Keywords: , unied digital system for building permits, digital pa - PDF document

111111Keywords: , unied digital s
111111Keywords: , unied digital system for building permits, digital paperwork, dematerializationAbstractThe re-engineering of administrative processes can come about through information and communications technologies - dened as “computer-supported cooperation” - opening new prospects for simplifying the relationships between citizens and public administrations and facilitating the exchange of documents and information. MUDE Piedmont (MUDE is the acronym for the Italian modello unico digitale trans) - a unied digital system for building permits - is an information system created through the collaboration of the region’s different governmental levels. This system creates a digital archive of permit applications submitted to the Buildings Department Unied Hub, using information technologies for the interaction between professionals and public administrations and for the exchange of information between administration databases. The MUDE Piedmont system creates an environment for the use/updating of regional and administration databases. These databases - accessible to numerous individuals and public authorities - are in constant evolution with input from all users involved in the building/planning permit approvals process.The partners participating in the project are listed on the MUDE portal, along with related information.The list of participating municipalities, currently 135, is published on the MUDE Piedmont portal and includes the municipalities of various sizes located in different provinces, including associated municipalities and provincial capitals.Aside from Turin, the principal municipalities are: Acqui Terme, Casale Monferrato, Collegno, Cuneo, Grugliasco, Ivrea (with 28 municipalities of the Canavese area), Moncalieri

, Mondovì, Novi Ligure, Pinerolo, Rivol
, Mondovì, Novi Ligure, Pinerolo, Rivoli, Venaria Reale, Vercelli.Other public authorities involved are: Piedmont Region, Piedmont Provinces, ANCI Piedmont, Board of Surveyors, Architects’ Association, Engineers’ Association of the Province of Turin, Turin Polytechnic, and the Turin Province Landscape/Landmarks Authority.The collaboration agreement, initially signed by the Region, Provinces, City of Turin, 10 other municipalities, and professional associations is published on the MUDE Piedmont site. Still open to all interested parties, the agreement pledges to use unied application forms and allows the reuse of the system developed for the management of the branch ofces for building and planning permits by means of documents that are digitally stored in the document management system created by the Piedmont public administration.ƒ„\r\r\nTranslation by Ilene SteingutDirigente del Settore Servizi per l'Edilizia e l'Urbanistica del Comune di Torino112MUDE Piedmont – the unied digital system for building permits - has the goal of streamlining administrative procedures through the computerization of the building permit procedure for municipalities and other concerned authorities. It is also correlated with land registry requirements through the integration of buildings department and property registry databases. The MUDE Piedmont information architecture is a true information system for monitoring regional development and building projects. MUDE pursues the fo

llowing specic goals:9 Secndcrdizce
llowing specic goals:9 Secndcrdizceionrequesesehrou:houere:ionparticipation in the implementation of standardized national forms;9 Secndcrdizceionprocedures,creating a “community of practice” for the uniform interpretation of building codes;9 anee:rceionre:iser8proceduresehrou:hshcreddescriptive data regarding properties and their alterations by means of the identication of the permit application through a unique, nationally-recognized “MUDE number;”9 CompueerizceionYepcremenesehrou:h9 Yemceericlizceionpcperwordrepores,drcwin:s)more9 Creceionseorc:eprivceeVdminiserceionsinvolved in various capacities in the consultation of building and development projects;9 anee:rceion:eo:rcphiccreation of ACI - Anagrafe Comunale degli Immobili (Municipal Buildings Registry) to provide a municipal “point of view” on building characteristics thereby contributing to the evolution of the integrated national registry with certied data.Figure MUDE’S front ofce services for eliminating the paper submissions of building permit applications.• Variations server• Communications 113 Piedmont - a unied digital system for building permits: an organizational projectThe project grew out of experiments carried out by the City of Turin starting in 2003 with the rst e-gov project (PIM - Owning a property) and takes on its current form through Turin’s participation (2009) in the Cadastre and Taxation Measure of the ELISA Program - Local Innovation System www.programmaelisa.it). The FED_FIS project is funded by DAR - Department of Regional Affairs, the PORE initiative - Project Oppo

rtunities of European Regions - in partn
rtunities of European Regions - in partnership with several other municipalities in other regions.Underlying the project is the requirement for sharing administrative processes which led to the involvement of many other local authorities, the Piedmont provinces and the Piedmont Region. The Regional government adopted a Deliberation - DGR n. 4-296 on July 12, 2010 - which subsequently led to a Collaboration Agreement signed on September 30. This agreement - still “open” to broader participation - was signed by: professional associations, ANCI Piemonte, Turin Polytechnic, the Turin Landmark/Landscape Authtority, and now includes 110 municipalities. Moreover, the following institutions have also expressed their interest in the project: ANCE, the Bilateral Construction Industry Board, the Chamber of Commerce, local health authorities, the Fire Department. The agreement provides for the adoption of standardized procedures for the submission of building permit applications, the unication of their paperwork, and the reuse of applications already developed for electronic submissions. The highly integrated approach regarding information and communications technology was made possible by the organization of Piedmont’s public administrations, which use the CSI Piemonte - Consortium for Information System – created by the project’s principal actors for systems and operational support.The City of Turin also represents ANCI on the commission established by the Prime Minister’s Decree of May 6, 2008 entitled “Approval of the single digital system for building permits” pursuant to Article 35d of Law 80/2006, together with the Agenzia del Territorio and the Regions. Representing ANCI, Turin sits on the Joint Board for monitoring cadastral services set up by the State-city a

nd local government conference pursuant
nd local government conference pursuant to Article 19 of Decree n. 78/2010.\fMUDE Piedmont is managed by the Project Coordination Group, composed of the Piedmont Region acting as coordinator, the Province of Turin, the municipalities of Turin and Buttigliera Alta representing ANCI Piedmont, CSI Piedmont as system implementer, Architects’ and Engineers’ Associations and the Board of Surveyors. 114FigureHome page of Portale MUDE Piemonte.The project was the subject of numerous meetings with other agencies and organizations, as well as initiatives of inter-regional and national coordination. Among these, collaboration with the Emilia-Romagna Region in sharing MUDE’s XML layout was fundamental; it also included hosting provided by MUDE for post- earthquake reconstruction aid applications in 61 Emilia-Romagna municipalities.The MUDE Project is funded by the City of Turin and the Piedmont Region. The Turin Province provides infrastructure support for the e-learning platform and collaborates in coordinating the municipalities. While many member municipalities do not participate with direct funding, their staff does collaborate by participating in the formulation of the project’s specications.The MUDE Piedmont Portal introduced new procedures to facilitate interaction between public administrations and citizens/professionals. The portal uses such tools as blogs and forums that innovate not only the management of these relationships but also the image of the public administration itself in terms of transparency and collaboration. A call center guarantees essential operational support, especially during the initial phases of the system’s use.

7;
7;The MUDE system is characterized by its approach to information focused on built “objects” and their characteristics and alterations. In administrative practice, the enormous wealth of information contained in building permit applications submitted for approvals to municipalities is focused applications goes well beyond that specic moment to include real estate aspects, taxes, legislation, personal details, planning, assets, safety and project monitoring. In Turin, of the approximately 800,000 in the Building Archives, approximately 40,000 are consulted each year, meaning that access is made to 5% of permit lings for the purpose of obtaining diverse data.115 Piedmont - a unied digital system for building permits: an organizational projectFigureThe application is geo-referenced (GEEDI) using data from the geographic information system (technical maps, registry maps, addresses) and can consult cadastral data using the Sigma-Ter system.Figure The professional gains access by using a smart card with certicate and digital signature. He or she lls in the form and afxes digital signatures on all submitted documents. The les are stored and organized in the DoQui-Index document management system. Municipal staff gains access through a login and password procedure. The list of applications received in the Sipred (private building information) system are displayed in the DoQui-Index. The examiner veries the completeness of the documentation and le contents, accepts or rejects the application. The system then noties the professional of the outcome.116In MUDE’s information ar

chitecture, the central archive no longe
chitecture, the central archive no longer allows only the consultation of the application les, but users can query real estate “objects” (urban areas, buildings, housing units) to obtain information describing administrative aspects (applications, requesting parties, accompanying documents) as well as technical ones (building features, construction documents, technical reports). The MUDE system then identies the application le through a national code – the so-called “MUDE of land registry formalities, designed as separate but highly integrated procedures.MUDE uses all existing databases available from the various public administrations for verifying the compliance of building and development projects with existing codes and laws. These databases are made available in an integrated way: technical documents, maps and census information, population registry, business registry, zoning maps, place names and addresses, constraints of various kinds, hydro-geological aspects.The system accepts the complete digital submission of a building permit application by a registered professional. For the entire process, no professional, municipal or other government staff is required to print any document. The professional drafts the application on the server, but the drafts cannot be viewed by municipal examiners or other parties until they and the accompanying documents are ofcially submitted with a digital signature.For the purpose of acceptance, applications are viewed by staff members only to verify completeness of the documentation in accordance with existing laws. The application then moves through the system depending on its type (for example, CIL - professional certication of the initiation of building work not subject to formal approval) or approvals procedure (for

example, SCIA - certication of the
example, SCIA - certication of the initiation of building activity). The entire procedure is digital, completely on line; ofcials and professionals communicate only through the system’s functions. As a result of the “liberalization” of some minor construction projects introduced by the certication procedure, very soon after receiving the application, the system automatically les the paperwork without examining its merit. This is made possible by a set of rules and controls carried out directly during form compilation, ensuring the compliance certied by the professional.MUDE Piedmont has been operational since September 5, 2011. In compliance with requirements for municipalities to progressively innovate administrative procedures, the professional certication process was the rst to be implemented, followed by the certication of initiation of building activity (SCIA) procedure, which includes additional submission of documents, nal acceptance and any eventual requests for certicates of occupancy. MUDE’s guiding principle is that a digital application should be completed digitally. Due to the increased complexity of the procedure, especially relating to drawing submission, the next step will be the introduction of the declaration of initiation of building activity (DIA) presented as an alternative to the building permit, as provided for in the National Building Law, followed by declaration of construction in seismic areas, granting of building permits and certicates of occupancy and submission of original paperwork.The pursuit of standardization has also led to the integration, within a single submission, of Landscape/Landmark authorizations with CIL or SCIA building permit application forms. The user presents a single document p

acket which the system separates into th
acket which the system separates into the two distinct procedures called for by law with the subsequent electronic submission by the municipality of the application to the Landscape/Landmarks Authority.117 Piedmont - a unied digital system for building permits: an organizational projectFigure Among the actors in the MUDE process: professionals, municipalities, Region, Agenzia del Territorio, Landscape/Landmarks Authorities, Health Department and others. The operating ows are organized by a computer-supported cooperation infrastructure.By using his/her digital signature and providing personal data, the system grants access to the professional who can then interact with government agencies. Personal data is also used to populate the relative elds in the submitted les (in addition to the basic information like name and social security number, the required data are home and ofce addresses, certied email address, professional association and license number). Accreditation enables the professional to use a personal “desk” within the system, and to utilize the services provided for interacting with various municipalities and authorities involved in the permit process.To initiate the application process, the professional opens a le and locates the building/lot geographic coordinates, thus entering the municipal information system (GEEDI form). A display allows consultation of the necessary data (technical maps, place names and addresses, buildings registry, zoning maps which in Turin’s case are provided as a service on the city’s Geoportal) regarding the concerned property. The system also provides feedback issuing the certied address through the place name service and reg

istry details through the SIGMATER servi
istry details through the SIGMATER service which will directly populate the relative elds and forms.COMPUTER - SUPPORTED COOPERATION INFRASTRUCTUREMUNICIPAL BUILDINGCADASTRAL SERVICESREGIONAL GISService Center for insurance certicate (Inps, Inail, CE)ISTATMunicipality/service centerProfessionalOther ProjectsBuilding and FormPlanning Survey of certi�cateMUDE118Figure An example of data access in the municipal property registry integrated with MUDE compilation. The professional obtains information regarding the property including the original designation of any landmark/landscape status.Other information is made available by the system, for example hydro-geological data as well as the planning maps traditionally required by building regulations. These maps – zoning, technical cadastral – are organized by the system in a separate *.pdf le that is then included in the digital application. Once geo-referencing is performed, the browser is closed and the presentation form (*.pdf) pre-compiled with the prior geo-referenced data can be lled out. The professional then completes the form with any necessary additional information structured by homogeneous information sets. The system provides a checklist for compilation which guides the professional in lling out the forms and preparing the required documentation. Compliance with codes regarding handicap access, re prevention, structural works, energy savings, etc. is required if these apply to the permit application. If the response is positive, additional procedural steps are indicated, such as ling certications, attachments, inspection requests and so on. A negative response (when the specic code “does not apply” to the project) results in the response “not applicable.&

#148;Figure MUDE is a checklist by whic
#148;Figure MUDE is a checklist by which a professional veries compliance with the technical activities necessary for guaranteeing project quality.119 Piedmont - a unied digital system for building permits: an organizational projectThe compiled documents, along with digitally signed drawings, are uploaded to the system and stored on the server; they can be made available to the public administration only after formal submission to the interested municipality. When the application is complete, the professional presents it to the client who compiles the system’s power of attorney form. Clients/owners then approve nal submission of documents and attachments.Figure The compilation of the MUDE forms is a guided procedure, structured by checklists through which professionals ensure that all technical activities required for project quality are complete. In relation to the selections made, the information services constituting the system’s “knowledge base” indicate the basic steps to follow (attach a document, make a declaration, provide further content).The submitted application is contained in an *.xml le containing the data provided by the professional along with *.pdf versions of the related project drawings. The data then populates the database of the building permit applications (protocol/repertory, personal information, geo-referencing, technical information). Any variations are recorded in the municipal real estate registry and will eventually be introduced into the National Real Estate Registry when the national MUDE system will have established the necessary protocols. Documents are stored in the DoQui-Index document management system to create a single repertory of building permit applications accessible to all public administrations directly involved o

r in cooperation by means of the informa
r in cooperation by means of the information systems rendered available.120Figure 9 The professional compiles the application receiving the information services from the portal necessary for the proper identication of the property involved. With application submission, data is entered into the building permit applications db and if necessary, the municipal property registry can be updated. Documents are then stored in the DoQui-Index document management system and can be accessed by public authorities.The collaboration between administrations and professional associations involved in the MUDE Piedmont project led to the creation of the MUDE Piedmont training program. Rich and detailed, the program is composed of 8 sections covering topics of interest for a total of 33 training modules on dematerialization, digital building permit applications, building regulations. The learning modules include videos of classroom lessons, documents, and presentations on topics ranging from setting up a personal computer for digital signature use and system accreditation to real lectures on various building/construction related subjects.This specic e-learning program was created by the Foundations of Professional Associations of the Province of Turin with funding from the European Community issued by the Province of Turin. It is free of charge and available upon accreditation for the Province of Turin e-lde portal.121 Piedmont - a unied digital system for building permits: an organizational projectFigureTraining has taken on a central role in the MUDE project and was delivered through the Province of Turin e-learning platform. MUDE Piedmont has a

complex information architecture which
complex information architecture which can be viewed in detail on the project website. In any case, it can be summarized by the following components:9 cfroneOof7cewebprofessionclfollowsubmitting them to the various municipalities;9 cwebb8of7cesinvolvedprocedure. It allows visualization, verication and ling of applications, as well as examination 9 cseruceurecccordin:secndcrdizeddynamic information frameworks, suitably activated in relation to the information provided by the user. This technology has allowed the evolution from dozens of static paper forms to a single automated compilation process;9 cseorc:erecordscccordcncethe instructions contained in the Digital Administration Code;a series of advanced information services and applications for the interactive consultation of municipal databases with GIS technologies (digital mapping, property registry ofce, city plan maps, place names, landmarks constraints, etc..).122Figure MUDE Piedmont: Schematic architecture.Web pages MUDE FormPEC (Certi�ed E-mail System)MUDE FormWeb pages Internal ITMUDE FormWeb pages Web pages Web AppServicesWebAppInternetInternet/RUPARWeb AppWeb AppExternal bodies Forms platformTemplateFormsDocuments platform123 Piedmont - a unied digital system for building permits: an organizational projectFigure The public administration desk is the back-end module used by municipal ofcials.The system can be used by all 1,206 municipalities in the Piedmont Region, after simple adhesion to the collaboration agreement by means of a City Council resolution.The MUDE Piedmont Project has been operational since September 2011 and the data shown refer to the rst year of activity (Septemb

er 2012). The unied application for
er 2012). The unied application forms in paper format were adopted “formally” by 110 municipalities. Nonetheless, the forms can be downloaded and utilized without ofcial membership. In actual fact, the municipalities that use the system are many more. Standardized forms are the rst step in the transition to a completely digital application process, which is being introduced progressively starting from the most simple permit applications. Fifteen municipalities have initiated digital submissions; these communities vary in type and size - from one thousand inhabitants to the metropolitan dimension, including associations between municipalities.Figure Increase in submitted MUDE applications. In October 2012, they reached approximately 6,400.Submitted applications to 31/10/2012124After a rst trial phase in collaboration with professional associations, the City of Turin activated the electronic submission of communications of the initiation of building activities (CIL), a simplied procedure introduced in 2010, starting on September 5, 2011. More recently, a City Council resolution (January 1, 2012) has made electronic submission mandatory. Starting this year, only digital CIL are present in the municipal archive. Along with 800 SCIA applications voluntarily submitted by professionals, digital submissions now number more than 5,700.Monitoring has demonstrated positive results. The 5700 received applications were submitted by professionals who self-trained on the e-learning platform without requiring the use of any “resources” outside the project’s e-learning platform.Figure MUDE Professionals, quantity surveyors, engineers, architects, other 19.government programs, as demonstrated by recent amendments to the National Building Law (TE

U- Presidential Decree N. 380/2001). On
U- Presidential Decree N. 380/2001). On the national scale, however, more effective coordination of the initiative is needed. First the XML layout must be dened as the basis for the exchange and sharing of data between stakeholders, followed by the denition of services that ensure interoperability, and access to and exchange of information among subjects participating in various capacities in the building permit process. According to the TEU, these concern all issues that in any way involve construction, preservation, development, real estate values, tax proles and so on.The publication of the XML layout and the denition of IT requirements can be integrated with existing systems, which should not be “dismantled” but adapted to new developments. This can streamline building permit applications by reducing the complexity of the application process itself. It can also result in savings through the use of shared services and information resources.The hard work undertaken to create MUDE by those who participated in its denition (who primarily faced the organizational aspects of managing the building permit process) has resulted in a successful instrument that can be shared fruitfully with other administrations, offering a consolidated platform for experimentation and prototyping that could result in nationally shared standards and operating procedures.MUDE Professionals (31/10/2012)Surveyors:ArchitectsOthersEngineers125 Piedmont - a unied digital system for building permits: an organizational projectProject Webography MUDE Piedmont Portal www.mude.piemonte.itE-learning platform Province of Turin: http://www.provincia.torino.gov.it/e-City of Turin Buildings Department: http://www.comune.torino.it/ediliziaprivata/Turin Geoportal: http://www.comune.torino.it/geop