Image Credit : RPS and South East Water
Project Overview
South East Water supports healthy and liveable communities by delivering water, sewerage and recycled water services to 1.77 million people who rely on them every day and every night.
South East Water's purpose is to deliver healthy water for life for its customers, community and the environment. They manage more than 27,000 kilometres of pipeline and own, operate and maintain $4.9 billion of assets including water, recycled water and sewerage networks. The operating service region is one of Australia’s fastest-growing and most culturally diverse areas.
Over the next few years, South East Water crews will be in Melbourne's inner suburbs maintaining upgrades and renewals of pipes and pumps to keep the water and sewerage networks flowing.
The bespoke Digital Engagement Space and Interactive Map makes it easy for customers to engage and identify projects which may impact them. It shows renewals and major projects, along with the recycled water scheme, within this larger network, along with the operational network interruptions for the local communities.
RPS developed and designed a dynamic tool, to achieve a blend of content and engagement. A 3D environment invited interaction in the Digital Engagement Space with navigation allowing easy access. Map access is via the Digital Engagement Space or users can go directly to the interactive map website.
We have transformed government engagement by allowing the community to stay constantly updated in a convenient and relaxed manner. Accessibility is activated, in this highly visual tool to ensure inclusivity.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Strategic Lead Megan McBride
Digital Strategist Nicole Verges
Creative Director Lisa Minichiello
Technical Director Stephen Henderson
Web Developer Stephen Henderson, David Ross
UX UI Researcher and Strategist Stephen Henderson, Nicole Verges, Sophia Li
Engagement Manager, Communications and Engagement SEW Sandra Glass
Content Strategist, SEW Sandra Glass, Amy Miles, Simone Fitzsimons
Project Brief
Post-Covid – an age where customers are demanding greater flexibility and accessibility. Digital consultation is a vital tool for connecting stakeholders and communities. South East Water wanted to provide the public with an alternative to face-to-face engagement sessions and required a portal to house all project communications regarding impacts to the community.
Multiple projects span a small footprint in and around Melbourne. Renewals and upgrade programs involve monitoring the condition of water and sewerage networks and upgrade works as required. All delivering safe, reliable water and sewerage services to customers and the community.
South East Water approached RPS with the requirement of a digital solution, requiring projects to contain finite information in the form of a map that could be inserted, updated or deleted monthly. A Digital Engagement Space was required to consult and inform the community, including various breakout zones and a central strategic overview area. The project required stages to implement the two bespoke solutions, then a final stage to integrate the two solutions, with a UI / UX that easily allows identification for South East Water local solutions.
Creative requirements had to take into account existing branding and a seamless integration into their existing website and visual collateral. Illustration as part of their existing style guide wasn’t mandatory, however, needed to be a considered element with creative direction.
Diversity and inclusion were to be considered through avatars in the Digital Engagement Space. The website is also mobile responsive and accessible from all devices.
Project Need
Keeping South East Water customers up to date on the status of projects is paramount and RPS have delivered a localised digital solution in the form of an interactive map and a digital engagement space as a framework and a tool.
Digital landscapes are different to face-to-face, and the approach requires a different communication methodology. RPS presented a wireframe structured approach to simulate the experience of an in-person information session, with Welcome to Country, information boards, an interactive map kiosk and explainer videos. It enhances choice by allowing the community and stakeholders to independently engage, where and when they choose. We engage with audiences that are traditionally hard to reach in engagement – people with children, youth, full time, shift workers and culturally and linguistically diverse community members.
The digital architecture can be adapted to accommodate future projects, no matter how large or small. For example, our inaugural Digital Engagement Space room design, contained a ‘secret’ door, that had a developed additional space ready for the recycled water scheme to be inserted. When briefed this scope wasn’t ready to include, however, RPS expanded our digital footprint, so the evolution phase would be an easy integration.
Recently completed, the recycled water scheme space has just been launched with even more space available for future-proofing. For now, we have a small café that space to help users feel comfortable within the digital space. We want users to feel at ease in their surroundings and immersed in the communications.
User Experience
The opportunity to create a long term, inclusive, innovative, and adaptive digital environment evolved through ongoing conversation with RPS. Users experience easy to use functionality, visual content, and a lifelike environment with realistic shadows and lighting. Presented visually, our entry highlights Acknowledgment of Country, and a welcome video, to assist users and show respect for Traditional Owners and the continuing connection to Country and Water. RPS have included accessibility where possible in this visual environment, for people with all abilities.
The navigation and user interface allows visitors quickly to access the most useful zone to the end user. The nav bar is easily located at the base of the site along with a strong presence of brand. The zone can be clicked on, as well as a hot spot on the floor to transition the user through the room seamlessly and effortlessly. A real-life experience is simulated along with zoom features and a 360-degree axis to view all areas in this large space.
The interactive map that is supported in the Digital Engagement Space, is an intuitive navigation experience and tool so individual addresses can be searched and disruption details easily found and interacted with to give the community full transparency regarding interruptions, to water, streets, buildings, etc.
Updated monthly, project details pop up when an alignment or chapters in the menu is clicked on, showcasing timelines and goals of South East Water.
Project Marketing
This engagement collects qualitative and quantitative data. We gathered and analysed the audience behaviour data from the digital engagement space and present insights. Our data analysts actively monitor users’ interactions, to identify trends and find opportunities for further enhancements and provide maximum value. RPS have provided synopsis showing key findings, allowing South East Water to further market and push out to relevant stakeholders for marketing purposes.
Our audience overview shows an average session duration of 4:28 minutes. With average time a visitor spends on a webpage as a benchmark of just under one minute across all industries, this is a favourable outcome. The website's performance is gaining most traction from desktop devices with only 12% being viewed on a mobile device. Responsive design is still certainly a consideration when developing and designing these sites.
The data captured from this engagement can then inform how South East Water promotes this engagement and future marketing interactions.
Project Privacy
RPS operates industry leading firewall, intrusion detection and prevention and anti-virus systems. All Group servers and computers are protected from viruses, trojans and spyware by automated antivirus signature updates controlled by a system which is integrated into the Group IT Support Desk. Internet Access security software blocks access to websites which may allow malicious software to be downloaded. Local Operating System firewalls also protect computers and laptops, and settings are restricted via Group Policy to ensure changes are not made by unauthorised software or users. Incoming connections to the local network are protected at various levels and are actively monitored by IT staff to ensure the integrity of the network and the data stored on it.
The website is General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant and RPS doesn’t collect any data on South East Water’s behalf.
Digital - Government Services
The provision of timely government services has been transformed as applications and sites are developed and implemented to either replace or complement previous methods. Be it the delivery of current and up to date critical information, compliance, community support and engagement, notification and registration or providing greater accessibility to government resources.
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