When community focus is key to the success of your project

The Walcha Energy project is located around the town of Walcha, located in the New England tablelands, approximately 55km south of Armidale in New South Wales. The Walcha Energy Project combines solar and wind energy generation with pumped hydro and battery storage to provide a sustainable and reliable source of renewable energy for NSW. Its generation potential is equivalent to 15% of NSW’s electricity demand.

They are committed to reinforcing a strong sense of community and is focussed on delivering a project that produces benefits for the whole community and wide New England region.

In August 2019 Walcha Energy approached Mipela, looking for a stakeholder management solution. A few weeks later Mipela implemented X-Info Suite to provide a web based solution that can manage stakeholders, property information, agreements and associated commitments and associated interactions. Users are also able to capture data in the field using the mobile data capture app, X-Info Aware.

While the conversations with landholders in the region had been underway for more than seventeen years, the engagement initially was quite informal and spreadsheets were used to capture interactions and relevant information. Now all information, including the historical information already captured, is available from one source in X-Info Suite and can be used for several different purposes including tracking stakeholder interactions, sending bulk communications, geospatially capturing data and managing commitments.

“As the project progresses, we continue to increase our functionality within X-Info Suite, establishing additional automated reports, mobile data capture forms and activity workflows to work smarter, not harder,” said Mark Waring, Director of Walcha Energy.

Walcha Energy are focussed on making sure the local community understand the positive impact and benefits of the project. By capturing landowner, stakeholder and interaction information now, it will ensure its future use is high value in ensuring their social license to operate aligns to Walcha Energy’s vision to deliver a holistic, flexible and authentic engagement process with all landowners and community stakeholders.

How Gladstone Area Water Board saves time processing permits using X-Info DBYD suite

Back in 2013 Gladstone Area Water Board (GAWB) were one of Mipela’s first clients to utilise the Works Management module that is associated with the Dial Before You Dig process.

Works Management module is an optional module that compliments X-Info DBYD suite by automating the management of permits. It provides a seamless workflow solution to view, action and report inquiries that have authority to conduct proposed works in the vicinity of the Client’s infrastructure from X-Info DBYD suite for the Client’s “Permit to Work” processes.

X-Info Works Management module is integrated into the same dashboard as the Client’s current X-Info DBYD suite portal.

This module can be applied to works in specific areas such as road reserves or high risk assets.

Tina Underwood, Technical Officer – GIS and Drafting at Gladstone Area Water Board said, “The Works Management module has provided so much value to our business. Not only does it automatically filter out the DBYD responses that will not require a permit, but the workflows also make sure that the permits are processed in accordance with the procedure, meaning no one drops the ball and no application is missed.”

“And it’s all there in the same system, along with any captured communications, contact details and associated documents. It’s the perfect audit trail.”

In early 2020, Gladstone Area Water Board further enhanced its permit management by introducing the use of mobile data capture app, X-Info Aware to the process. This app allows the inspectors to receive and respond to tasks assigned to them in real time, mitigating the need for paper forms. Following an inspection and approval, the permits can be automatically issued via email to the nominated person.