Being a supplier of technology that sits at the frontend of public services, one of the key promises we make to our customers is that we will accommodate the need for changes made to any backend systems with which we integrate while keeping things consistent for members of the public.
A recent example of this is the work we’ve been doing in collaboration with the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames and the London Borough of Sutton.
Both councils use our WasteWorks solution to manage online access to residential waste services and have been navigating a migration to a new version of their integrated in-cab system Echo.
In-cab integrations
For both councils, an API integration between WasteWorks and the Selected Interventions Echo in-cab system, used by the two councils’ waste provider Veolia, facilitates a two-way flow of data from council, to supplier, to resident and back again.
This enables residents to self-serve access to real-time data in order to:
- Check their bin days;
- Monitor whether their bin has been collected yet;
- Find out why a collection was not taken;
- Report problems with collections;
- Request new or extra containers;
- Pay for subscriptions to green and bulky waste collections;
- And more according to the needs of the individual council.
As we do with any new integration, we worked in partnership with the teams at each council to map out the processes needed for sharing data to and from their new versions of Echo and test them out in staging.
Taking this approach means we can ensure everything works as expected so that, upon turning one integration off and turning the new one on, residents using the councils’ branded installations of WasteWorks are unaware anything has changed.
Adaptable technology
No two councils use WasteWorks or their integrated systems in exactly the same way – even ones that are neighbours and share the same in-cab system like Kingston and Sutton.
For Kingston, the integration with its updated installation of Echo incorporates a new pricing structure for new container requests. Payments for Kingston are facilitated via their integrated payment provider Capita Pay360.
A spokesperson at Kingston Council said: “We are ambitious in our plans to further enhance waste and recycling services while advancing our green credentials.
“Kingston has the fourth highest recycling rate in London, with over 840,000 collections taking place monthly.
“We are pleased to be continuing to work alongside WasteWorks to deliver an efficient and reliable service for our residents.”
Meanwhile, Sutton’s updated integration with Echo incorporates numerous other changes including the ability for residents to report a spillage incident or the misplacement of a bin following a collection.
Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said: “Residential waste services require flexibility and we are very committed to providing it through WasteWorks.
“I am proud that we have been able to support the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames and the London Borough of Sutton through this changeover period, accommodating their individual needs while maintaining business as usual standards of service for residents.”