Blog posts about News

Dudley Council has selected SocietyWorks’ FixMyStreet Pro solution as its new platform for the reporting of street and highway problems, complete with integration with the Symology Insight asset management system.  

With an immediate priority to improve the way pothole reports are managed, the service will be launched for Dudley in phases, the first of which will cover only pothole reporting. A wider service, incorporating other highway fault categories, will be rolled out over the coming months.  

Dudley’s FixMyStreet Pro service will be integrated with its existing asset management system Symology Insight, with updates shared to and from each system whenever a report’s status changes to close the feedback loop.  

Existing reports will be shown on the map, with potential duplicates suggested to users for them to subscribe to instead of re-reporting. 

Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said: “Potholes represent an enormous and ongoing challenge for the public sector, so it’s essential that authorities can access intuitive and responsible technology that enables them to respond to reports from members of the public in an accessible, cost-effective and sustainable way.

“It’s wonderful to have Dudley’s trust in delivering this project at pace, harnessing the flexibility of FixMyStreet Pro to focus on specific service areas before adopting further categories into the platform to unlock further transformative impact.”

The Canal & River Trust has chosen SocietyWorks’ FixMyStreet Pro solution as its new platform for the reporting of national waterway and towpath issues, complete with integration with its fault management system, SugarCRM, and Microsoft Entra ID for single sign-on.

The Canal & River Trust looks after 2,000 miles of canals and rivers across England and Wales. With such a vast network to maintain, reports from boaters and other members of the public about issues on, in and around canals, rivers and towpaths play a vital role in helping the charity to carry out its work. However, it’s not always easy for people to know when a problem is the Canal & River Trusts’ responsibility, and when it’s that of a local authority or other public body, with high potential for misreporting, delays and disengagement.

Understanding this, the Canal & River Trust wanted to provide an easy way for people to report problems accurately, and to have those reports along with any associated photos and other necessary details sent directly into its management system, so it chose to procure a dedicated version of FixMyStreet Pro.

From stuck lock mechanisms and damaged bridges to water contamination and overgrown vegetation, FixMyStreet Pro’s map-based technology will provide a simple and intuitive way for boaters and other users of waterways and towpaths to report problems and receive updates on the issue’s journey toward resolution.

As a networked service connected to the national FixMyStreet site, issues which are not the responsibility of the Canal & River Trust will be diverted based on the location and category selected within the report. Likewise, issues reported via FixMyStreet or one of our other council cobrand instances of FixMyStreet Pro which should go to the Canal & River Trust will be triaged, helping to improve the user experience and reduce avoidable and inaccurate contact for all parties.

Integrated with SugarCRM, updates will be sent automatically to and from FixMyStreet Pro. A second integration with Microsoft Entra ID will enable both staff and public users to use a single sign-on method when logging in.

A progressive web app, FixMyStreet Pro works on all devices and even allows for reports to be started while offline, which will be handy for reporting in areas where connectivity is unreliable.

Users will benefit from being able to see existing reports on the map, and will have potential duplicates suggested to them at the point of reporting, with the option to subscribe to the existing report. Asset layers provided by the Canal & River Trust will be applied to the map to help increase accuracy when reporting in certain categories, while reports in other categories will require extra information to be provided by the report-maker to help triage the report.

Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said: “Extending the scope of FixMyStreet to incorporate reporting along waterways and towpaths is such an important and exciting development for members of the public and for authorities.

“We’re exceptionally pleased to be working with the Canal & River Trust on this project. Building on nearly twenty years of experience, the charity has recognised the reliable and transformative nature of FixMyStreet Pro, sharing in our belief that reporting problems to help care for our local communities should be as easy as possible.”

—

Image: Miguel Saddi Vitorino on Pexels

The next stage of our phased rollout of WasteWorks for the London Borough of Bexley has been completed, incorporating the ability for residents to securely access services related to clinical waste. 

Facilitated through integration with the Whitespace Work Software in-cab system, Bexley’s WasteWorks provides an intuitive self-service workflow for residents with an existing registration to clinical waste collections to report a problem with their collection. Where a registration does not exist, WasteWorks links to the council’s clinical waste enquiry form. 

For sharps boxes, any resident can book a collection for their property. WasteWorks collects information from the user regarding the box(es) included in the collection and whether any replacements are required. Bookings made via WasteWorks are reflected in the in-cab system, and a reference number is provided for the user, along with a confirmation email.

WasteWorks sends email reminders to users, and notifies users if a collection is not able to be completed, including a reason for why. 

Clinical waste services can be accessed from the homepage of WasteWorks, from which users can see information about all other waste collections associated with their property. For the purpose of privacy, only Bexley staff members are able to see if a property has a clinical waste or sharps box collection scheduled for a property’s address. 

The addition of clinical 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);
• Subscribe to the garden waste collection service;
• Book a bulky waste collection;
• Book a sharps box collection.

A spokesperson from the London Borough of Bexley said:

“The London Borough of Bexley is proud to announce the successful implementation of the Clinical Waste service into WasteWorks, delivered in partnership with Society Works.

“This milestone marks a significant enhancement in the borough’s digital waste management capabilities, providing residents with a streamlined and user-friendly way to book sharps collections and manage scheduled clinical waste collections online.

“The project, delivered in close collaboration between SocietyWorks, Bexley’s Digital Team, and Environmental Services, has seen strong uptake since launch. Residents now benefit from a modernised booking system, with the ability to view and report on scheduled clinical waste collections, improving transparency and accessibility.”

Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said:

“Bexley is the first of our WasteWorks clients to introduce clinical waste into the service and it is great to see the functionality go live. Working with the team at Bexley has been a genuine pleasure, keeping pace with their needs and ensuring each new phase of the WasteWorks project is exactly what they need to provide an intuitive service for residents.”

—

For more information about WasteWorks, please get in touch.

A new API integration between FixMyStreet Pro and the DVLA Vehicle Enquiry Service (VES) enables reports of abandoned vehicles to be triaged according to whether the vehicle is taxed or not, helping authorities to reduce avoidable contact and process reports more efficiently.

Once enabled for an authority’s dedicated version of FixMyStreet Pro, the integration with the VES adds a new step into the reporting process for abandoned vehicles. Users are asked to provide the registration number (if known) of the vehicle they want to report, which then calls on the VES API to check the tax status of the vehicle in question.

Depending on the recipient authority’s criteria for accepting abandoned vehicle reports, FixMyStreet Pro can either share information with the user and disable the form, or include information from the VES about the vehicle before guiding the user through some additional questions to help support the report’s resolution.

Integrating with the VES for Bristol City Council

This new feature can be configured to match any authority’s individual approach to abandoned vehicles.

Bristol City Council, for example, only wants to receive abandoned vehicle reports for vehicles that are not taxed, whereas other authorities may still want to know about them, even if they may not be able to action a resolution.

Once a user has provided the vehicle’s registration number, Bristol City Council’s FixMyStreet Pro fetches information about the vehicle from the VES. If the vehicle is untaxed, the user will be able to continue with the report. The integration automatically pulls the vehicle’s details into the form to help speed up the reporting process and ensure information passed on to enforcement teams is accurate. 

On the other hand, if the vehicle is taxed the report form will be locked and the user will be advised of how else to seek support.

If the vehicle registration number is not known by the user, they can still make a report, but it will be logged as such and the user will need to manually input details about the vehicle.

In some cases, the location of the vehicle and/or the subcategory selected for the report dictates which authority is responsible for responding, regardless of tax status. Bristol City Council uses FixMyStreet Pro’s site messaging feature to inform users as appropriate and signpost to where the user can go to find more information and support.

Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said:

“The DVLA VES integration is another great example of FixMyStreet Pro’s commitment to interoperability and to making the reporting of local problems as easy and effective as possible for both report-makers and the authorities receiving them.

“Abandoned vehicles can be a cause of real nuisance to members of the public, so helping to ensure that efforts to report them are not in vain, and that the correct information can be provided at the correct time is essential.” 

The DVLA VES API integration is available to all FixMyStreet Pro clients, and can be customised according to individual processes for responding to reports of abandoned vehicles. 

If you are an existing client and would like to discuss setting up an integration, please speak to your account manager. If you are not yet a client of FixMyStreet Pro but you’re interested in chatting about how it works, please get in touch.  

We have implemented a change to the way FixMyStreet Pro’s response templates work, enabling you to deactivate them if you need to.

FixMyStreet Pro’s response templates enable council staff with the appropriate permissions to create and edit pre-written responses to be sent to report-makers according to the category and status of a report. 

Alternatively, templates can be automatically assigned via integration with backend systems or Open311. This means that when FixMyStreet Pro pulls a state-changing update from your system(s), and there is a matching template set up within the integration, then that template will automatically be applied. 

Deactivating response templates

Following feedback from our council clients, we have pushed live a change giving staff with the appropriate permissions the ability to temporarily deactivate templates so that, if you need to stop using a template, you don’t have to lose it by deleting it.

This is particularly useful for when responses to reports in certain categories change throughout the year. For example, you may want to have different versions of templates for reports about grit bins, disabling any that aren’t relevant within the summer months.

Each template within the administration dashboard now has a new checkbox labelled ‘Inactive’. When checked, this template will not be used for incoming Open311 updates, nor will it be available for selection by staff when adding updates manually.

___

For more information about FixMyStreet Pro, drop us a message and we’ll get back to you.

A new feature has been made available to councils using FixMyStreet Pro, enabling the display of notices containing ward-specific information only when a user drops a map pin within a certain area and category.

This is useful for communicating effectively with report-makers and managing expectations in situations where fault reports within a category may be handled differently depending on the ward in which the problem has been found.

For example, upon attempting to make a report about overgrown grass within a certain ward using Gloucester City Council’s FixMyStreet Pro, users are shown a message explaining how their report will be dealt with in this area.

Ward messaging can be applied to any categories via the administration dashboard. Councils wanting to implement this can open a ticket requesting which ward(s) and categories they want to display a message for, and the text they want to use.

Messaging can be added to FixMyStreet Pro sites in various different places and for different purposes, such as to share out of hours information, or to signpost to other services.

For more information about how FixMyStreet Pro works, get in touch.

___

Image: GeoJango Maps via Pexels

Dumfries and Galloway Council has chosen FixMyStreet Pro for its new digital reporting service for local street and highway-based faults. 

Development has been completed by SocietyWorks on a brand new, dedicated installation of FixMyStreet Pro for Dumfries and Galloway Council, complete with integration with its asset management system Causeway One Asset Management (formerly known as Alloy).

Branded to complement the Council’s existing online environment and optimised to work on any device, FixMyStreet Pro enables users to report problems across Dumfries and Galloway’s road network, such as potholes or issues with road signs and street lighting. 

Reports are sent directly into the asset management system to be picked up by the appropriate team, and updates, including photos of completed works taken by on-the-ground crews, are sent automatically back to report-makers to keep them informed of progress.

Existing reports are displayed on the map to help users see what has already been reported. Potential duplicates are suggested to users when a new report’s location and category match an existing report, with the user encouraged to subscribe to the existing one if they would like to track its progress.

Dumfries and Galloway’s FixMyStreet Pro service is also connected to the Scottish Road Works Register, allowing for the display of planned roadworks and utility works on the map to further help minimise avoidable contact. 

As with all instances of FixMyStreet Pro, reports that are not the responsibility of the Council are automatically diverted via the national FixMyStreet site. Meanwhile, the Council can display or request additional information for reports within certain categories to help triage reports faster and more efficiently.

Speaking about the launch of FixMyStreet Pro, Dumfries & Galloway’s Roads Maintenance Manager said:

“Implementing FixMyStreet Pro reflects our commitment to improving the customer experience for reporting road related issues across Dumfries and Galloway. We wanted a solution that makes it easier for residents to report problems, improves the accuracy of information we receive, and provides greater openness and transparency around how reports are managed. FixMyStreet Pro delivers exactly that.
 
“By integrating this userfriendly reporting tool with our internal workflows, we will improve the quality of information available to our teams, reduce duplication, and increase visibility of how reported defects are managed. Ultimately, FixMyStreet Pro will enhance the customer experience by making it easier and more intuitive to report defects, understand the repair process and receive updates enabling residents to track progress with greater confidence and transparency.” 

Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said:

“Making reporting problems on our roads as simple and effective as possible has always been at the heart of FixMyStreet Pro. 

“We’re delighted to have Dumfries and Galloway Council put its trust in the software to help improve the way reports of local street and highway faults are handled, and look forward to welcoming the team there to our user groups to influence the future of the service.” 

—

Find out more about FixMyStreet Pro.

SocietyWorks has completed a project working in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) to digitise all of its highway licence application forms, using the same intuitive and user-friendly technology behind its existing highway fault reporting service, Streetcare, which is powered by FixMyStreet Pro.

The new forms, built using our new FixMyStreet Forms offering, replace Microsoft Word forms with an online interface through which applicants can submit applications for highway licences without needing to manually download, complete and send each application. 

Mapped to correspond to the individual process behind each licence, users are guided through a simple workflow which ensures all the required information is provided at the correct time, making it easier and faster for applicants to submit successful applications. 

Form submissions and any attachments are sent directly to TfL’s Asset Operations Licensing team, who benefit from the elimination of manual intervention and follow-ups where written responses were unclear. 

Where payment is required as part of a highway licence application, users are automatically redirected to Paybylink to complete their payment, before receiving a confirmation and summary of their application.

Speaking about the project, TfL’s Revenue & Licensing Manager said: 

“We approached SocietyWorks while looking for a way to modernise our online licence forms and payments. From the outset, the team were focused on finding the right solution for us, not just selling a product.

“They worked collaboratively throughout to turn complex paper processes into intuitive digital forms and their project management, responsiveness and genuine commitment to improving the customer journey has been outstanding.

“We’re now moving from a previously frustrating customer experience to what we believe will be one of the best.”

Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said:

“Over the last two decades, we have seen time and again how it is often the most simple digital transitions that create the most impactful transformation for authorities and the people they serve. 

“It has been wonderful to have TfL’s trust in supporting the digitisation of its online forms, giving users the same quality of online experience when applying for a highway licence as they have come to expect when reporting a problem on the highway.”

About FixMyStreet Forms

FixMyStreet Forms enables authorities using FixMyStreet Pro, our street, highway and environment fault reporting service, to digitise forms for related services, such as for highway licence applications. 

The functionality was originally designed for Buckinghamshire Council’s dedicated FixMyStreet Pro service to enable staff members to complete private forms relating to compensation claims for injury or damage sustained to vehicles or property on a highway.

FixMyStreet Forms is a lightweight version of our ApplyWorks solution, which is designed for authorities needing to handle more complex management of application forms, complete with a case management system. 

For more information about how we can support your application needs, send us a message and we’ll get back to you. 

SocietyWorks has completed a new integration between the national FixMyStreet site and Enfield Borough Council’s Verint System. 

Making use of open data standards, reports from members of the public made via FixMyStreet are now sent directly into Verint, from where they are triaged between the Council’s Exor and Assure systems according to the reporting category selected.

As well as removing the need to manually re-key emails into Verint, the integration also allows Enfield to mirror the reporting processes followed via its other reporting channels, and to provide updates to users on their reports.

Using both the FixMyStreet website and app, users can now make reports of any street-based problems within the Enfield boundary, selecting from an extended list of categories specific to Enfield. 

All reports made to Enfield via FixMyStreet are displayed on the map to help reduce duplication and create visibility of action. Being a networked service, FixMyStreet ensures reports that should go to neighbouring councils or other authorities (such as TfL) are automatically diverted.

The integration with FixMyStreet marks the start of a transformational journey for Enfield, harnessing existing open technology to ensure reporting local problems is as easy as possible across a wide range of platforms, while eliminating avoidable rekeying, expensive emails and broken feedback loops.

Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said: “Engaging with interoperable platforms and removing barriers to reporting for members of the public is a smart way for councils to improve processes and foster better community engagement. 

“We’re really pleased to have worked with Enfield Borough Council on this project, which will not only give local people more choice over reporting local problems, but will also ensure reports always go to the correct place.”

Integrating with FixMyStreet using open data standards, like our own Open311 API, gives councils the flexibility to connect with FixMyStreet, enjoying all of the benefits of being part of a secure, maintained and joined-up reporting service, while also retaining their own existing processes and other systems. 

A new feature has been released for FixMyStreet giving users the option to start their reports with a photo, the data from which can be extracted to speed up the reporting process.

As well as making the reporting process quicker, this new functionality should also increase the accuracy of reports, removing the need for users who can’t or don’t want to report the problem at its location to remember exactly where it was at a later point in time.

Where a photo has been taken using a smartphone with geo-tagging enabled, FixMyStreet can now use the data stored in the uploaded photo to identify the location of the problem the user wants to report. 

Once uploaded, FixMyStreet will display a map with a pin dropped at the location identified. Users then have the option to either move the map pin if necessary, or continue with the report.

If a user does not have photo geo-tagging turned on, or the device they are using is not compatible with this functionality, they can still begin reports with a photo, but they will also need to identify the location of the problem either through GPS (if currently at the location) or using a postcode, street name or area.

Users can still report problems on FixMyStreet without using a photo if they can’t take one or don’t have one.

Photo-first reporting has been rolled out across the FixMyStreet website and app, as well as to all cobranded instances of FixMyStreet Pro.

_

Got a question about photo-first reporting on FixMyStreet? Get in touch.