Data - what use is it without meaning…? We live in a data driven society. Everything we do, every decision we make is usually from an informed position via the use and interpretation of some sort of information be it written, visual or electronic. #Data is the new oil, the new gold, it’s precious and can help to create advantage, be it competitive in a business context or just to give us a simple accurate picture of a situation. We have been inundated with graphs and statistics during #Covid briefings from the government, that it really can reduce the usefulness and impact of that data that we ingest.
Information is so readily available and there are so many more avenues to disseminate and ‘consume’. But ‘what has this got to do with the price of methi?’ I hear you ask. Well not much, I wanted some sort of technobabble sounding intro to today’s blog entry…!
It’s a weak link I know, but let’s try and engage on a rather, let’s be honest, dry subject area, and hopefully this Dilbert cartoon (by Scott Adams) allows for a bit of mirth and pokes fun at data usage or not!
Capacity
During the Lockdown we had all been striving for information, government guidelines are changing like I change TV channels, frequently and usually nonsensically, back and forth and without real coherence. Our #Guru Ghar has been striving to respond quickly to these guidelines and with as much efficacy as possible. The D&T Team have been busy bees in the background designing, planning and implementing as many technical solutions to the needs of the sangat as possible, and in a way, the lockdown has accelerated this process. From Live streaming programmes, to automating the booking of Ardaas and now also introducing a counting mechanism of sangat to ensure we are within capacity of government guidelines without having to do so manually!
Sensors
Sadh Sangat jio, you can now plan your visits to the gurdwara to less busier times by viewing how many people are at the gurdwara in real time. Sevadars have implemented sensors that count the number of visitors at the Guru Ghar at any given time. This helps inform your decision when to visit the Guru Ghar. There is a widget on the Gurdwara Mobile App (currently available on Android phones, iOS coming soon!), and via this Website.
When you click on the link\widget, you will see a green ‘Please Enter’ image if there is sufficient capacity and a count of how many people are inside the gurdwara, giving you valuable information when making a decision to go at a particular time.
‘The software will gather footfall and Wi-Fi analytic data and convert them into meaningful metrics that will be valuable for entities for further analytics usage and reporting purpose’ (I copied that from the manual!).
As you can see from the this dashboard, sevadars can
analyse when the popular times are for visiting and adjust communication to the sangat accordingly.
The below graph gives a weekly view of #gurdwara visitors, which again generates useful analysis that sevadars can utilise to help with planning of efficient use of gurdwara resources. An example use case of this data can be when Langar team(s) prepare langar for the sangat thus reducing any wastage to help reduce our Guru Ghar’s carbon footprint.
In the future, we can expand usage by analysing when and where footfall is at its highest, e.g. which can aid with security, timings of programmes, congestion management etc.
GDPR
Saying all that, I think I should mention that ‘hathi in the kumra’ – #GDPR! Yes, there will be a cacophony of groans at the back there, and to be honest I don’t know enough myself; but we have Sevadars who deal with this day in day out in their field of work, and even I recall doing a few online training modules at work!
What is it? Well, basically it is “a regulation designed to protect the data privacy of EU citizens and simplify the regulatory environment for business. It applies to companies who collect, store or use personal data”.
Why am I talking about this? Well ,seeing as though I have been harping on about data being this and that, the Guru Ghar has a responsibility to the sangat to ensure the protection of sensitive data, and thus we have been assured by the sensor vendors that they do not “collect, store or use any personal data. The system is designed by default to use only anonymised data”. It doesn’t use video images to count.This therefore doesn’t apply in relation to GDPR, thus ensuring compliancy.
Sevadars have been working on a big piece of work implementing GDPR governance in order to safeguard data.
Transparency
The aim of the D&T sevadars is to provide as much transparency as possible through effective use of technology and data. They are using their experience in their respective fields which will help towards the strategy and close alignment with Mukh Sevadar Manpreet Singh Dhaliwal’s manifesto pledges for technological evolution and data governance, bringing the Guru Ghar into the 21stCentury…
Please keep an eye out for future blogs, on what had been happening during lockdown with some of the projects completed by the D&T… until then…
Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji Ki Fateh…