This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Hacer más con menos, el nuevo reto para las empresas de servicios municipales

Budget cuts affect both the citizen and the suppliers

Do more with less, the new challenge for municipal utilities

Esther Güell26/04/2011

April 26, 2011

In the absence of liquidity, one of the first measures taken by any person in their right mind is the cut of 'extras', whether in the field of personal or company. These measures are often stark and 'cut clean' any hint of 'luxury'. However, in the world of public service, here takes on another dimension. Here to play other more sensitive elements: the needs of citizens and the perception of what is a necessary service, what can be hat and what can be cut is different in each case. Because whatever the decisions taken to this end, they affect directly the Pocket and the service that receives the citizen, which requires much tact by the administration.

However, there is an actor who often do not have in mind but which plays a fundamental role in all this, and is a supplier of services or the providing company. Is who suffer in the first instance the budget cut: either leave for certain contracts or has to adhere the belt to enter into competition with the current requirements. For this reason, since Interempresas we wanted give voice to some of these companies, which continue to provide services, are essential to citizens, on the other hand, to face administrative cuts.

It is the case for technology and design Cabanes, company of Ciudad Real, whose Manager, Jaime Cabanes, exposes us his point of view on this reality.

The Bank model Boa, available in wood or polyethylene, offers the possibility of numerous compositions, placing different straight or curved modules consecutively.

The crisis is leading to cuts in public investment. Do areas believe that the Administration can save more?

In technology and design Cabanes, as urban furniture manufacturers, we are experiencing a general reduction in the demand for urban furniture by local authorities. The volume has declined but needs remain. We believe that a way to save is to do more with less, making administration more efficient and effective, selecting those projects which contribute most to citizens, subjects at the beginning of quality, responsibility and public service.

Gardener of the collection Meeting Point, minimalist, lightweight and robust, ideal for meeting, made entirely in RVF white.

Is the general trend not to invest, buy buy cheap or intelligently? They choose to prioritize the price for the quality or vice versa?

Although there are two policies, from Cabanes, we believe that the trend should be to buy intelligently involved in those projects that are most needed for the citizen.

For us, one of the most interesting projects that should have local governments is the recapture of the city to the citizen, looking for the balance between the three traditional uses of the city: transit space, place for meeting and trade. Designing spaces designed for citizens that invite to stay in it. We believe that it is a form of reverse thinking in the long term. We must think in those projects to provide more, socially speaking. Accessible places, that by the energy savings, whose goods as well as being useful are emotional and, of course, use organic materials.

In short, we believe that we must think in a public strategy and vision for the future rather than trying to solve a temporary situation in the short term.

We also believe that to carry out specific projects to conquer the public space for the citizen very interesting a partnership would public and private.

"Local governments must reconquer the city for citizens and find the balance between its three uses: transit space, place for meeting and trade"

What solutions do you offer to help these cuts?

We believe that it is essential to adapt, with products that suit the environment projected. That is why we believe that flexibility is essential. Cabanes, we have, first of all, standard catalog products, catalog products modular so that the Planner to play with them and get different for different products and, finally, customized products, adapted to the needs of design you need a particular environment.

We believe that there is a strong tendency for local governments to make environments with a strong personality that can attract people to live in the public space and that's where we want to be flexible enough to work with them and get products that are integrated into this space. Why yes we think that intelligent purchase is a good option, investing less to get more. Providing more adapted to the actual needs and with greener materials designs and that it may be cheaper with the same or better guarantees.

Banks installed in the balcony of St. Lazarus (Zaragoza), steel galvanized in hot, to the support surface technology wood of Visendum, microcomposite of cleaning of forest timber was used.

What has the response been so far?

We seek to collaborate with the authorities in the project, not for immediate sale. So we need a continuation of the projects. It seems that after the plan and there has been stagnation and the number of projects has decreased, but the truth is that there is a great concern for the improvement of public spaces.

There are cities that are having a major success in the humanization of public space. We would like to be more, but we do believe that it is an important trend in the policy of the cities is to have a clear philosophy whose aim is that the public space is a meeting place, where foster projects with a new visioninnovating to ensure that the use of public space get a city for people, designing spaces safe, comfortable, and that they will enjoy. For this reason, the industrial design becomes more important, devising new articles with new materials more ecological and sustainable. And we, as a manufacturer we must be prepared to adapt our products to these needs.

The source model generatrix, aluminium cast with the sink of stainless steel. Finish with a layer of corrosion-resistant primers and finished with paint, it is adaptable to large capacity ashtray.