Innovation in AI recognised at Excellence Awards
Published on 13 June 2024
Council has been recognised for excellence in Innovative Leadership at the NSW Local Government Excellence Awards.
The collaborative team of IT specialists and engineers was awarded Highly Commended for their project that harnesses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect road defects.
Kerrie Hamilton, Director City Performance said the innovative project had been borne out of necessity following a barrage of natural disasters in the Shoalhaven.
“With almost 1,800 km of roads across the region, identifying and recording road damage has long been an issue for Council, but this has become particularly challenging following severe weather events,” Ms Hamilton said.
“Our leaders in the business knew it needed an innovative solution to assist with the immediate identification and classification of road defects and to ensure the worst roads were triaged and prioritised,” she said.
“An internal cross-functional team managed and executed a project that has resulted in the improved capture of road defects to respond to the communities needs more swiftly.”
Ms Hamilton recognised Council’s Chief Information Officer, Dane Hamilton, as a leader in the digital transformation space who is transforming the way Council works with innovative and contemporary solutions. The AI solution led by Dane has been supported by a very talented team across the organisation.
Partnering with TechnologyOne and Retina Visions, Council has placed cameras at the front of six recycle collection trucks to monitor road conditions. Footage from the cameras is scoured by artificial intelligence to identify potholes, road cracks or damage. The data is then triaged and sent on to the council's asset management solution so work orders can be created and actioned.
Since the implementation and integration of this solution, Council has been able to better use operational resources, improve the capture of road corridor defects and respond to the communities needs more swiftly when dealing with severe defects identified through the solution.
The NSW Local Government Excellence Awards are run by Local Government Professionals Australia. They celebrate the achievements and innovation of local councils and their staff.
Pictured: Terry Coleman, Business Analyst (left) and Dane Hamilton, Chief Information Officer