Danish Register of Underground Cable Owners (LER)

The Danish Register of Underground Cable Owners (LER) was launched in March 2005 in order to prevent accidental damages to underground utility cables, to lower administration costs in the contracting sector and to increase supply security. The immediate beneficiaries are professional cable owners and contractors and the end-users of utilities. LER contains information on all companies who own underground cables in Denmark. All companies performing underground construction activities must enquire in the register before the beginning of the activities. LER draws upon a number of existing Danish eGovernment solutions. The use of electronic signatures means that the main contact details of users are transferred digitally from the national registers of persons and companies. In addition, the digital maps are transferred from the electronic archives of the Danish National Survey and Cadastre.

Description of the way to implement the initiative

LER basically works like a phone book ensuring contact between owners of cables and contractors. When a contractor enquires in relation to a specific construction site, the contractor will receive contact details on all owners of underground cables on the site. Based on this information the contractor can easily contact the correct cable owners and receive detailed information on the specific location of cables. Private citizens are not obliged to register in LER and when performing construction activities on their own property they do not have to enquire in the register, although they can choose to do so.

Technology solution

The register is web-based and access is given through the use of the state-authorised electronic signature. Smaller companies, who cannot or do not wish to use the Internet, can receive assistance on a commercial basis from private consultants. This set-up ensures that all users are able to use the register, while the costs are kept low. This set-up means that the register is based on access solely through a digital channel for the first time in Denmark.

Main results, benefits and impacts

Although LER is targeting quite specific industry sectors and the absolute benefits therefore are rather low, the benefits relative to the costs are very high. The main costs are counted in terms of the development of the register , the fees paid by the contractors for the use of the register and the extra time initially necessary for users to learn to navigate the website. In addition, a limited number of cable owners will be contacted more often by construction companies, since the register makes them more visible.

Return on investment

Return on investment: Not applicable / Not available

Track record of sharing

The problem of damages to underground cables, which LER solves, is common to all European countries. Therefore the experiences gained in the development of LER are likely to be valuable for administrative bodies in other countries.

Lessons learnt

Lesson 1 - The register can be seen as an example of a new type of public services, where public authorities provide the IT infrastructure, which makes it possible for private companies to operate in a more efficient way. To this end, a classic administrative tool (i.e. a register) has been used, but this time in order to meet the needs of the users rather than to control private companies. Lesson 2 - Secondly, the register is an example of a simple solution to a rather complex problem. Intuitively, a more logical solution to the problem of damaged cables would have been a register of underground cables rather than a Register of Underground Cable Owners. But the development of such a register would have been much more difficult in terms of the information needed from cable owners and the functioning of the IT solution. Although the registration of owners offers less precise information to contractors it has been much simpler to develop and represents a fully workable solution to the original problem. LER therefore shows that it sometimes pays to look beyond the solutions immediately logical. Lesson 3 - Thirdly, the development of LER underlines the importance of close collaboration with the users of the final e-government solution. From the very start, the development has been based on a careful analysis of the problem of damaged cables, which most of the users often encountered in the past. This has not only enabled a solution that works, but also the support of the relevant business sectors in relation to difficult issues arising during the development. One such issue has been the targeting of a diverse group of users, which include both large, high-tech companies and smaller, low-tech companies. The smaller, low-tech companies are not normally targeted by eGovernment solutions, which have therefore needed an extensive, tailor-made information campaign towards this particular group as well as a continued, close dialogue on problems encountered by this type of users. Scope: National