Idaho Transportation Department Collects And Reports Data Using Wireless Technology

According to a February 2006 announcement from Gartner, Inc., a computer research company, 14.9 million personal digital assistants (PDAs) were shipped in 2005 worldwide. These sales surpassed the previous high mark set in 2001 and represented a 19 percent increase from 2004. Some businesses already are discarding traditional paper forms and filing practices for these efficient mobile tools and disk storage methods. The result could be long-term savings in overhead costs and resources, improved accuracy in data collection and reporting, and expedited work performance.

Not only are private companies tapping into the potential of PDAs, State governments also are taking heed. In March 2005 the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) launched a PDA pilot program that would help the agency achieve "enterprise application integration," which is defined by David S. Linthicum in his book Enterprise Application Integrationas "a method of unifying disparate applications into a unified set of business applications."

In a long-term effort to improve business practices, ITD's managers decided that they would break new ground by introducing PDAs and specialized software from MobileDataforce to field inspectors in a pilot program that would help achieve the agency's goal of implementing programs that use the latest technological advancements. The pilot program provides mobile hardware and software to ITD's Maintenance Section to facilitate the collection and distribution of data on the maintenance of rest areas across the State's six regional districts.

Rest stop inspections help to ensure that government contractors responsible for building and grounds conditions are completing tasks in accordance with contract provisions. In the pilot program, ITD maintenance inspectors replaced the old handwritten methods of collecting data by trading in pens and paper forms for handheld computers, styli (pointed penshaped tools that enable users to interact with computer screens), and specialized software.