Case study

From pounds to pence: Web GIS boosts savings and service for Welsh borough council.

Client profile Overview Torfaen Council Every summer, as thousands of Velothon participants pedal torfaen.gov.uk through , thousands more have their eyes on the • Covering an area of 126 square Torfaen County Borough Council website; its online map has kilometres, Torfaen is the third been hailed as the best way to navigate around road closures smallest borough in . during the event. But that’s just one of the ways Torfaen • The borough council, which uses Pitney Bowes Spectrum® Spatial Analyst. Torfaen is has administrative offices at Pontypool, serves approximately leveraging the mobile-ready location intelligence solution 91,000 residents. from Pitney Bowes to further its goals of creating cleaner, greener communities, improving educational attainment and providing better support for its most vulnerable residents.

“If somebody was at the Business challenge top of the borough, At the recent Public Survey Mapping Agreement (PSMA) event in , they could be travelling it was evident that councils across 15 miles just to check Wales are trying to figure out how to transform geographic information one map for road systems (GIS) from back-office ownership. Even if you mapping tools into better business and public-service applications. It’s take into account the a challenge that GIS Officer Donna Edwards-John and her team at data charges incurred Torfaen County Borough Council whilst using Spectrum have been dealing with for years. The council’s internal mapping Spatial Analyst, it’s software, used by more than 700 costing us pence rather council employees and partners, was an older system that was no longer than pounds to get this well supported, and one had to be work done.” at the office in Pontypool to use it. That put it out of reach for highways – Donna Edwards-John, GIS Officer Torfaen County Borough Council

Pitney Bowes Case study: Torfaen County Borough Council 1 of 4 inspectors, public safety officials, Solution social services workers and many others who needed maps while they It seemed that no single product were out of the office. could meet all their requirements at a reasonable cost, until Edwards-John Like most councils, Torfaen also and her team met with their long- strived to provide location-based time GIS partner, Pitney Bowes, ® information through its public which introduced them to Spectrum website. Putting services on an Spatial Analyst Web GIS software, interactive map helps residents part of the Spectrum Technology resolve their enquiries faster and Platform. Pitney Bowes Professional reduces the burden on the council’s Services Senior Consultant Chris call centre staff. Facing tight budgets, Russell showed the Torfaen GIS Torfaen had tried an open-source team how they could take maps they mapping solution for its website, had already created in Pitney Bowes ™ “Because the inspectors believing it to be a less costly way MapInfo Pro software, as well as to meet the need. However, as geospatial data from Ordnance Survey, can now access the Edwards-John and her peers realised, and deliver that information through a mapping whilst on site, maintaining the open-source tool web interface that would be suitable and loading data into it came at a for both GIS and non-GIS users. it frees up the office greater cost than they had expected. staff’s time. It’s also “Free GIS or other open source With no dedicated GIS developers systems are okay if you’re a on staff, Torfaen relied on the easier for the inspectors, developer,” she says, “but in local Pitney Bowes consultants to install the new software, transfer the data as they can deal with authorities, we are struggling to staff up due to a lack of resources.” and configure it for Torfaen’s needs. their queries straight It took the consultants just two days. Was it possible, they wondered, to “I can’t praise Chris highly enough,” away. I have seen a combine both internal and public- Edwards-John says. “Within a couple big reduction in phone facing applications into one flexible of hours after he and his team system? It would have to be a robust finished setting up the system, we calls to the office.” GIS tool, yet be easy for anyone to were handling the data ourselves.” use, either at a desktop or with a – Dawn Pinney, Technical Support Officer mobile device. It would also have During the setup process, the Torfaen County Borough Council to be available around the clock, consultants imported more than without requiring a full-time staff 300 data sets into Spectrum Spatial member to maintain it. And, it would Analyst, which the council can have to come in at a lower overall publish at no additional cost. (Other cost to the council. products that Torfaen considered were hosted open-source solutions, one of which charged £1000 per data set for uploads.) Additionally, Edwards-John can freely delegate some of her data management tasks, as Spectrum Spatial Analyst does not restrict data management access to any part of the organization.

Pitney Bowes Case study: Torfaen County Borough Council 2 of 4 With the new system up and running, Technical Support Officer Dawn Finally, there are the times when it Torfaen has contracted with Pinney has seen the improvement really isn’t a matter of money or Pitney Bowes for regular maintenance, that mobile GIS access has made convenience, but of meeting an but Edwards-John and her peers on staff productivity: “Because the immediate need. “We had a crack capture and upload all new data on inspectors can now access the appear in one of our roads, and their own. Edwards-John illustrates: mapping whilst on site, it frees up water was gushing out,” Edwards- “I captured trunk roads this morning, the office staff’s time. It’s also easier John recalls. “Within minutes of and within 30 seconds of clicking for the inspectors, as they can deal receiving a phone call from a the save button, I uploaded them with their queries straight away, resident, the inspector was out there using the uploader tool, and they instead of having to try and get hold with her smartphone and could see were published. That’s the level of of someone in the office. I have straight away it was an adopted ease I expect.” seen a big reduction in phone calls highway. It was actually a Welsh to the office.” water main running underneath the road. With that data, she was able to Benefits Phone calls also aren’t much help deal with the problem on-site. We With Spectrum® Spatial Analyst, when officers on-site want to see the never would have been able to do Torfaen has ushered in a new era maps for themselves. Previously, that that with the previous system.” of mobility for its officers and for meant driving back to Pontypool, as partners such as the Police Edwards-John explains: “If somebody Andy Wilson, data, research and and social services agencies, all was at the top of the borough, and participation manager with the of whom can access the web they had to come back down to the council’s public services support GIS application from tablets office, they could be travelling 15 unit, sums up the improvements: or smartphones. miles just to check one map for road “Spectrum Spatial Analyst is much ownership. Even if you take into easier to use than previous platforms, account the data charges incurred has more functionality, and with whilst using Spectrum Spatial Analyst, mobile access, improves efficiency it’s costing us pence rather than of time and expense.” pounds to get this work done.” It’s also improving the workdays of “Spectrum Spatial Analyst highways inspectors such as Julian Lloyd. “It makes my job a lot easier,” is head and shoulders he says, “without repeated phone above everything else, calls and trips to the office.” and the support we’ve got from Pitney Bowes is second to none.”

– Donna Edwards-John, GIS Officer Torfaen County Borough Council

Pitney Bowes Case study: Torfaen County Borough Council 3 of 4 Technology used Meeting public demand securely It’s often difficult to be an early and reliably adopter of new technology, but • Spectrum® Spatial Analyst web Leveraging the same MapInfo and Edwards-John is glad that Torfaen GIS application Ordnance Survey maps that serve deployed Spectrum Spatial Analyst • MapInfo Pro™ desktop mapping its officers and partners, Torfaen is when they did, as it will make it easier and GIS application providing location-based information for the council to handle changes in to the public through its website. local governance. For example, A link from the council’s home starting in 2018, the page takes visitors directly to the won’t be enforcing traffic regulation Spectrum® Spatial Analyst map, orders; it will be left in the hands of where they can select map layers to the local authorities in the county, display school catchment areas, who will need to assign the duty to refuse collection rounds, gritting one of their own officers or “The considerable routes, roadworks, leisure activities outsource it. “In Torfaen, we already have all our traffic regulation orders increase in usage by and more. The public web client provides access only to the layers mapped,” Edwards-John says, “and it’s both council staff and appropriate for public use, but going to be available on SSA for the visitors can select as many layers as officers, the inspectors and others the public, the positive they want to see. who need it. We’re going to be ahead testimonials and the of the game, really.” Edwards-John envisions expanding superb, prompt support the location-based content for other Wilson agrees: “The considerable by the software provider uses, such as education. “We hold increase in usage by both council historic maps, aerial photography, staff and the public, the positive have all reinforced the and so on,” she says. “I would like to testimonials and the superb, prompt organisation's view to see Spectrum Spatial Analyst going support by the software provider out into the schools. Potentially, have all reinforced the organisation’s remain a loyal customer we’re talking about thousands of view to remain a loyal customer of of Pitney Bowes more users.” Pitney Bowes moving forward.”

moving forward.” Whereas previously, Edwards-John worried about the availability of – Andy Wilson, Data Research Torfaen’s mapping system, even and Participation Manager for emergency services, she is now Torfaen County Borough Council confident that Spectrum Spatial Analyst will be able to scale to meet many more public service needs. “Spectrum Spatial Analyst is head and shoulders above everything else,” she says, “and the support we’ve got from Pitney Bowes is second to none.”

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