The SMART System

The SMART System!

If it were any smarter, it would write a book that makes Ulysses look like it was written in crayon.

We’ve searched high and low for the right technology system. This system would need to deliver on all of our customers’ needs for information, while at the same time giving our field managers the tools they needed to optimize their programs. After this extensive search, we set out to build something that suited our unique needs.

The SMART System, which stands for Statistics Management and Ambassador Reporting Technology, has evolved from a basic idea, into a multi-faceted platform, which centralizes everything we need to manage our programs from one spot!

The core functionality of the SMART System includes the following:

  • Basic activity entry
  • Maintenance reporting
  • Incident reporting
  • Persons of Interest Interaction
  • ‘Board Ready’ Reporting
  • Supervisor auditing
  • Ambassador walk paths
  • Activity reporting by property/business/parcel
  • Automatic sending of my reports
  • Street fixtures management database
  • BBB Management Site Visit Audits
  • Customer Portal to Best Practices and Reporting

We encourage each of our customers to access and utilize the SMART System as part of their own daily management practices. Each data point is tracked through audit trails to ensure integrity of data capture.

Telling the Story

We’ve developed the SMART System to accomplish main functions. Foremost we designed the SMART System to capture the activities of all Ambassadors and their interactions to help our customers justify their investment into street-level services. This includes aggregating activity totals, while also being able to automate the reporting of important things that take place such as incidents and maintenance issues, to communicate details both internally and externally.

Example 1: What do YOU want to track?

While we have a standard bag of metrics we report across all programs, the SMART system was built to be able to capture anything you or your constituents are interested in because it’s completely customizable. Want to track the number of trash bags left on the street after 6pm? No problem! Want to track the number of sandwich board signs on the street? Sure thing. Your Ambassadors become your eyes and ears to report anything that’s important to you.



Example 2: Persons Reporting

It’s no secret the street population has a tremendous effect on the perceptions of public spaces. While society hasn’t figured out concrete solutions to issues such as mental illness, the lack of affordable housing, or addiction, we do think our customer’s organizations can be far more effective by providing the best information possible about the street population specifically impacting their districts. That’s where the SMART System comes in. It allows us to aggregate the collective contacts between our Ambassadors or outreach personnel and members of the street population, which follows the Standard Guidelines for Outreach to the Street Population, which serves as our internal blueprint for providing street outreach.

Accountability

Ambassadors working individually in large downtown areas are provided with a great deal of autonomy in a tremendous fishbowl. We’ve never taken it lightly that the actions, or inactions, of Ambassadors can reflect poorly on the customers we serve. For this reason, the second function of the SMART System is to provide systems of accountability.

EXAMPLE 1: Walk Paths

Walk paths allow our management teams and yourself to see how Ambassadors are working in the field and also to evaluate coverage across the district and to compare it to expected deployment in a quick, easy to review, highly visual way.



EXAMPLE 2: Supervisor Audits

It’s important to deliver consistency and accountability of all Ambassadors across all shifts. One of the most important functions we deliver to you, which you might not think a lot about, is our ability supervise employees across your entire service area. Supervision is what keeps Ambassadors on point. Our Supervisor audits allow us to record observations of employees while in the field, which is great for measuring and comparing the performance of Ambassadors over time.

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We provide superior specialized services through management of systems and people that allow our customers to focus on their core business. Learn more about how we have fine-tuned our cleaning and maintenance programs to bring your property better results at a better value.

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