Burnie is a key regional centre in Tasmania, renowned for its busy port and industrial history. To support its highly engaged community, the Council’s 2024–2027 Plan identifies Digital Transformation as a primary enabler to modernise services and foster Democratic and Engaged Communities.
By implementing Snap Send Solve’s Manage Works module, the Council found a tool to bridge a critical gap in their workflow, allowing them to scale internal systems to meet rising expectations while maintaining trust and transparency across the region.
The Challenge of Open Loops
Despite a strong focus on customer experience, Burnie City Council identified a critical gap in their workflow. While residents could easily report issues, the Council lacked a unified way to route those requests past Customer Service and straight to the field workers handling the fixes.
While many organisations can automate the initial flow of reports to field teams, the greater challenge is capturing high-quality information from the site once a job is finished. Without a mobile-first connection, the Council struggled to get "proof of repair," specifically after-photos and status updates, back from the ground to the resident.
This lack of a return data loop left Snappers in the dark, making it difficult to demonstrate the Council's commitment to a high-quality customer service experience.
"We needed to close that gap," explains Joshua Bell, Business Analyst at Burnie City Council.
"It wasn't just about getting the work to the teams; it was about getting the right data, like after-photos, back from the field so we could provide residents with that essential proof of repair."
A Mobile-First Solution
To equip their teams with smarter tools, Burnie City Council introduced the Snap Send Solve Manage Works module for their Parks and Recreation team. This shift connects community report information directly into the hands of the staff on the ground.
"Exploring the Manage Works module was a step toward enabling our teams to have more mobile processes throughout their work," Joshua notes.
"The idea is to be able to send high-quality community reports directly to the people that fix them, determine the work, and send it to someone in the field. That way, they can do all the solving on their tablets and mobile devices: they can investigate, they can do the work, and they can close the loop with the customer right there with a photo."
The Impact on the Ground
Moving to Manage Works delivered immediate value for Burnie City Council. They reclaimed valuable admin time, simplified the daily routine for their field teams, and created one clear system for tracking jobs.
A major priority for the Council was ensuring the crews actually liked using the new software.
"Field teams are often expected to use clunky and dated technology," Joshua explains.
"With the Manage Works software, we have a solution that allows our crews to get the job done without compromising the experience."
By delivering clear data straight to the tablets and mobile devices used in the field, the Council removed the frustration of complicated interfaces. Joshua notes that reducing this daily friction creates a positive ripple effect. It boosts workforce productivity, supports a better safety culture, and significantly improves team morale.
The Power of Real-Time Transparency
The Manage Works platform has fundamentally changed how Burnie City Council communicates with its residents. By providing automated, real-time updates, on all of the steps taken to complete the job, the Council has removed the uncertainty of waiting for updates.
"The built-in communication tools allow us to keep the resident informed every step of the way," Joshua Bell explains.
"This proactive transparency has had a fantastic impact on community satisfaction. Residents no longer have to wonder about the status of their report because they see our progress in real-time, which builds immense trust in our service delivery."
This transformation focuses on closing the loop with a modern "visual receipt." In 2026, a simple text update saying "Job Closed" is no longer enough; just as people now expect a photo of their food or package delivery to prove it has arrived, they expect that same visual evidence for their city’s infrastructure. Manage Works solves this by giving Burnie’s fieldworkers the ability to provide a final photo that confirms a pothole or park repair isn't just "done," but delivered, bringing the certainty of a consumer delivery notification directly to Tasmania’s local government operations.
The results so far include:
The transition to Manage Works has delivered immediate value to Burnie City Council’s operations. By removing the need for manual data entry, the Council has empowered both their office staff and field crews.
Streamlining daily workflow: A significant part of the digital transformation involved reclaiming time spent on administrative double-handling. Joshua explains the efficiencies gained in the office:
"I have saved heaps of time not having to manually enter the Snap into another system or giving the team a hard copy.
It is also a time saver not having to chase the team members up; I can see if a job has been completed on the dashboard, and I can then sign it off."
High adoption from the ground up: A primary goal for the Council was ensuring the new technology was simple for the crew to use. Joshua notes that the feedback from the field confirms the shift was the right move:
"This platform is much easier to use, and I have had lots of positive feedback from the team that it is better and simpler to use on the ground than our previous systems.
For the team members on the ground, they only see what is relevant to them and what they need to complete. It is an easy system for them to visually see what work they have that needs completing. There has been very positive uptake from the team members on the ground who have said the new app is far easier to use."
By the Numbers:
- Higher Community Satisfaction: Reports closed via the Manage Works platform received 5% higher satisfaction from residents compared to standard reports.
- Higher percentage of reports rated: 14% of standard reports have been rated, VS 24% of work order reports have been rated^
^ When comparing the same incident types over the same time period
Scaling the Success
The success of the Parks and Recreation test case has paved the way for a broader rollout. The City of Burnie is already preparing to expand the Manage Works platform to their Civil and Building teams in the coming months.
"Our next step is building capability and confidence within the teams," Joshua concludes. "In an ideal world, we want to reach a point where we proactively maintain our assets. We see a future where Snap Send Solve’s Manage Works is the primary interface used across all our field teams, pulling work order data directly from our core systems and pushing the 'solved' status back instantly. It is all about creating a platform that enables our teams to do well."
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