Bartec Systems’ Contribution To eGovernment Award
Delivering efficiencies in the waste collection sector
A prestigious public sector Award for Innovation In Strategy At A Local Level was recently presented to London Borough of Harrow Council and its partners at an eGovernment National Award ceremony at the Guildhall.
Attended by key public sector figures and endorsed by the Prime Minister, the Award recognises the collaborative work of Harrow’s Business Transformation Partnership, of which Bartec Systems is a key partner, in delivering above-average results in improved services, transformed processes and increased effectiveness. The winners were selected from almost 450 entries across 11 categories.
Bartec Systems acts as the technological lynchpin for Harrow’s waste collection system. Harrow worked with Capita as prime contractor in the Partnership, with Bartec’s “Waste Collector” chosen to create a seamless interface to unify existing Council systems and those of other providers.
Bartec’s system facilitates near real time, paper-free communication amongst all aspects of the Council’s waste and recycling activities, from waste collection vehicles, to service management, resulting in faster customer response times for bin collection queries and improved vehicle and route optimisation. This is part of an overall project aiming to make a financial saving of £3.1 million over ten years, including reductions in fuel, paper, administration and carbon emissions.
Tim Hobbs, Director of Bartec Systems, adds: “We are delighted to have been able to make such a significant contribution to improving service levels and reducing operational costs at Harrow Council.
Waste collection and recycling are key frontline services and this shows that savings and improvements can be combined by innovative use of technology”.
Councillor Susan Hall, deputy leader of Harrow Council, said:
“This Award recognises the hard work of our whole team. The end result is all about delivering an improved service to our residents. They tell us they want cleaner and safer streets as their top priority and this technology will go a long way to help deliver that.”
The Harrow system represents just one example of the growing trend towards single, unified systems which pull all areas of a Council’s waste collection operations together. With over 20 systems already delivered to UK local authorities, Bartec Systems is at the forefront of developments with other Councils to integrate a variety of disparate systems, from vehicle tracking to manage mileage and fuel costs, weighbridge systems to manage disposal costs, route optimisation systems to minimise mileage and fleet sizes and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to provide faster customer response times.
Besides enabling systems to join up and talk to each other, Bartec System’s “Waste Collector” provides on-the-job data updates to management via in-cab computers for refuse collection vehicles and mobile computers for service managers.
Collections management software is used to track and manage rounds. Collection schedules, bin numbers and histories of customer contact are readily accessible “on demand”, with substantial reductions in paperwork and management time.
This brings additional benefits for both householders and businesses, given the speed of response to potential problems that may arise with bin collections and more targeted and effective service provision, which is customer-driven.
Bartec Systems is also proving influential in assisting Councils to increase recycling rates. Besides making the monitoring of recycling activities more transparent, “Waste Collector” facilitates provision of feedback on specific streets which require assistance with separating refuse into the correct bins, whether general waste, garden waste or other recycling bins. This presents opportunities for highly focused marketing campaigns to address particular, localised issues on recycling.
To date Bartec has implemented “Waste Collector” in over 20 councils throughout the UK, including Chichester District Council, Rushcliffe and Sedgefield Borough Councils and is currently in discussion with several others.
www.bartec-systems.com
Tel 01226 209209
