Digitisation of the building permit process

The number of physical and electronic documents to be processed continues to grow, making the procedures to which they relate more complex. The requirements for accessing, filing and sharing all this information are increasing accordingly. Optimised electronic processing can considerably speed up processes and the handling of files, thus improving the efficiency of our administration and the quality of services provided to citizens.

Aware of these challenges, the Municipality of Pully has decided to digitise its building permit process. The benefits of this project include :

  • easier consultation of work requests submitted for public enquiry ;
  • a better visibility of the treatment process within the administration ;
  • reduction of the circulation of physical files within the administration, thus reducing processing times.

This project was divided into three phases :

  • analysis and optimisation of existing processes;
  • design of processes in the electronic document management (EDM) tool ;
  • digitisation of the physical archives.

In the first phase, particular emphasis was placed on the following points :

  • saving time in the handling of the different process steps ;
  • improving the visibility and accessibility of files both internally and externally ;
  • communication using the digital resources available, such as the website or the City's map tool (SIGIP), particularly for disseminating files during public enquiries;
  • systematic archiving of files in order to guarantee long-term conservation in accordance with the standards in this field.

The second stage consisted of IT developments on the EDM software to produce a tool that was as well adapted as possible to this process. In particular, it made it possible to make all the files submitted to the public enquiry directly accessible online.

Finally, the third and last stage aims to facilitate access to all the files, including the oldest, dating from the pre-computer era. Thus, once the physical archives have been digitised, the EDM will provide a single point of access for all files relating to building permits. This will provide a fast, efficient and modern response to internal and external consultation requests. This step is currently underway. More than 7,000 files and 100,000 documents are now inventoried, digitised and accessible. This work should be completed by 2024.