In the interview with Thomas Effinger, Managing Director of Schelhorn OWiG Software GmbH

Municipal tasks are growing due to changing mobility requirements and legal situations. In this context, an organizational structure adapted to the 21st century is becoming increasingly important. For over 35 years, Schelhorn OWiG Software GmbH has provided solutions for recording and processing administrative offenses for police departments, municipalities, and federal and state authorities. We spoke with Thomas Effinger, Managing Director of Schelhorn OWiG Software GmbH, about this crucial area of digitalization.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: In times of increasing workload and staff shortages in regulatory authorities and services, efficient digitalization of processes is more in demand than ever. More than 900 customers, including state capitals, use your products nationwide. What makes them so strong?

Thomas Effinger:
We have made it our mission to meet the increasing demands in terms of quantity and complexity that municipalities have faced in recent years due to rapid technological development—without compromising quality. Our customers appreciate our innovative networking capabilities between various specialist services, which operate without media discontinuity and, above all, paperlessly.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: WiNOWiG is the brand name for your products, such as WiNOWiG mobil, WiNOWiG desktop, or WiNOWiG Auftragsmanagement. Could you briefly explain what this abbreviation stands for?

Thomas Effinger:
With WiNOWiG mobil, municipalities record violations in the area of stationary traffic or general administrative offenses, process entire towing measures completely digitally, or use the integrated messaging solution for communication. The further processing of these administrative offenses then takes place in our in-house solution WiNOWiG desktop, which also handles evaluations from third-party providers in flowing traffic. And due to the increasing complexity and workload, our WiNOWiG Auftragsmanagement rounds off our portfolio in terms of coordinating municipal regulatory services, control centers, and tools for order assignment and processing. The topic of employee safety is also given high priority here, thanks to the ability to track locations.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Your product WiNOWiG desktop enables digital file management for municipal regulatory services. One of the features is the online hearing of those affected. How does the process work?

Thomas Effinger:
The individual access data sent with the hearing can be used by the respective person concerned to a) comment on the incident, b) name another driver, or c) simply view the photos of their case. As an optional extension, the municipality can offer an online payment option in the case of penalty notices. This data is then automatically imported into the case and provided to the clerk along with the corresponding follow-ups.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: You operate the B.E.T. Explorer *, a free reference work for the Federal Uniform Offense Catalog. What does this catalog contain and can every citizen use this service?

Thomas Effinger:
It is a convenient reference work for the Federal Uniform Offense Catalog that is available for download by every citizen. The BET-Explorer is free of charge and is widely used by police authorities due to its broad scope of tasks.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Processing citizen complaints about general administrative offenses such as illegal waste dumps or defective traffic lights is part of the municipal regulatory tasks. How is complaint management organized in your system?

Thomas Effinger:
Our order and notification management is the perfect product for this. Complaints or reports submitted by qualified personnel or transmitted to the municipality via an external “defect reporter” can be conveniently verified, distributed, and processed in our control center. Intelligent coordination tools, tactical classification of personnel, and a convenient control center ensure this is done with an efficiency and effectiveness that is indispensable and irreplaceable for the current requirements profile of the municipality.

Editor’s note: Schelhorn OWiG Software GmbH will be an exhibitor at dikomm Zukunft digitale Kommune on 5.11.2019 at Messe Essen this year.

* (Ed.: not to be confused with betexplorer, a portal for sports results)