SocietyWorks provides dedicated FixMyStreet Pro service for Aberdeenshire Council
Aberdeenshire Council is the latest local authority to switch to a fully integrated version of FixMyStreet Pro for managing street, highway and environment fault reports from members of the public.
A brand new, customised FixMyStreet Pro service has been launched by SocietyWorks for Aberdeenshire Council to create a better and more efficient reporting experience.
Designed as a progressive web app, FixMyStreet Pro enables Aberdeenshire to offer a digital service accessible from any device, either as a web page or downloaded to a home screen as an app, and includes offline reporting functionality.
The initial launch includes an API integration into the Council’s existing asset management system Confirm, enabling report data and updates to be shared to and from report-makers automatically. This integration also enables assets such as bridges, drains and streetlights to be displayed on the map for increased report accuracy.
The launch also includes an integration between FixMyStreet Pro and mygov.scot, giving residents and council staff the ability to log in to Abderseenshire’s FixMyStreet Pro service using existing council credentials.
To help Aberdeenshire Council reduce duplication and increase transparency, FixMyStreet Pro displays all reports on the map and suggests potential duplicates to users at the point of making a report, with an option to subscribe to the existing report.
Additionally, the service has been connected with the Scottish Road Works Register to display scheduled roadworks and utility works on the map, aiming to eliminate unnecessary contact.
Meanwhile, should a user attempt to report a problem outside of Aberdeenshire’s boundary, the service will divert the report to the correct authority via the national FixMyStreet service, run by SocietyWorks’ parent charity mySociety.
Bill Lennox, Roads Manager at Aberdeenshire Council, said:
“Aberdeenshire Council recognised a need to improve the customer experience when they contacted us about road related issues. The historic system developed in house had limited functionality and poor integration with our asset management system. For residents, this made the process of notifying us of defects and being updated on progress unsatisfactory.
“We have been working with SocietyWorks to introduce FixMyStreet Pro. This system will integrate with the Council’s website and app to provide a much more streamlined experience for customers. The improvements will mean that customers have greater sight of issues in their area, they will be kept up to date on progress, and they will be provided with more relevant information about the topic they have raised.
“From a maintenance perspective we expect far fewer duplicate enquiries from customers and fewer requests for updates on repair progress. All of this will be delivered by close integration with our asset management system, which means staff will not be required to undertake any additional tasks as part of their day to day working.”
Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said:
“When it comes to providing public-facing reporting services for local problems, councils and highways authorities need technology that enables them to work together while keeping citizens at the front and centre.
“As a small social enterprise owned by a charity, it is wonderful to have Aberdeenshire Council’s trust in transforming its highways service provision through our FixMyStreet Pro solution.
“This launch is the first of its kind in Scotland, with Dumfries and Galloway also in development, and represents a new chapter in FixMyStreet Pro’s history. I look forward to following Aberdeenshire’s progress with the new service and adding their influence to FixMyStreet Pro’s future.”
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FixMyStreet Pro integration with CAMS for Buckinghamshire Council
A new API integration has been completed between Buckinghamshire Council’s instance of FixMyStreet Pro and the Idox Geospatial Countryside Asset Management System (CAMS), used by the council to manage its public rights of way data.
This integration enables report categories for problems relating to public rights of way, such as broken gates and missing signposts, to be introduced into FixMyStreet Pro for Buckinghamshire.
“The integration will provide greater visibility of existing reports, reduce duplicate reports and improve accuracy of reporting through map based assets.”
– Cameron Barrett, FixMyStreet Product Manager at Buckinghamshire Council
Such reports, including any images uploaded by the report-maker, are sent directly into CAMS to be responded to by the appropriate teams.
Updates made to reports by council staff within CAMS are returned to FixMyStreet Pro, with details shared automatically via email to the report-maker and any subscribers.
Response templates managed by staff within the FixMyStreet Pro administration dashboard correspond to different status updates within CAMS, making it easy to respond to reports in user-friendly language, helping to manage expectations and keep the feedback loop closed.
The CAMS integration is one of several with Buckinghamshire’s FixMyStreet Pro, which was implemented in 2018. Existing integrations include the Causeway Alloy asset management system for highways reports, the Abavus My Council Services (MCS) CRM system for street cleaning and other environment reports and EvoClaim, the solution used by the council to manage claims from residents for injury or damage sustained to vehicles or property on a highway.
Cameron Barrett, FixMyStreet Product Manager at Buckinghamshire Council said:
“FixMyStreet Pro has been Buckinghamshire Highways’ online reporting tool since 2018. We have continued to develop FixMyStreet by integrating with our Street Scene operations as well as Parks.
“Rights of way presented an opportunity for integration identified through high volumes of Rights of way enquiries that were being submitted via “Best fit” categories on FixMyStreet and subsequently being closed and internally redirected.
“The integration will provide greater visibility of existing reports, reduce duplicate reports and improve accuracy of reporting through map based assets.
“The team at SocietyWorks and Idox have been fantastic in supporting this project and prioritising customer needs throughout.”
Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said:
“The delivery of modern public services requires a unified approach. It has been a pleasure to support Buckinghamshire Council with another integration into their co-branded version of FixMyStreet Pro.
“I would like to thank everyone involved in this project at Buckinghamshire, Idox Geospatial and here at SocietyWorks for their dedication to delivering interoperable services that help councils bridge data gaps and improve the user experiences of members of the public.”
David Bennett, CAMS Consultant, Idox Geospatial said:
“This integration makes it easier for residents to report public rights of way issues and helps the Council respond more efficiently.
“We’re proud to have worked with Buckinghamshire and SocietyWorks to connect CAMS with FixMyStreet Pro and improve the experience for everyone involved.”
Joanne Taylor, Rights of Way Operations Manager at Buckinghamshire Council, said:
“This is an important development; the integrated link between FixMyStreet and Countryside Access Management systems will streamline the customer journey, enabling the Rights of Way Operations Team to provide up to date progression on defects recorded on the Rights of Way network, via both the Rights of Way online map and FixMyStreet.”
Bulky waste added to London Borough of Bexley’s WasteWorks service
The next stage of our phased rollout of WasteWorks for the London Borough of Bexley has been completed, incorporating into the service the ability for residents to sign up to and pay for a bulky waste collection.
API integrations into the Whitespace Work Software in-cab system and the Capita Pay360 payment service used by Bexley enable a self-service workflow for residents and for staff using WasteWorks on behalf of those who need support.
As with all co-branded instances of WasteWorks, Bexley’s version of the service has been configured to meet its exact requirements.
“Residents now benefit from a modernised booking system that replaces the previous workaround via the Contact Centre, reducing call volumes and improving self-service access.”
– London Borough of Bexley
For the bulky waste functionality, as well as standard features such as the ability to check available collection slots before finalising a booking, Bexley also benefits from enhanced, council-specific features, including a pricing structure based on points and alternative pricing for state pension recipients. Additional alternative pricing will be made available for Saturday collections.
WasteWorks also enables Bexley to provide residents with collection reference numbers, and email notifications for confirmations, cancellations, status updates and reminders. The service also collects accurate information on the location and accessibility of items to be collected for collection teams.
The addition of bulky waste to Bexley’s WasteWorks service means that residents can now use it to access the following services:
- Check bin days on-demand;
- Track the status of collections;
- Add waste collection days to a smartphone or computer online calendar (they update automatically when changes are made);
- Report missed collections;
- Request a new rubbish or recycling bin;
- Request a replacement bin;
- Request the removal of a bin (without needing to request a new one);
- Sign up and pay for a bulky waste collection.
Supporting statement from the London Borough of Bexley:
“The London Borough of Bexley is proud to announce the successful implementation of the Special Bulky Waste service into WasteWorks, delivered by SocietyWorks. This milestone marks a significant enhancement in the borough’s digital waste management capabilities, offering residents a streamlined and user-friendly way to book and pay for bulky waste collections online.
“The project, delivered in close collaboration with SocietyWorks, Bexley’s Digital Team, Contact Centre and Environmental Services, has been met with enthusiastic uptake since its launch.
“Residents now benefit from a modernised booking system that replaces the previous workaround via the Contact Centre, reducing call volumes and improving self-service access.”
About WasteWorks
WasteWorks launched in 2021 and was co-designed with the London Borough of Bromley, where its intelligent features have helped the Council to achieve a 40% drop in avoidable customer contacts about waste services.
Shortlisted for the Public/Private Partnership Award at the LGC Awards 2022, WasteWorks is designed as a Progressive Web App (PWA). This means it functions beautifully on any device, and can be downloaded to mobile devices to be used as an app, without the need to maintain a separate app codebase.
WasteWorks maintains consistency while Kingston and Sutton update integrated in–cab system
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.”
FixMyStreet Pro integration with Alloy for Bristol City Council
A new integration has been completed between Bristol City Council’s installation of FixMyStreet Pro and their Alloy asset management system.
The integration enables reports relating to street cleansing issues made via Bristol’s FixMyStreet Pro service and those made via the national FixMyStreet site to be sent directly into Alloy, along with accurate map location data and supporting information.
With both systems connected via an API, any updates or status changes made by authorised council staff or contractors to street cleansing reports in Alloy can be sent back to report-makers, as well as to anyone subscribed to the report, helping to close the feedback loop and manage expectations.
Likewise, any updates made to reports by users on FixMyStreet or Bristol’s FixMyStreet Pro are shared back to Alloy.
Councillor Martin Fodor, Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee at Bristol City Council, said: “We’re delighted that this new integration will enable Bristol City Council to deliver a more comprehensive service for residents via FixMyStreet.
“Securing greater communication between FixMyStreet and council services will allow people to report street scene issues directly into our systems, meaning jobs are sent to the appropriate team quickly with a higher degree of accuracy, and with jobs not for the council making their way to the right organisation.
“These improvements to the council’s FixMyStreet integration and processes should result in residents seeing a difference made to the cleanliness of Bristol’s streets.”
In control of integrations
For non-street cleansing issues, there is an existing integration in place for Bristol, historically set-up and run by the council using an open standard endpoint which provides a two-way flow of such reports into and out of their Confirm highways asset management system.
The addition of the Alloy integration for street cleansing issues is a great example of how councils can connect with FixMyStreet in different ways to best suit their needs and service areas – either by having us manage an integration for them, setting it up themselves, or, like Bristol, doing a bit of both!
Reports are triaged by FixMyStreet according to their location and category.
In addition to triaging between Bristol’s own systems, the software also recognises when an issue is not the responsibility of the council and diverts reports accordingly, either by sending them directly to another FixMyStreet Pro-using authority (including National Highways) or by redirecting the user to the national FixMyStreet site.
Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said: “Interoperability is a core element of our proposition to the public sector.
“We are really pleased to be supporting Bristol City Council as they take advantage of FixMyStreet Pro’s flexibility and integrate it with another of their systems to make managing street cleansing reports easier and more efficient.”
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Single sign-on (SSO) integrations with SocietyWorks solutions
Part of our promise to our public sector customers is that we will integrate our solutions with any combination of back office systems.
This commitment to facilitating interoperability extends to single sign-on (SSO) identity providers, such as Google Workspace or Microsoft Entra ID (formerly known as Azure Active Directory).
SSO integrations into our solutions enable councils and other public sector organisations to make it easier for authorised staff to log in using existing SSO credentials.
Existing SSO accounts for residents can also be incorporated into the integration, meaning they only ever need to have one set of log-in details to access digital council services.
Integration with SSO also reduces the administration associated with setting up staff user accounts for larger teams. Existing account roles associated with an authority staff member’s SSO identity can be mapped to corresponding roles on, say, FixMyStreet Pro or WasteWorks, to automate the account creation and permission-setting process.
To connect with an SSO identity provider, we use an OpenID Connect-compliant endpoint.
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For customers wanting to discuss setting up an SSO integration into your installation of a SocietyWorks solution, please speak to your account manager.
If you’re not yet a customer of SocietyWorks but you would like to find out more, you can request a demo with our team.
New integration for Camden Council’s FixMyStreet Pro keeps residents updated on tree reports
A new integration has been completed into Camden Council’s FixMyStreet Pro service to enable reports of problems relating to trees to be sent directly into Confirm OnDemand, the asset management system used by Camden to manage its tree assets.
Being able to send reports directly into Confirm OnDemand instead of via email means FixMyStreet Pro can receive automatic updates to be shared with report-makers, helping Camden to manage expectations, improve the user experience and reduce failure demand.
The integration also enables the display of individual trees on the FixMyStreet Pro map via an asset layer, which helps report-makers accurately select the tree they need to report.
Camden Council’s FixMyStreet Pro service launched in 2023 and is already integrated with Symology Insight for the seamless sharing of report data for other street, highway and environment defect categories.
Ilesh Chavda, Head of Applications at Camden Council, said: “We’re really pleased to have integrated FixMyStreet Pro with our Confirm OnDemand back-office solution. This will help to create a more efficient and seamless experience for our citizens, when it comes to reporting Tree-related faults.”
Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said: “Among its many benefits is FixMyStreet Pro’s ability to bridge gaps between different local authority service areas, while at the same time being able to flex around the individual needs of those services. We’re pleased to have been able to support Camden in extending the functionality of their FixMyStreet Pro service and creating consistency for users.”
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Find out more about FixMyStreet Pro or contact us to request a demo with the team.
Integrating FixMyStreet Pro with Microsoft Entra ID for Transport for London
A new integration has been completed between FixMyStreet Pro and Microsoft Entra ID (formerly known as Azure Active Directory) for Transport for London (TfL).
Using an OpenID Connect-compliant endpoint, the integration enables TfL staff user accounts on FixMyStreet Pro to be securely linked to TfL’s Entra ID.
This makes it easier and faster for authorised staff to log in to the FixMyStreet Pro administration dashboard, from which they can access different features depending on their account type permissions.
It also means that roles are automatically synced between the two systems, with a user’s assigned role and account access on Entra ID automatically reflected in FixMyStreet Pro. This increases security and decreases the administrative burden for authorities who provide access to large teams.
FixMyStreet Pro’s administration features include:
- Viewing all reports
- Editing or updating reports
- Making reports on behalf of members of the public who call or email the contact centre
- Assigning reports to inspectors
- Creating and editing response templates
- Viewing and exporting report data for analysis
Helping care for London’s streets
TfL’s FixMyStreet Pro service, known as Streetcare, allows members of the public to report problems such as potholes, faulty street lights and damaged bus shelters on London’s roads straight to the highway authority.
Through FixMyStreet Pro’s connection to the national FixMyStreet service, it is capable of triaging reports of problems that are not the responsibility of TfL to the correct borough council or, in some areas, the responsible housing association.
Users who don’t realise the problem they want to report via Streetcare cannot be addressed by TfL will be diverted to the national FixMyStreet site. Meanwhile, reports of abandoned hire bikes and scooters are sent directly to the correct operator.
FixMyStreet Pro works this out on behalf of report-makers according to the location and category of the problem, mitigating against the creation of failure demand. This is particularly helpful in places like London where a vast number of authorities are responsible for overlapping issues.
Vice versa, it is possible for reports of problems that are the responsibility of TfL made via a council or other authority’s own instance of FixMyStreet Pro to be automatically diverted. See below an example of how this works on the London Borough of Bexley’s FixMyStreet Pro service, which allows users to make reports using Bexley’s site, but sends them to TfL:
Wherever you are in the UK, FixMyStreet Pro can help you to provide a more efficient, intuitive and streamlined reporting service. Find out more.
Integrating FixMyStreet Pro with Abavus My Council Services for Buckinghamshire Council
Buckinghamshire Council has been using FixMyStreet Pro to manage inbound street, highway and environment fault reports since 2018.
Last year we shared the news that two new integrations had been completed into Buckinghamshire’s FixMyStreet Pro service: one into Causeway’s Alloy asset management system and the other into DWF’s EvoClaim system.
Following this, a third integration has been implemented between FixMyStreet Pro and the Abavus My Council Services (MCS) CRM system, which was introduced by Buckinghamshire for handling customer queries, such as street cleaning and other environment reports.
Integrating the MCS system with FixMyStreet Pro means residents will now be able to enjoy the same user-friendly experience when reporting street cleaning and environment problems as they do for other local issues, while staff can manage the relationship from MCS in the background.
“This project has made such a difference to our staff. It’s truly innovative and significantly enhances the ease with which people can work. The impact has been really positive.”
– Callum Lynam, Buckinghamshire Council’s Customer Improvement Manager
As with all integrations into FixMyStreet Pro, the MCS integration provides a two-way exchange of data, with changes made in one system automatically updated and reflected directly in the other.
For residents, there is no difference in the user experience when reporting an issue that will be sent to MCS or to Alloy; all of the complicated triaging is handled by FixMyStreet Pro behind the scenes.
For more information about FixMyStreet Pro, get in touch.
Small items collection functionality added to WasteWorks
In collaboration with Brent Council we have added some new functionality to WasteWorks which enables residents to book a waste collection for small items including batteries and textiles.
WasteWorks is our front end residential waste platform designed with and for councils to provide simple online access for residents to information about their waste collections. It has the flexibility not just to integrate with any in-cab system or payment provider, but to also easily incorporate extra elements of a waste service as required by councils, including bulky waste, green garden waste, assisted collections, and now small items collections.
The new small items collection functionality was built for Brent Council’s installation of WasteWorks. Now, along with being able to view and download their waste collection schedules, report problems, request new containers and pay for garden waste subscriptions, residents in Brent can also use WasteWorks to access the council’s free bookable small items collection service.
Integrated with the Selected Interventions Echo in-cab system used by Brent Council’s waste contractor Veolia, WasteWorks takes residents through an intuitive request workflow within which they can select from a list of items included in the small items collection service and book a time slot according to availability. Each request created via WasteWorks is automatically sent into Echo for staff and contractors to manage directly.
Using this feature, residents can also cancel a booking for a small item collection, or report that a collection has been missed. The integration between WasteWorks and Echo will allow the council to keep residents informed on the progress of their requests and reports.
Councillor Krupa Sheth, Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure, and Climate Action, said: “We want to make it as easy as possible for residents to get rid of your items in the most environmentally friendly way possible, as well as making it easy as possible. I welcome this partnership and look forward to working with SocietyWorks on this service.”
Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks said: “We take pride in the fact that each of our digital solutions is developed in collaboration with councils. This new feature of WasteWorks built in partnership with Brent Council is another great example of how the product continues to grow in line with the needs of councils and their residents.”
Find out more about WasteWorks or if you’re an existing WasteWorks client and you’d like to use this new feature please speak to your account manager.