(Left to right) Street Cleansing's Alan Baird and Tam Burt (both operatives) and officer Tommy Murphy talk to Chief Executive Kenneth Lawrie about the benefits of the new in-cab technology introduced as part of the Council of the Future Transformation of Roads & Grounds project.
Chief Executive Kenneth Lawrie pulled on a high vis jacket last Thursday to find out more about Street Cleansing's award-winning digital transformation.
As well as being responsible for street sweeping and emptying of the area’s 1,570 street bins, Street Cleansing operatives also deal with fly-tipping, litter picking and removal of hazardous materials such as glass and needles.
Tech revolution
Before going digital, operatives used photocopied routes and their local knowledge to keep the area spick and span. Now, thanks to new software and in-cab touch screen tablets, their routes are automatically updated and available at a touch of a button.
The tablets also allow them to report how full a bin is and any issues they come across. This information is then shared in real-time with officers in the depot, who use the data to better allocate resources and optimise performance of the crews.
Operative Dougie Lamond fills Kenneth in on some of the benefits the in-cab technology has brought, including removing the need for printed routes, which has reduced Street Cleansing’s use of paper by 90%.
Street Cleansing Co-ordinator, Franca Cianni, talks Kenneth through the dashboards created by the software and explains "this isn’t about using data to cut jobs; this is about using data to highlight the amount of work the guys are doing and how we can help make their jobs easier".
Franca explains how using the data gathered by the in-cab system has identified where there are cross-overs in workload, leading to a reduction in the time it takes each of the Council’s two large mechanical sweepers to complete their routes.
Working together
Changing how the division worked was a massive undertaking. With several operatives having 30 years plus service under their belt, there were understandable fears around change and job security.
To ease worries and to keep everyone up to speed, operatives were invited to attend regular meetings that provided everyone working on the ground and in the office space to have open and honest discussions.
One operative, Stephen Bell, was given acting-up duties. He helped those working on the ground get to grips with the new technology and continues to gather their feedback to help finetune the software.
Kenneth meets Stephen Bell whose work - alongside that of officer Tommy Murphy – helped operatives get to grips with the new technology. Franca said: “The work Stephen and Tommy did was vital. They helped the guys understand how to use the equipment and why it was needed.”
Following the visit, Kenneth said:
"Honest conversations helped the Street Cleansing team automate processes and create efficiency, and they ended up winning an award for their efforts. The tech is important, but honesty and transparency within teams is something I want to encourage across the board - it's important we are all on the same page. Thank you to Franca, Tommy, and the team for showing me their work.”