of the verges and their classifications, allowing a consistent view of all the areas that needed cutting. This information could then be transformed into programmes, and tracked and monitored, ensuring the most efficient use of crew time, as well as creating trusted records.
Grass SMART streamlines operations and communication, allowing crews to quickly inspect existing polygon areas, which reduces lengthy administrative reporting and therefore increases productivity. The solution also allows live information sharing, so the field teams and office-based staff are always looking at the same data. This improves communication and increases the effectiveness of the grass cutting programmes.
The benefits of digitising grass cutting programmes
As Suffolk County Council discovered, digitising grass cutting programmes eliminates guess-work, inconsistent reports and inefficient programming. Clear visibility of verges and their classifications allows accurate, reliable maintenance programmes to be created. This in turn enables improved productivity and allocation of resources.
The digital platform of Grass SMART allows a standard approach to be taken by field and office teams, removing the uncertainty and reducing most questions. Seamless information sharing streamlines communication, eliminating frustrations and improving coordination for smoother, more efficient operations, saving time and maximising budget spend.
Find out more about Grass SMART here, and contact us to see how we can digitise your grass cutting programme.