Lewisham Council leads the way with MapThat

Lewisham Council is the first local authority to use newly developed software, MapThat, to provide a state-of-the-art interactive map on its re-launched website, www.lewisham.gov.uk

The additional Report-It user-friendly tool looks set to reduce the Council’s costs in conjunction with the Customer Relationship Management System and new Website Self-Serve platform, improving speed and efficiency of reporting and operations.  Residents can easily search for public places and services, check their refuse collection dates, or even report problems such as graffiti and fly-tipping.  All Council services can be viewed either on a street map, an aerial view or a 3D ‘bird’s eye’ view which makes it easy to recognise streets and buildings.

Lewisham Council’s previous website allowed only limited reporting and there was no map for residents to pinpoint exact locations visually.  Matt Spencer, Service Group Manager for Service Point, explains:  “Our old website offered some online forms but these only generated an e-mail to be sent to the back office after collecting basic information that the user would enter themselves.  Instead of using these limited self-serve channels, customers preferred to phone the call centre where reports would be logged but address and location information was not consistent as it relied on the interpretation of both the customer and the operative. This naturally caused difficulties for our back office operatives who were left to interpret these details or call back for clarification where able to.

The Council was further hampered by a disjointed and complicated system containing disparate and ‘low-tech’ databases requiring a high manual input.  For example, they used to monitor the progress of service requests by using a database in Lotus Notes.  But this was considered to be a very dated system, and, again, it was open to inconsistencies in how the details were inputted.  Neither did it allow them easily to spot any duplicate reports about the same matter or analyse the number of service requests they were receiving.

Lewisham Council needed to overhaul the way they collected and processed residents’ reports.  They also wanted a joined-up system which would offer a slick and user-friendly service to customers, encouraging more people to report problems online as opposed to via other channels.  The aim was to create a fully self-service facility on their website, which would reduce processing costs while simultaneously improving speed, efficiency and consistency.

MapThat has been developed by CADline, which was part of the project team that designed Lewisham Council’s new website.  The project required integration with several information systems, including the Council’s various existing databases, the Local Land and Property Gazetteer, Gandlake’s intelligent eForms, and cross referencing Dynamics CRM.

Matt Spencer and his colleagues are delighted with the result.  “MapThat and the Report It platform have made our website more valuable to our customers, by enabling self-service. However, where telephone and face-to-face contact is required it also enables staff to confidently report service requests to the back office with the knowledge that the correct location information is being provided in an understandable format to our field operatives.  The introduction by CADline of a Local Land and Property Gazetteer integrated to the Report It platform has led to locations having a unique record which can be selected either by entering part of the details or by finding them on a map.”

By adopting an improved self service platform, the Council is looking to ‘nudge’ customer contact to the most appropriate channels for both themselves and the customers in terms of speed, efficiency and cost. As reported by SOCITM in Better served: Customer access, efficiency and channel shift (February 2011), the average phone call costs £2.90 and a face-to-face contact is £7.40, whereas a web contact costs just £0.32. The previous website was not able to help Lewisham Council to efficiently manage customer contacts and reduce costs, whereas, due to the assistance from CADline and other ICT partners, the Council is now in a position to begin to drive appropriate services through cheaper channels.

The new website is far more intuitive and easier for residents to use too, thereby encouraging more online traffic.  As a service request form is being completed, customers may be authenticated and address details pre-populated making the process quicker and smoother for the person completing the form, as well as eliminating errors.  Manual intervention is greatly reduced and the outcome is a much faster turnaround of service.  Each eForm generates an immediate automated response to the customer via CRM, who, if previously registered with the website, can check the status of their report at any time simply by logging on.

If the customer does not know the address of the problem they are reporting, they can now pinpoint it on a map and a polygon is created to cross reference the LLPG and provide a list of addresses for verification.  Aerial views, and hybrid views where street names are overlaid on the aerial picture, help the customer to recognise the location.

“Recorded data is now in a consistent format; no time is wasted by our back office on interpreting what was meant,” explains Matt.  “The potential for duplicate reports has vastly decreased too, because people can first check the map to find out whether we have already been alerted to the problem.”

MapThat offers a particularly impressive public services locator.  Thanks to the integration of Lewisham Council’s directory databases, users can now select from a list any number of types of public places and services to be displayed on the map simultaneously.  All views are displayed with clarity due to the high resolution graphics, and navigation around the map is rapid and easy.  Hovering the mouse over a map pin reveals the address of that particular service.

CADline has developed a bespoke add-on for Lewisham Council, called ‘Rounds Application’, to organise the refuse and recycling collection rounds.  This was previously managed separately in Excel but data could not be relied on to be up to date.  Due to the implementation of this system, all data is now being updated and regularly maintained.  The Council can plan refuse rounds on the map, with addresses being selected either within a polygon drawn by an operative, or by ward, postcode, street or individual household. 

The Council’s field operatives have benefitted too as they are now able to work more efficiently due to consistency of information and being able to find locations immediately.

Matt says his organisation has an “excellent” business relationship with CADline.  “They are a much valued partner who listen to our needs and work accordingly, staying engaged and keeping us informed throughout the website planning and development work.  They really take ownership of the system they have developed before, during and after implementation.”

In order to keep costs to a minimum, Matt is keen to ensure that technology is multi-purpose where possible.  He is now working with CADline to use the Rounds Application idea for lumber collection, to streamline the collection of large or bulky items of refuse such as white goods and furniture, along with establishing catchment areas for respective services.  In addition, CADline is continuing to work with Lewisham Council on the way they deliver services to customers.

About CADline

CADline Ltd. has over 20 years’ experience in developing web mapping and GIS applications. Its proprietary software, MapThat, is a cost effective web mapping tool for public sector intranet and internet map solutions. Its ease of use and flexibility allows organisation wide adoption within local authorities. This same functionality makes MapThat a perfect business intelligence tool for private enterprises that need to visualise, manage and query their business data on a geographical map.

CADline Ltd is also one of a handful of Autodesk Platinum accredited partners globally, specialising in the supply of innovative design technology and associated consultancy, integration and professional services. 

Our credentials are best in class and to achieve our many accreditations and certifications it is necessary to have an educated, motivated and organised team. We are committed to, and invest heavily in, the training and development of our staff.

It is this team of people that have trained over 50,000 people, maintained over 7000 support contracts and service level agreements and managed the implementation of over 200 projects including both the largest Autodesk implementation in the UK and globally.

It is this enthusiastic and dynamic team that also provide a full range of consultancy and professional IT Services to ensure that your investment demonstrates a return in the shortest time possible.
 

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The publication of AGI member press releases is a member service. The AGI neither approves or endorses the contents of member's press releases, nor makes any assurance of their factual accuracy.