governmenttel: 0845 345 5222 fax: 0207 183 7005 government and public sector journal autumn 2020 3...

ALSO IN THIS EDITION OF GPSJ:LOCAL AUTHORITY & COUNCIL • NHS • GROUNDS MAINTENANCE • POLICE & POLICING • IT • COVID-19

GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL

AUTUMN 2020AUTUMN 2020

Bridging the IT skills gap

Winter Maintenance FeatureUnder Pressure - Public Sector Managers

IT Hinders UK Public Sector Response to Pandemic

GPSJWelcome to the Government and Public Sector Journal Autumn 2020

4 Ticketless ParkingWoking goes ticketless as part of their town centre regeneration

7 Distance TaggingHelps keep top TV show ‘I’m a Celebrity...” on air

8It’s a Rainbow ChristmasNew Christmas tree helps support mental health charities

14-15Data LoggersHelping to reduce water costs

24-25 Cover Story - SolarWinds

Government and Public Sector Journal is read by politicians, chief executives, senior managers, heads of departments, buyers and specifiers in the government and public sectors throughout the UK.

Published by UK Media Publishing Limited,18-19 Salmon Fields Business Village,Royton, Oldham, Lancashire OL2 6HT.

Tel: 0845 345 5222 Fax: 0207 183 7005

www.gpsj.co.uk

3GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020

Editor Stuart Littleford FRSA MCIJEmail: [email protected]

News and Features Editor Stacy ClarkeEmail: [email protected]

Business Development Manager Mike LucasEmail: [email protected]

Advertising Sales Lucy HartmanEmail: [email protected]

Circulation Manager James ThomsonEmail: [email protected]

Production Mike Farmer AssociatesEmail: [email protected]

Transport Correspondent Nick MellingEmail: [email protected]

Business & Finance Manager Allan RoachEmail: [email protected]

Legal Advisor Cleland Thomwww.ctjt.biz

©2020 UK Media Publishing LimitedAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical (including photo copying), recording or by any information storage and retrieval systems without prior permission from the copyright owners. Multiple copying of this publication without prior written approval is not permitted. The publishers wish to make it clear that the opinions expressed in the journal are those of the contributors. They should not be considered to reflect the official policy or opinion of the publishers.

Reg Cardiff No: 4076169 | ISSN 1472-2496

CONTA

CT

28-35Winter Maintenance FeatureHow safe are our highways and roads going to be this Winter?

37Public Sector WorkingWorking from home is here to stay

42Social ValueWhat it is and how to implement it

080 0 592 827adlerandallan.co.uk

Adler and Allan provide regular remedial work and check your fuel regularly.

Our services include:

• AdlerView – remote tank camera and inspection device

• Tank and line testing

• Tank cleaning

• EEMUA accredited tank inspection and NDT testing

• Tank repair

• UKAS accredited fuel testing

• Fuel polishing

• Fuel uplifts and transfer

• Emergency fuel supply

• Fuel tank installation

Will your back-upgenerators work in theevent of a power outage?

Ensure continuity of power at this challenging time

If you want to ensure your back-up generator willalways provide the essential power required in theevent of an outage, call us today!

4 GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020

LOCAL AUTHORITY & COUNCILGPSJGPSJ


An electronic warning tag which alerts wearers when they get they get too close to a colleague is being introduced to workplaces across the country thanks to the ingenuity of an entrepreneur from Essex.

Neil Levett spotted the European technology while searching for a solution for a client who needed to be sure their staff were socially distancing when they went back to work. The wearer receives an audible and visual warning when they are within the unsafe zone of another tag. He has now launched KeepADistance, a site selling them as a key part of an overall social distancing solution. Levett says the tags are ideal for staff in a wide range of sectors because they are lightweight, splashproof and ergonomic. They come with a QR code to assign the tag to a user at a specific time which means that if a staff member were to show

symptoms, everyone who has come into close contact with them has been logged and can therefore be warned, and self-isolate as necessary.“My client asked me to find them a way they could get their staff back to work whilst guaranteeing their health and safety and this was the best solution I could find,” Levett explains. “They just do what so many people need at the moment and with the reporting option too it gives staff or customers, the reassurance that the company issuing them truly has their welfare at heart.” The reporting is driven by a USB adaptive QR code reader and Tag sensor which can be used on any PC and connects to a cloud-based system so that any transgressions within social distancing rules can be monitored and processes changed as necessary.Those who have to work in close proximity can have their tags grouped so they do not constantly

set each other’s tags off but will be warned if someone else is too close. If social distancing rules are changed, the tags can be recalibrated to a different distance. “As a business owner, I know that the economy needs people to get back to work. But there’s no point getting people back to work if they’re not safe,”

concludes Levett. “These tags deliver a constant, consistent and low-cost reassurance that staff are maintaining social distancing, so they can get back to work.”The tags are available at keep2m.co.uk which also offers temperature sensors, sanitising equipment and gels, desk screens and even animated safety videos.

Social distancing at work supported with innovative new wearable tags

GPSJNEWS GPSJ

Central to each installation is the use of WPS’s leading-edge Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) based parking technology, which reads a driver’s number plate on entry to a car park and calculates the parking fee based on their length of stay. Before leaving, users have multiple payments options, including cash, chip & pin and contactless (including Apple Pay and Google Pay) at WPS’ ParkAdvance™ pay stations or via the WPS-integrated JustPark App. The customer keys in their car registration number at the pay station or enters a car park code in the app – once paid, exit barriers automatically open. The overall solution includes a web portal for managing season ticket / permit holders using the car parks. The WPS system also links real-time to the JustPark app to provide an ‘AutoPay’ parking experience, where regular users can exit and pay automatically for their parking by preregistering their licence plate and payment details. New digital “VMS” signage will be installed both on approaching roads and in the new car parks, to help visitors efficiently find available spaces. The IP-based architecture of the ParkAdvance™ system enables the straight-forward integration of multiple technologies providing total flexibility in system design, as well as a convenient, singular management and reporting platform. The system is also future-proofed, as it can be readily expanded with further features, for example to include retailer and leisure validation and loyalty schemes. Visitors to the car parks will soon have the option to pay with their theatre or cinema ticket and

retailers will be able to discount parking for customers who spend in their outlets. The ticketless system is a greener option, eliminating the requirement for paper tickets and completely removing issues that arise from faulty or lost tickets. Cllr Ayesha Azad, Leader of Woking Borough Council, praised the excellent working relationship between Woking Borough Council and WPS, which allowed an exacting brief to be developed. He said: “Our brief was for a seamless customer experience and an advanced system that matched the forward-thinking nature of the town’s regeneration, and this is exactly what we got. “We are very excited about the enhanced, greener, parking experience that we will now be able to offer visitors to the town centre and can’t wait to welcome shoppers to their new, improved car parks.”

Simon Jarvis, Managing Director of WPS in the UK, says parking is a vital touch point in a visitor’s town centre experience: “The Council had a well thought out brief that allowed us to work in partnership with them, JustPark and other providers to fully-utilise the best systems and services available. We’ve been able to bring together an integrated suite of leading technologies to create a solution that delivers the utmost in flexibility, efficiency and convenience for Woking residents, commuters and visitors, as well as the Council.” Hannah Fuller, Head of Partnerships for JustPark, says: “Putting together this brilliant solution is a testament to the collaborative abilities of WPS, JustPark and Woking Borough Council. We’ve worked very hard to create a seamless payment solution, that includes our new AutoPay feature, allowing customers to set up their account

to debit automatically when they drive in and out without having to think about it. It’s great to see all this coming to fruition for the benefit of the residents and visitors of Woking.” The first car park to go live is Victoria Way, a multi-story car park open 24/7 that provides 932 spaces. It will be followed in early 2021 by Shoppers Yellow, Shoppers Blue, Brewery Road and Heathside Crescent. The newly-built Shoppers Red car park will also be launched with the new system. The installation follows WPS and JustPark’s 2020 British Parking Awards win in the ‘Parking Technology’ category for a solution that combines the benefits of WPS’ ParkAdvance™ pay-on-foot parking system with JustPark’s payment app technology, designed to enhance the customer experience at multiple car parks operated by Cornwall Council.

WPS install ticketless parking in Woking Borough CouncilWPS, one of the UK’s leading parking equipment providers, is helping Woking Borough Council to provide a seamless visitor and resident experience with a series of ticketless car park upgrades as a part of Woking town centre’s regeneration.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OR CHIEF FIRE OFFICERCIRCA £150,000 – 160,000 P.A.

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service is made up of an engaged and dedicated team of some 700 diverse and talented individuals. We are a progressive and community-focused organisation that work as one team to deliver prevention, protection and response services to keep the residents of Berkshire safe. Our resilient workforce is made up of both operational and professional / support staff. In 2019, following our first inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, we were delighted that it concluded:

“Our first inspection of Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service revealed that it is performing to a high standard. We graded the service as ‘good’ in each of our three main inspection categories. The people of Berkshire can be confident that they are being well-served.”

Building on this positive assessment, we are committed to delivering an even better service to our communities, our staff and our partners. Therefore, finding the person with the specific skills, values and experience to facilitate our journey will be critical to our success.

We are seeking an inspirational and talented person to lead our Service on the next phase of our journey of change and improvement. The successful candidate will have a passion for public service, a commitment to continuous improvement and the collaborative leadership skills to guide our organisation. If you believe you possess the authenticity and vision that this role deserves, we would be keen to hear from you. To find out more about the Service, the role, the benefits and how to apply, visit: RBFRS.co.uk/JoinRBFRSSeniorLeadershipTeam.

6 7GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020

GPSJGROUNDS MAINTENANCE COVID-19 GPSJGPSJ

GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020

The development was initially created in the 1970s with Southmere Lake at its centre and is now the focus of significant investment from Peabody, with plans for 860 new homes built over three phases around the west side of the lake. There will also be a civic building with a community library, public square and a boating and sailing club, all joining the newly refurbished Lakeside Centre. The lake is an important part of Peabody’s wider regeneration plan as Dr Phil Askew, the director of landscape and placemaking at Peabody, confirms: “Southmere Lake is without doubt one of the jewels in Thamesmead’s crown. We’re making a number of improvements to the lake such as putting in new reedbed to enhance the water quality, dredging the silt on the west side of the lake and moving it to the

other side to make a wetlands area as well as a fish free channel to help create new habitats for local wildlife. The fountain is an important part of our changes – not only is it attractive for residents and visitors to look at but it’s also important for the fish and other wildlife who use the lake.” An instrumental part of improving the lake is the Otterbine custom built, 25hp Super Nova Giant Fountain. Able to reach heights of 27 metres with its dramatic pattern, the fountain provides a strong visual identity for the lake and the new homes to come. But it’s not just beautiful – Otterbine’s Giant Fountain range is practical too. With an adjustable float and comprehensive warranty, the Super Nova Giant Fountain is the perfect water feature for a residential setting. And it was clear from the start that Otterbine presented the

perfect solution for Peabody’s improvements to Southmere Lake. Landscape architect Ian Turkington of Turkington Martin initially suggested The Fountain Workshop to Peabody after being impressed by another Otterbine Giant Fountain they had installed at the Marsh Leys distribution centre in Bedford. Peabody appointed environmental and engineering experts Land and Water Services Limited to undertake the £1.6m initial phase of improvement works. They in turn appointed The Fountain Workshop as a specialist design and build contractor for the floating fountain, who had previously worked with Phil Askew at The Queen Elizabeth Olympic South Park in Stratford. Ian Kirkpatrick, commercial director of The Fountain Workshop Limited, said: “For us the Otterbine Super Nova

Giant Fountain was the obvious choice, particularly given the long-standing relationship we have enjoyed with Charlie Barebo, chief executive officer of Otterbine, which stretches back over twenty years. We approached Reesink Turfcare, the UK distributor for Otterbine, early in the process and involved them throughout the development of our proposals.” The fountain was installed by The Fountain Workshop team, working alongside Land and Water Services Limited, and was switched on for the first time just as the country was emerging from lockdown. Having secured an ongoing maintenance contract from Peabody to ensure that the feature remains in good working order, the Otterbine fountain is set to create a stunning display for residents and visitors to enjoy for years to come.

Otterbine brings new life to Southmere Lake

The installation of an Otterbine Giant Fountain by The Fountain Workshop Limited has marked an important step in the regeneration of Southmere Lake housing development in Thamesmead, with the first phase of new homes currently being built.

Clearview Intelligence social distancing solution helps keep ITV Studios’ I’m a Celebrity on the air

As part of their COVID-safe production plan, ITV Studios is issuing all the crew of its hit TV show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! with electronic tags to ensure they keep a safe distance apart during this series. The show is being set in Gwrych Castle, North Wales rather than New South Wales Australia this year due to Covid restrictions and producers are doing all they can to keep their team safe. They’re using electronic proximity detectors supplied by Clearview Intelligence which light up and buzz to warn people when they are two metres away from another person. The tags

also log any incidents when they occur providing a fast and efficient track-and-trace solution should anyone test positive, therefore, making it easier to identify those who have been in close proximity who would need to self-isolate. ITV Studios’ Director of Entertainment Richard Cowles, explained, “The crew on I’m A Celebrity all wear proximity monitors that alert them when they are less than two metres away from each other, that way they can step back and safely social distance. We want to do everything we can to create the safest workplace for crew, cast and our hosts.” Clearview Intelligence has

recently taken over marketing and supplying the tags, retaining UK licence holder Neil Levett to work alongside Clearview and drive the project. “These tags are an essential tool in supporting staff to work safely in any environment,” added Nick Lanigan, Managing Director of Clearview Intelligence. “ITV Studios recognises that it makes sense from a health and safety and business continuity perspective to use the tags and help keep their staff safe.” The EGOpro Social Distancing Solution is being used at a number of construction and transport sites since their UK introduction in March.

The limited-edition Rainbow Christmas tree has been exclusively produced by Greenleaf’s team of festive designers to stand out as a beacon of hope within public sector organisations across the country, continuing the rainbow theme that was spread by so many throughout the coronavirus lockdown. Every Rainbow Christmas tree rented this year will directly raise funds for mental health charities. The launch of the new Rainbow Tree was the result of a company-wide challenge at Greenleaf with staff tasked to design a tree that would promote hope and kindness this Christmas. The chosen winning design was created by Christmas design and production technician Natalija John who has worked at Greenleaf’s Tamworth depot for a decade. Greenleaf supplies more than 2,500 Christmas trees each year to organisations across the country including council offices, public buildings, hospitals, care homes, public sector organisations and businesses. Its specialist Christmas production team are busy decorating artificial trees in preparation for the festive season while Greenleaf’s real trees are ready to be harvested at a sustainable farm in the Midlands. Christmas designers then install each tree on location to ensure it looks perfect and ready to welcome staff, visitors and customers.

Each tree is available in a wide range of sizes – from a standard 7ft tree to as high as 30ft tall alongside the 3ft tabletop tree, decorative wreaths, garlands and floral arrangements. The themes range from the traditional Red and Gold Tree, the sparkling Champagne Fizz Tree and a welcoming Winter Spice Tree to the eye-catching Candy Cane Forest Tree. Each year, Greenleaf also creates special Toy Trees, decorated with a range of cuddly toys which can gifted from the tree to children at Christmas. Greenleaf Managing Director Emily Vernon, who is celebrating her first Christmas at the helm of the firm, commented: “The Rainbow Tree is our way of continuing to mark the enormous contribution of key workers and to raise money for mental health charities which are doing so much to support those impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Christmas is always a time of hope and kindness and after such a tumultuous year, it’s really important to share that message and the rainbow theme really brings that home. While it’s Christmas all year round for our production team, we’re reaching our busiest time of year and we’re excited to deliver our intricately decorated, beautiful trees to customers.” For more information, visit https://www.phsgreenleaf.co.uk/ or follow @phsGroup on Twitter and phs Greenleaf on LinkedIn.

New Rainbow Christmas tree supports mental health charitiesHorticulture services firm phs Greenleaf has created a new Christmas tree for 2020 to spread a message of kindness.


GPSJCOVID-19 GPSJGROUNDS MAINTENANCEGPSJ

Around six million people across the UK have found themselves with bills they cannot pay as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.For local authorities, this poses an enormous challenge. Even before Covid-19, local authority finances were in a sorry state. The arrival of the novel coronavirus, then, is particularly ill-timed, loading another financial burden on the already fully-stretched finances of local government authorities. According to the Local Government Association, Covid-19-related costs and lost income by councils amounted to £3.2 billion between March and May alone. Subsequent figures released by Moody’s Investor Services suggest that local and regional authorities in the five largest countries of Europe are collectively facing a shortfall of €77 billion.

A shift in thinkingTraditionally, public bodies have used the threat of enforcement agents and evictions as blunt methods to extract payments from indebted citizens. But, in June, as industries remained closed, people self-isolated, and the economic consequences of the pandemic were becoming clear, a temporary block on bailiffs seizing assets came into force, running until 23 August 2020. During this period, the government launched its Fairness in Government Debt Management consultation, which seeks to explore how local authorities can work more collaboratively with citizens to maximise repayments, and minimise mental anguish to the customer. “Fair debt management lessens the physical and mental impact on individuals struggling to repay

what they owe, and the pressure on businesses and business owners,” the government report states. Enforcement was previously the “go to” for most authorities until the Covid-19 outbreak. For many public bodies, the decision to appoint bailiffs and begin evictions may seem as a low-cost and efficient option. In actual fact, it is anything but. Opting to use enforcement action at the earliest opportunity can bring a host of unintended consequences. The distress that the customer feels from such an interaction can have a lasting effect on their mental health. And, if evicted, it will be the local authority that will then be tasked with rehousing the individual or offering further support down the line. Local healthcare providers may also find they are tasked with rebuilding the customer emotionally after the psychological trauma of such an event. According to the government’s Fairness in Government Debt Management report, working more collaboratively with customers can also improve returns to creditors “by avoiding the use of aggressive recovery techniques.” A National Audit Office case study showed that employing the use of affordable repayment plans saved the creditors of one debt advice

agency some £82m in one year alone. Wokingham Council has become one of many local authorities to review its collection procedures, after it considered the impact that its methods could have on its residents and on its income.

Embracing a new approachWhile enforcement techniques are coming back into play for local authorities, the Crown Commercial Service is urging decision-makers to use the new Debt Market Services (DMS) framework, which helps organisations better identify and understand customers in financial difficulty. The framework -- delivered through Qualco -- gives authorities access to a government-approved centralised service of customer analytics, debt management advice, collections, error reduction tools, litigation services and, if appropriate, enforcement options.“DMS uses analytics from credit reference agencies, and other sources, to understand consumer circumstances, meaning that local authority resources are focused towards delivering best value and returns,” explains Matthew Hooper, Senior Commercial Lead, Debt Management at the Crown Commercial Service. “In addition DMS also saves valuable resources, and costs, by

providing access to multiple best in class services delivered through a single supplier.” Crucially, the DMS services are designed to treat customers fairly and they are open to all UK public sector organisations, including both central government and local authorities. The DMS was established after its predecessor, the Debt Market Integrator (DMI), had established the need for best practice in government debt management, which is now closed to new clients.

A fair, realistic approachWhile the DMS framework can never totally remove the need for enforcement, particularly for those cases where all other forms of engagement with the customer have failed, it does offer public bodies the best possible chance of understanding the pain points of their customers. It also gives a clearer picture of those who can’t pay and those who simply choose not to pay. Some believe that a supportive approach to debt management yields better results for creditors and for customers. The DMS allows public bodies a chance to access the tools which can enable successful outcomes for both parties.

Can the public sector improve collections, post Covid?

With millions outstanding in tax revenues and unpaid debts, local authorities and central government agencies are evaluating how they recoup their losses.

Christian Jacob

Christian Jacob, Managing Director, Qualco UK



COVID-19GPSJ

Cleaning a path to recovery

No one doubts that COVID-19 will fundamentally change our lives. There is no going back to a pre-COVID-19 normal. This is not just about things that threaten and constrain. There are also major opportunities. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has a vision of how he wants to grasp those opportunities. He wants to fundamentally change the way we improve health and save lives. I could immediately see how the cleaning industry can support his vision. We can help organisations across the UK create healthier and happier environments for staff, customers and the wider public. First, Matt Hancock’s vision. He sees the chance to use the UK’s new mass testing capability developed to fight COVID-19 to support a radical shift towards preventing illness rather than curing it. He also wants to challenge the British culture of “soldiering on” when illness strikes, which spreads infections to even more people, at work and through extended networks of families and friends. In his sights must be the 10,000 flu deaths recorded every year in the UK, alongside the 30,000 pneumonia deaths, many of them related to flu. Other illnesses may be suitable for the same treatment. Matt Hancock says he wants this new “massive diagnostic capacity” to be at the centre of how the NHS treats people before they become seriously ill. Preventing serious illness would save money, not cost more. This makes perfect sense. The system will be needed again for the next pandemic. And the best way to maintain such capability is to use it, develop it, and perfect it. This new approach will have

to operate in tandem with other changes to everyday practice, also triggered by COVID-19. Changes that can fundamentally support the health secretary’s vision. One of them our approach to hygiene and cleaning. As a national emergency soft FM service provider, SafeGroup has been at the forefront of the frontline in the fight against COVID-19 through cleaning and disinfection. From the moment the pandemic started, our teams have been helping airports, hospitals, schools, public transport providers and many other organisations, public and private, stay operational. We already had all the bio-hazard expertise and capability. We were quick to see the threat, so invested in additional resource and technology to deliver the most effective COVID-19 cleaning service. Now we can use electrostatic disinfection spray treatment, ozone fogging and ultraviolet systems to quickly and effectively decontaminate spaces. Then keep them safe through on-going treatment. The benefit of COVID-19 cleaning was demonstrated when Channel 4’s Dispatches tested trains and buses for COVID-19 and found no traces. It went on to praise Transport for London’s decontamination programme. It was a great message for TfL. And for us, because we carry out electrostatic spraying of 75% of London buses. TfL’s reputation for providing safe public transport was enhanced. Our experience tells me the reassurance provided by effective disinfection cleaning will be vital to our continued recovery from COVID-19. Especially getting people back to offices and other high functioning workplaces. Many people place huge

hopes on vaccines. But their true effectiveness is not yet clear. Many others will refuse to be vaccinated. It could be a year before full benefits begin to be realised. In the meantime, COVID-19 cleaning will be essential. It is why we are working with national retailers to support their Christmas sales. I believe, the pandemic has also changed our attitudes to hygiene, probably for good. Which is why more intensive cleaning is here to stay. Matt Hancock’s vision for preventing illness adds weight to my conviction. Employees, customers and the public in general will demand cleaner, more hygienic spaces. A pivot towards mass testing for illness, for example for flu, using the NHS’s new capabilities will only embed that trend more deeply. And the testing system could identify individuals at risk and hotspots of infection, for example offices or a railway station. Then action will need to be taken.A key response is very likely to be specialist disinfection, a process that reassures staff, customers and wider stakeholders, including the media. The current test and trace

system is already driving this process. Before COVID-19, people struggled on at work or recovered in secret at home. Test and trace has changed that dynamic, probably for good. Combining testing systems with mobile working apps could take this a step further. It will be possible to track how infection spreads through work and public spaces and devise appropriate cleaning and social distancing counter-measures in real-time. We are already talking to a leading asset tracking and social distancing app developer about how we can incorporate such an approach in more responsive delivery of disinfection cleaning.There will no doubt be pushback against the health secretary’s vision. Personal freedoms and best use of resources will come into play. But we, as a business, are ready to talk to anyone about how our expertise can help develop new ideas in infection control, for the good of us all. More effective, smarter and better targeted disinfection cleaning is here to stay.

[email protected] 668 1268

Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s vision of how post-COVID-19 mass testing can transform our health can be well supported by an equally transformed cleaning industry, writes Steve Broughton, founder of emergency soft FM specialist SafeGroup.

‘ The coronavirus pandemic is as

much a mental health emergency

as it is a physical one. The devastating

loss of life, the impact of lockdown, and

the inevitable recession that lies ahead

will leave a deep and lasting scar

on our nation’s mental health.’

Paul Farmer CBE Chief Executive, Mind

In 2021 CCLA launches the

first ever investor-led corporate

mental health benchmark.

Our goal is to drive collective,

systemic advances in the way that

companies approach the wellbeing

of their most precious assets

– their people. www.ccla.co.uk/mental-health

We believe investment markets are only as healthy as the people, communities

and environments that support them.

CCLA Investment Management Limited and CCLA Fund Managers Limited

are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority

ACF Advert_RECTO.indd 1 06/11/2020 11:55

13GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 202012 GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020

COVID-19 GPSJNHS GPSJGPSJGPSJ

Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) is a growing environmental health and wellbeing risk faced by most building occupiers today. Recognised as one of the largest environmental risks we face by WHO (World Health Organisation) – it is known that general air pollution causes over 3 million deaths globally per year and 3 million lost working days in the UK.

It appears there’s little reprieve indoors either, with UK campaigners calling our highly insulated, poorly ventilated, energy efficient homes and buildings “toxic boxes” where the air inside can be up to 3 times worse than outside. Air pollution contributes to lung cancer, asthma, allergies, cognitive impairment and mental health issues and the negative impact of poor IAQ or ‘Sick Building Syndrome’ is just as worrying – long term damage is being caused to our health, wellbeing and productivity and as Europeans spend 90% of their time indoors, improving our indoor air quality is a major issue. Clean Air Day this year falls on 8th October 2020 and is in its fourth year as the UK’s largest air pollution campaign. Led by Global Action Plan, its objective is to bring communities, businesses, schools and the health sector together to raise awareness of how air pollution impacts our health and how we can all work together to tackle it. To learn more about Clean Air Day and what you can do, visit their website www.cleanairday.org.uk. In recognition of Clean Air Day, Devon-based company

Alert Technology Ltd, is excited to announce the launch of their new Alert PureAir R150 unit – the ultimate in air purifying technology as part of their ongoing commitment to safe air and safe working environments. The Alert PureAir R150 eliminates 99.995% of particles passing through its multi-stage sanitising process. Using medically proven UVC technology, superior HEPA-14 filters and fully programmable controls, it changes the air in a room of 150m3 up to 7 times per hour providing clean, safe, virus-free air. Alert Technology believe there is no better way to demonstrate your commitment to the health and safety of your people than the strategic placement around your premises of air cleaning purifiers (of the correct capacity), like the Alert PureAir R150 unit. Mr Alan Archer, CEO of Alert Technology Ltd says, “As the UK reaches ~50,000 COVID-19 attributed deaths, and approaches the winter flu season, for businesses trying to safely encourage the return of their employees and customers it has never been more important to provide a clean and safe environment to live, work, and breathe.” Mr Archer goes on to highlight, “Recent evidence that the coronavirus can remain suspended in the air for some hours, means we have to fundamentally change our tactics for reducing transmission rates in crowded, closed or poorly ventilated settings. Studies show even a small increase in long-term exposure to pollutants such

as fine dust can increase the COVID-19 mortality rates by up to 8%.” The Alert PureAir R150 unit filters out airborne pollutants such as dust, allergens, aerosols, moulds, and VOCs (volatile organic compounds), and its UVC light sterilisation kills airborne bacteria and viruses, including COVID-19. It is also effective at removing strong odours with the addition of an optional extra carbon filter. Air purification is already widely adopted within the healthcare sector. The wider implementation of air filtration and purification across all sectors will help reduce risk, demonstrating that the duty of care to provide a safe environment for people to live and

work in a post lockdown world is being fulfilled. For more information on the Alert PureAir R150, please contact: Loretta King, COO, Alert Technology Ltdwww.alerttechnologyltd.com/pureair Email: [email protected] Tel: 01803 546262

1 https://airqualitynews. com/2019/05/15/uk-homes-toxic- boxes-due-to-indoor-air-pollution/ 2 https://www.thebesa.com/news/who- backs-industry-stance-on-airborne- threat/ 3 Source: Study by Francesca Dominici, Director at Harvard Data Science Initiative https://blogs.ei.columbia. edu/2020/05/29/coronavirus-strong- ally-pollution/

Alert Technology launches ‘ALERT PureAir’ - a new virus-killing purification unit to celebrate “Clean Air Day”

NHS England and NHS Improvement have signed a new national agreement that is rapidly connecting prisons in England with specialists in their local hospital through a video collaboration platform provided by health tech company Visionable.Instead of coordinating physical visits to hospital – which can cost hundreds of pounds – prisons will now be able to use Visionable’s technology to allow prisoners to securely speak to consultants remotely whenever possible and appropriate. The system has already been used to transform how patients and doctors interact in the NHS, and has seen a sharp rise in use during the coronavirus pandemic. A secure, encrypted client version of the Visionable system was initially rolled out to a prison in March allowing hospital clinicians to provide specialist video

consultations to prisoners under the supervision of the prison’s own medical team. The initiative has proven so successful that it has now been scaled nationally and is in the process of being rapidly deployed to 114 prisons and young offender institutions, 15 secure children’s homes, and five immigration removal centres, where in the longer term it could also potentially be used to virtually connect patients to other NHS services – including primary care and mental health. Security has been a paramount consideration during the introduction of the system into prisons. Secure laptops can only be activated with a remote key held by the prison’s own healthcare team, who take the laptop to the prisoner’s location.The member of staff then uses the secure Visionable platform to

join a virtual room, in which they connect to a specific consultant at the hospital at an arranged time. The laptop is then placed in front of the prisoner who can virtually talk to and see their consultant. Consultants are also able to use the system to show important information and diagnostic images such as x-rays and CT scans. Once the consultation has finished, the consultant can then talk to hospital staff and advise them of necessary next steps – such as issuing a prescription. The laptop and software have been configured so that it cannot be used for any other communication purpose and that in the event of a laptop being stolen, it would be rendered inoperable. Alan Lowe, Visionable chief executive, said: “Virtual ways of working in healthcare have

quickly become more urgent since Covid-19. But they are also a key means for transforming how people interact with their healthcare professionals in the longer term. This particular project, envisioned before the coronavirus pandemic, is an important expansion of how the NHS has been using remote video technology to transform pathways, and will result in significant efficiency and security gains for organisations involved. But it also demonstrates how clinicians can be brought to the individual, regardless of their location. If used in the right way, remote technologies provide significant opportunities to bring services to individuals in a more convenient way and in ways that can improve access and equity in healthcare.”

Prisoners to virtually consult NHS doctors under new national agreement

Prisons across England are being virtually connected to local hospitals by secure encrypted video, in a move that will reduce the need for prisoners to travel to receive specialist care.

16 17GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 202014 15

GPSJGPSJDATA LOGGING GPSJGPSJDATA LOGGINGGPSJ


Data delivers to prevent added water costs for public sector sites and businessesData loggers have highlighted more than £1.5 million of potential additional water costs for organisations this year, after highlighting issues including leaks at sites, new figures show.* This included: • One of the largest universities in the UK had leaks on two sites - which were losing an estimated 100 cubic metres (100,000 litres) of water a day. It was able to spot these after installing 29 Automatic Meter Reader (AMR) data loggers through work with water retailer Water Plus. • Another large university has been supported this year with their maintenance programme after 17 data loggers were

installed, making more data on water consumption available to them to help identify any weak points on their sites’ pipework. A London-based university was also able to see a water loss that needed attention, after more than 30 AMR data loggers were attached to water meters, so

they could get more information see where any water issues or savings opportunities were. Data monitoring from the loggers made it possible to identify and fix a 1,750 litre per hour leak in the last year. Overall, more than 720 data loggers have been installed during 2019, through work by Water Plus to help organisations to track levels of water consumption.

An online AMR portal helps energy and utility managers stay a step ahead to keep control on water costs when working remotelyScott MacIndeor, Head of Advanced Services at Water Plus,

said: “Data loggers and online portals help to get organisations with multiple water meters much closer to their water use and helps to highlight where issues or opportunities for efficiencies are when it comes to water consumption across sites.

“We know organisations in the public sector - and elsewhere - are keen to help protect their operation and prevent extra spending in the future, particularly now, and data loggers with online portals provide an easy to use platform to spot when action is needed to avoid increased costs. It helps to keep energy and utility managers a step ahead – and in more control - when they’re working remotely across multiple sites. “As we know data is an important tool for the Public Sector and businesses – and as part of enhancements to our online customer portals - we’ve recently updated how information on water use is displayed on the

AMR portal, giving greater detail and data analysis - making it even easier to use and saving time for organisations.” Water Plus has recently secured a place on the new Crown Commercial Service (CCS) framework which will allow it to be a water, wastewater and ancillary

services supplier to public sector organisations across the UK. It’s the second time the retailer has won a supplier place on the CCS framework, which runs for four years from 1 December this year and is expected to save the public sector approximately £20 million. Scott said: “We manage the water and wastewater services for many public sector organisations, including some of the largest and most diverse in the UK – such as councils, schools, colleges, universities, UK Government-owned sites, prisons, hospitals and the emergency services - so we understand their different needs and drivers and we’ve

helped organisations make significant savings across their portfolio, reducing water use and contributing to their sustainability aims and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.” The CCS supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring

Fastflow Group has made it into the Sunday Times PwC Top Track 250 for the first time, ranked 177th. Published on 27th September 2020, the Sunday Times PwC Top Track 250 league table ranks Britain’s leading mid-market private companies with the biggest sales – before the pandemic struck. In June 2019 Fastflow joined forces with United Living, substantially increasing the size and scale of the combined group.

The company provides essential gas, water and multi-utility infrastructure services to blue chip

customers across the UK, as well as the development of new homes and planned and responsive property maintenance services for social housing and local authority clients. Chief executive and Chairman Neil Armstrong heads up the enlarged group and oversaw sales of £137.5m in 2019. Revenues this financial year are expected to reach £500m, so the company is hoping to again feature in the Top Track awards. The enlarged group has a secured order book of c£1.2bn and a pipeline of opportunities worth c£3bn. Neil Armstrong, CEO and Chairman at Fastflow and United

Living Group, said, ‘I see this accolade as recognition of the strength of our business and our people. We play a crucial role in society, helping our customers create a better future, often for the most vulnerable in our communities. Our role within infrastructure figuratively and literally helps ‘keep the lights on’ and provide clean drinking water to millions of consumers. In short, our work is important, and I am immensely grateful to our people who continue to do their utmost to serve our customers’ energy, water and housing assets with exceptional levels of service, quality and commitment.”

Arif Ahmad, a Private Business Partner at PwC UK, the title sponsor of the league table, said: “There’s no doubt that 2020 has posed unprecedented challenges. But time and again, we’ve seen business leaders rising to that challenge, adapting their plans and taking the opportunity to innovate. This year, it’s more important than ever to recognise and congratulate the companies featured in the Top Track 250. They are the backbone of the UK economy and it’s our pleasure to work with them, at every stage of their journeys.”

Fastflow Group makes Sunday Times Top Track 250 for first time

common goods and services. In 2019/20, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits worth over £1bn - supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers. Water Plus won a number of substantial Public Sector contracts while on the previous framework, which they secured a place on in March 2017. These included: Greater Manchester Police, Bury Council, Cheshire East Council and Transport for Greater Manchester. As part of wider work to help raise awareness around leaks and water efficiency, an interactive water leak checklist for site managers and caretakers has been provided this year by Water Plus for use on smart phones, tablets and laptops (and to print out, if needed). And the retailer also commissioned research last year to help public sector utility and facility managers on water attitudes of public sector employees . As part of highlighting water efficiency and its benefits across England and Scotland, it regularly joins industry events and meetings including the Greater London Authority’s Water Advisory Group, chaired by the

Deputy Mayor. Water Plus is also encouraging organisations large and small to look closer at their water use and check their meter readings regularly – at least once a month - to spot signs of any issues, as well as to help update their water account and future bills, particularly if sites are closed or have less people on-site due to Covid-19 restrictions. Recent meter reads mean estimated bills based on past use can be updated.

Water Plus is the UK’s largest business water retailer that provides customer service, meter reading and billing for water and wastewater services, along with advice on water efficiency, to public sector organisations and businesses of all sizes, across England and Scotland. It works with and supports universities that are amongst the top rankings in the People and Planet University League (2019) and the Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings (2019) for their contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Further detail on the main cost statistic*The “more than £1.5 million” additional cost for businesses and public sector organisations is based on the volume of water lost if the leaks had run for 12 months without a repair. The leaks would have seen 650,000 cubic metres of water lost along with increases in bills and potential structural damage. Having the data available allowed for the leaks to be identified early, reducing risks to businesses and other sites continuing to operate and costs. The cost of £1.6 million is estimated, based on average wholesaler water and wastewater charges per cubic metre of water. 1 cubic metre of water is equivalent of 1,000 litres of water. Research Water Plus commissioned and published about water attitudes in the Public Sector at

work can be found here – https://admin.water-plus.co.uk/wpstrategic/media/PDFs/water-use-in-the-public-sector.pdf And further details on the research can be found here - https://www.water-plus.co.uk/fresh-thinking-hub/your-employees-want-you-to-save-water

Find out more about lowering your costs in the future and how to help meet your organisation’s sustainability goals

If you’re interested in Automatic Meter Reader (AMR) data loggers, that show water use through an AMR online portal, as well as getting closer control over water costs - or exploring how water efficiency can benefit your organisation – please email our experts at: [email protected] or go to www.water-plus.co.uk/watermanagement.

Scott MacIndeor

GPSJIT IT GPSJGPSJ

GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 202016 17GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020 17

If you thought the missions IMF1 agent Ethan Hunt undertakes in the popular action spy series are tough – or impossible - then spare a thought for CIOs, IT and information management professionals tasked with looking after company data. Their mission to manage data is getting considerably more difficult as data arrives from more sources, in more formats, of varied quantity and in greater quantities than ever before. This is reflected in the latest IDC global research2 published in May this year which highlights the continued growth of data. They say that over 59 zettabytes will be created, captured, copied, and consumed in the world this year, with the amount produced over the next three years predicted to exceed the amount created over the past 30 years. That’s mind boggling. Yet according to Gartner3, 40% of an enterprise’s data is inaccurate, missing or incomplete at any given moment in time; 13% go so far to rate their data quality as poor; with only 47% of organisations surveyed saying they have high quality data. The implications are significant. Yes, it might be a cliché, but data is most definitely the lifeblood of any business and government organisation as it feeds backend processes, powers decisions and fuels profits. No matter your industry therefore, obviously inaccurate data is detrimental and no one wants it in their systems. Get it wrong and you’re into a whole world of pain. Bad data erodes operational efficiency, slows down decision making, stunts ROI, makes delivering SLAs tricky, adds commercial risk, delivers poor customer experience and damages relationships. Ultimately it’s bad for your bottom line too, with data governance very much

part of GDPR rules and the associated penalties and fines.

Current data practices are good but there are gapsBut it’s not all doom and gloom. Many organisations and their BPO service partners have made considerable headway automating data capture processes successfully, investing significantly in best-of-breed intelligent capture technology which integrates easily into line of business systems because of the use of open APIs. This helps expedite processing the tsunami of information coming in whether it’s extracted from postal mail, email, fax, images from smartphones or other sources. Artificial Intelligence [AI] and machine learning platforms today perform complex data capture with minimal operator invention. We’re talking accuracy rates of anywhere between 80 and 95%. The variation comes when you have to deal with, for example, crumpled or torn paper, text where a highlighter pen has been used or illegible handwriting on a form. It’s just more challenging for the recognition engines to extract and convert this kind of information into ASCII files so that the data can be ingested into downstream business processes. To boost accuracy rates, barcode technology has been used with much success. But they are not a panacea and only work with a small percentage of data capture situations. Amazingly, in the quest for perfect data, some organisations have resorted to employing staff to manually rekey in information or by relying on operators to review capture results for each document to ensure accuracy. These approaches to eliminating data errors are costly, time consuming and far from fool proof. So, what are the options if accuracy rates of 80, 85, 90, 95%

or whatever aren’t good enough in a commercial situation? How can the ‘last mile’ – so to speak - of data capture be improved to get to the nirvana of 100% without the considerable expense of adding more headcount?

Achieving data perfection is an attainable realityThe answer lies in using a multifaceted approach optimising a mix of four main components:1. Best of breed capture technologies;2. Rules-driven capture and validation;3. AI-driven matching;4. Human and AI-powered triple data entry.

The use of capture technologies will be familiar to many readers. What might not be quite so well-known is just how fast and powerful some of the hardware is today. High performance intelligent scanners - like our FUSiON platform - now process volumes up to 730 A4 pages per minute, with FUSiON designed to be ergonomic for bureau staff to use whilst offering low operational expense in terms of maintenance. These scanners come with real-time, in-line intelligence that helps understand documents, extracts data early in the process so as to minimize errors downstream. Importantly, business rules can be set to capture and validate field-level meta data. So, for example, the scanner will review whether an application form has a signature or if exams scripts have the right numbers of pages and are in the correct order. Remedial action can be programmed in if they don’t. To repeat, this occurs as it happens in real time as documents are literally in motion on the scanner. In addition, AI-driven matching solutions are available - integrating with the scanner or independent

of it - to enable the cross referencing and matching of multiple incomplete or incorrect data fields against master database sources so that errors can be flagged and dealt with immediately. This means that a number of partial meta-data captures, which are inaccurate in their own right, can be pieced together and combined to correct and validate the information being processed before it is accepted into a business system. A very simple example would be scanning mail. An envelope might be muddy or damaged obscuring bits of the name, address, postcode or all three. By assessing all the fields and the text and then cross referencing this extraction in a master database – which might hold millions of customer records - the AI solution can bring these partial ‘reads’ together to get a qualified and accurate result. Complex algorithms are used to do this, with it all taking just milliseconds.

Getting help from the crowdThe fourth way to achieve clean data is to use a scalable automated crowd sourcing approach to do what’s called triple data entry. This pretty much guarantees data accuracy. It’s ideal for a range of applications like forms and loans processing, prescription management, mail room, customer on-boarding and so on. Crowd sourcing pushes snippets of the same information to online data entry clerks based globally who are connected to a management platform via the Internet. Two people then check the same snippets of unmatched or poor quality data from an image before entering it into a system. If there’s a mismatch between what the two individuals then input, it goes to a third person for

BizSpace SaddleworthSaddleworth Business CentreHuddersfield Road, DelphOL3 5DF

bizspace.co.uk | 0800 975 0875

Need to know:• Offices

• Free car park

• 24-hour access

• Flexible licence

agreements

• Meeting room

• On-site café

• Unloading areas

Whether you need a small room just for you or a large office for a dozen, we’ve got the space for you.

Join the community of thinkers, makers, planners and doers at

BizSpace Saddleworth

BizSpace Saddleworth_A4_V1.indd 1 09/12/2019 15:09

exception handling which solves the issue of manual errors creeping in. This is how 100% accuracy rates are achieved. Crowd sourcing data checking is ideal where intelligent word or character recognition technologies - ICR and IWR - have struggled to recognise handwriting in a field and more validation is required. Self-evidently working with a specialist crowd sourcing partner is

a fraction of the cost compared to physically employing staff with all the associated expenses of salary, pension, office space, desktops and so on. The data entry operators get paid per key or entry stoke based on the platform they are signed up with. Data’s exponential growth has created opportunities to leverage it in new ways for better business outcomes. Accuracy is therefore

key. Crowd sourcing is a relatively new area in the information and document management industry. This kind of data validation approach is cost effective, fast, secure and works reliably which leads me on to say, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to give it a go.

For more information please visit https://go.ibml.com

1 Impossible Missions Force 2 https://www.idc.com/getdoc. jsp?containerId=prUS46286020 3 https://www.gartner.com/en/ newsroom/press-releases/2020-02- 12-gartner-says-less-than-50--of- sales-leaders-and-selle

Mission possibleAshley Keil, IBML’s VP sales, EMEA/APAC discusses how BPOs and enterprises can close the gap to getting 100% data accuracy as part of their capture processes and business workflows

GPSJGROUNDS MAINTENANCE GPSJLOCAL AUTHORITY & COUNCILGPSJ

18 GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020 19GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020

The Department of Transport has recommended that, as part of the re-opening process, pupils, staff and parents should be encouraged to walk or cycle to school as an alternative to public transport where it is safe to do so. However, it accepts that although this may be a realistic option for some, there will also be an increase in car usage for longer journeys. This will significantly increase the challenges for councils in areas that were already struggling to manage the impact of illegal parking on the yellow ‘keep clears’ outside schools before the pandemic as well as the adoption of air quality improvement measures. It is vital that councils find new ways to manage this increase in traffic congestion whilst reducing pressure on local transport services. School street closures have already been adopted by councils across the UK to combat the increase in traffic and measures such as this can create safer spaces for walking, cycling and street play. Importantly, reports show that as

well as increasing active travel, such closures reduce traffic levels outside schools and in neighboring streets. It has also been found that school street closures are fully supported by most parents and residents and the corresponding traffic displacement does not appear to cause any significant road safety or nuisance issues.

Enforcing School Street ClosuresAfter carrying out local consultations, councils install signs to notify drivers that these streets can only be accessed by cyclists and pedestrians at the displayed times. Exemptions do of course apply to residents, businesses and blue badge holders requiring access in these zones. Non-exempt vehicles that enter the closed streets during the peak times are identified by Videalert’s automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) CCTV cameras. Video evidence is transmitted to Videalert’s hosted digital video platform where evidence packs can be viewed and validated prior to sending to the council’s back office system for the issuance of

penalty charge notices (PCN). To reduce the number of appeals, all PCN recipients can view still photographs and video footage of their alleged offences over the internet.

Alternative MeasuresIn 2013, Videalert pioneered the use of its own video analytics software with CCTV to enforce parking contraventions on school keep clear markings which were designed to provide drivers with greater visibility of possible dangers as well as giving pedestrians a better view of the road in both directions. This solution was developed to improve the safety of children and other pedestrians in these zones which are widely ignored by parents at the beginning and end of each school day. Videalert now has cameras installed at over 250 systems school sites nationally. This system automatically captures video evidence and the number plates of vehicles stopping in these zones without any manual intervention. Importantly, it only captures vehicles that actually commit offences by being stationary in the defined ‘watch area’ and

exceed the ’watch time’. Video evidence packs are automatically generated and transmitted to the council for review before any PCNs are processed or generated. Mobile Enforcement Vehicles (MEV) can also be used to enforce these zones. Videalert provides councils with the widest range of vehicles to meet their specific requirements. As well as providing traditional petrol or diesel powered vehicles, Videalert offers a flexible choice of alternative solutions including hybrid and fully electric MEVs. These vehicles are multi-purpose enabling councils to enforce a wide range of parking and moving traffic contraventions as well as for traffic management and modelling studies utilising the captured VRM data.

For more information please visit www.videalert.com

There’s a reason the titans of the tines industry are known as the turf professional’s secret weapon when it comes to aerating. When you choose Toro’s Titan tines, you’re guaranteed more choice, more longevity, more productivity, more strength, more play and more reliability too. Made by combining a strong alloy with a unique heat treatment process, Toro’s Titan tines provide maximum strength and resistance to wear. The durable tungsten-carbide tips produce superior, consistent holes for faster turf recovery and a speedier return to

play. The tough design of Toro’s Titan tines, with hard-wearing brazed tip joints for in-built resistance to separation and breakage, importantly help maintain consistent aeration depths and reduces costly change-out and associated downtime. But the benefits don’t end there. There are over 150 Toro Titan tines available covering all possible aeration applications. Whether you’ll be coring, slicing or spiking, hollow, solid or deep tining, or using water injection cultivation or ‘linear’ aeration,

there’s a Titan tine for every need. Plus, all Titan tines fit current and late model Toro aerators and the standard mount size fits other manufacturer aerators, too. Titan tines genuinely offer customers more, just like their UK distributor Reesink Turfcare. Thanks to Reesink’s 24-hour delivery service customers can have their stock of Toro Titan tines replenished and their machines back up and running as quickly ensuring downtime is kept to a minimum. Michael Hampton, turfcare parts manager at Reesink, says: “With

Toro Titan Tines, customers don’t have to worry about reordering replacement parts as often as with will-fit parts, and when the time comes for a new set, they can be sure of a fast and reliable service with Reesink keeping productivity high and downtime low; it’s a winning combination.” To stock up on Titan tines or for more aeration advice, customers can get in touch with their local genuine Toro parts dealer or service centre, call Reesink Turfcare on 01480 226800 or visit reesinkturfcare.co.uk.

Toro Titan Tines last up to four times longer than standard tines meaning less replacements and change-outs for greater productivity.

Built to take on the toughest of tasks, Toro’s Titan tines last up to four times longer than standard tines, meaning fewer change-outs and replacements for greater productivity.

Four times the tineToro’s Titan tines built to last up to four times longer

Getting back to school safely

2120 GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020 GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020

GPSJPOLICE & POLICING GPSJGPSJ NHS

About Cleveland PoliceWith a workforce of 1,500 police officers, Cleveland (UK) Police cover a region of approximately 230 square miles, which includes Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton and a population of around 560,000 people. The Force was formed in 1974 as the successor to the Teesside Constabulary and the York and North East Yorkshire Police. It also took over part of Durham Constabulary. Cleveland Police core vision and values focus on transparency, impartiality, integrity

The Challenge Like many forces in the UK Cleveland Police realised they were struggling to manage rapidly increasing volumes of digital evidence. The collection of CCTV video alone would typically require an estimated 4,500 trips per week by officers - a huge time and resource drain. The force was also looking to step up its compliance with national requirements around the sharing of digital evidence, which are moving toward a fully electronic digital model, instead of using removable media and manual methods. Chief Inspector at Cleveland Police, Chris Barker, explains: “Cleveland Police went through a detailed procurement exercise and identified NICE Investigate as the digital evidence management system most capable of meeting both our national mandates around digital evidence management

and our local policing needs.” Additionally, Cleveland Police was also looking for a way to better serve and protect the safety of the community, officers, and justice partners in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, by limiting in-person contact inherent in evidence collection.

The Solution Cleveland Police found a solution to its challenges in NICE Investigate. In advance of its full force-wide rollout of NICE Investigate, the department opted to implement a scaled-down version called NICE Investigate Xpress, which NICE offered to the police free-of-charge through 2020. NICE Investigate Xpress enabled the Force to rapidly respond to Covid-19 countermeasures set by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), to limit the physical handling of evidence. Barker comments: “Deploying NICE Investigate Xpress in advance of our full NICE Investigate rollout has enabled us to come up the learning curve quickly, and keep officers and the public safe.” The full version of NICE Investigate is now implemented force-wide and fully integrated with Niche records management, STORM command and control, custody interview recording, body-worn video and will be integrating with 999 call recording and in-car footage in the near future. Investigators are now able

to collect evidence through a single login, instead of doing their work in multiple systems, vastly increasing their efficiency. Using analytics, NICE Investigate also correlates all of this structured and unstructured data to rapidly uncover connections and push that evidence to investigators. NICE Investigate is also helping the force better serve the needs of the community by providing an easy, discreet way for members of the public, businesses and community organisations to share digital evidence. Instead of making hundreds of trips each week to manually collect evidence, officers can now use NICE Investigate’s Public Portal to conduct online public appeals, for example relating to crimes such as missing persons and burglaries. Cleveland Police has also seen public confidence increase when sharing information, such as CCTV, dashcam footage, photos, social media, SMS messages, etc. - evidence which is often critical to successful investigations, charging decisions and prosecutions. Project Lead at Cleveland Police, Chief Inspector Chris Barker, states: “Being able to click a link and discreetly upload and share data with the police online, removes any concerns, Covid-19 related or otherwise, regarding having a uniformed officer on the doorstep.” He continues: “A further benefit has been a considerable saving of valuable police community support and

neighbourhood officers’ time, as the time spent disseminating requests for information, door-to-door during an investigation has been greatly reduced.” NICE Investigate has also enabled the force to introduce a well-received community initiative whereby local authorities, local businesses, hospitals, and residents are able to quickly register their CCTV cameras with Cleveland Police. Viewing cameras geo-located on a map, police officers can now request and receive CCTV video electronically, instead of driving to each location. Uploaded content is automatically virus-checked, transcoded, and securely stored in the cloud. Prompted by the requirements laid out by the CPS, Cleveland Police has also completely transformed how its sharing information with its criminal justice partners for prosecutions and disclosure. The resource drain of copying of case files and digital evidence onto CDs, USB drives and paper, has been completely replaced with a fully electronic and audited process that ensures chain of custody is preserved. Officers now simply email secure links to NICE Investigate’s digital case files. Barker concludes: “The feedback we’ve received from our officers has been positive and our engagement with the CPS through NICE Investigate’s wholly digital process is working well.”

Cleveland Police digitally transforms with NICE Investigate

Key Highlights:• Alcidion’s reseller agreement with NextGate now expanded to include UK and Ireland.• Expansion further strengthens Alcidion’s offering to NHS organisations and integrated care records.

Melbourne, Australia – Smart health tech provider Alcidion Group Limited (ASX:ALC) has announced an expansion of its reseller agreement with NextGate to include the UK and Ireland. In 2018, MKM Health (which was acquired by Alcidion in 2018) signed an agreement to resell NextGate’s market leading Enterprise Master Patient Index (EMPI) and Provider Registry solutions in Australia and New Zealand. Following a successful two-year relationship, this agreement has now been extended to also include the UK and Ireland. NextGate is the global leader in healthcare enterprise identification, helping healthcare organisations overcome the clinical, operational and financial challenges that result from duplicate records and disparate data. Alcidion’s reseller agreement with NextGate has resulted in two significant state-wide contracts in Australia. The Queensland Health Referral Service Directory based on the Provider Index was delivered by Alcidion working closely with NextGate. For the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services Unique Patient Identification program, Alcidion supported NextGate in delivery of its EMPI capability. The expansion of the agreement to the UK and Ireland will further strengthen Alcidion’s ability to support NHS trusts, health boards and region wide integrated care systems. The news follows the Alcidion’s formal

launch this summer of its Miya Precision product as the first smart clinical asset for the NHS. Lynette Ousby, UK General Manager of Alcidion, said: “With the current focus in the NHS on consolidating clinical systems across regions, the ability to include the offering of NextGate solutions to complement our Miya Precision capability, establishes a true enterprise approach to healthcare delivery.” Alcidion’s Miya Precision presents the NHS with an opportunity to move beyond static electronic records to technology that engages healthcare professionals. Early adopters are using the platform to orchestrate information across disparate systems using modern technology from Alcidion based on the FHIR standard and to establish smart clinical engagement supported by tailored clinical decision support. With the ability to allow NHS organisations to use data to automate routine tasks, care plans and pathways, Miya Precision is being seen as a way to realise more value from electronic patient record investments and to provide a technology orchestration layer in trusts and for entire regions. The addition of the NextGate Patient and Provider Registries, which are built on the MatchMetrix® master identity platform, will extend that capability to effectively manage identity for both patients and healthcare providers. “We are delighted to expand our partnership with Alcidion to facilitate a modernised NHS infrastructure where patients are accurately identified and consistently matched to their health and social care data,” said Andy Aroditis, CEO of NextGate. “Together, Alcidion and NextGate are delivering innovative interoperable solutions that maximise the quality, efficiency and coordination of care.”

Alcidion Managing Director, Kate Quirke commented: “I am delighted that we can now expand our success implementing the NextGate solution in Australia to the UK. The combination of our service delivery and domain expertise with the powerful capabilities of MatchMetrix creates a compelling opportunity for the health sector to establish first class identity management.”

Alcidion expands partnership with NextGate to UK market

Below left: Lynette Ousby, General Manager UK - AlcidionBelow right: Kate Quirke, Managing Director - Alcidion


PINNACLE GROUP


COVID-19

Pinnacle Group has been appointed to the new CAEHRS framework to tackle the UK’s employment & health challenges

The CAEHRS programme will run for five years, with a budget of £7.5bn, and will be used to facilitate the provision of employment and health services on behalf of the Government and other contracting bodies. Pinnacle is acting as the lead organisation for an innovative partnership called PORTRUS between Pinnacle and PeoplePlus Enterprises Pty Ltd trading as PeoplePlus Australia. The collaboration brings together vast expertise to deliver market leading employability services aimed at helping people find and stay in work. Combining Pinnacle’s successful and established delivery model with the Australian partner’s

innovation and knowledge from an overseas market enables this partnership to offer new ways to combat employment and health challenges in a complex environment. Pinnacle has been a trusted partner to the DWP since 2008 and is a current Prime provider of DWP’s New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) and has helped more than 40,000 customers to find sustained work through the delivery of a range of community-led solution since its inception. PeoplePlus Australia helps people move into work by enabling them to gain the skills they need to make them employable. They provide employment and training services

to thousands of people each year in over 150 locations across Australia and are appointed to all the Australian’s Government three major program contracts. Claire Kober, Managing Director, Homes of Pinnacle Group, said “Our work in employability services has become ever more important since COVID-19 and we have a strong track record of delivering employability contracts. We are delighted to be collaborating with PeoplePlus Australia to explore innovative ways to tackle today’s UK employment, health and skills challenges. There is great synergy with our values and those of PeoplePlus Australia, and we look forward to working

with them to help people in the UK find lasting employment.” Executive Director of Growth and Innovation at PeoplePlus Australia, Emma Crichton, echoed Claire’s remarks and added “Our vision at PeoplePlus Australia is to transform lives and businesses through work and training. We help thousands of people a year in Australia and can’t wait to get started on helping thousands more in the UK. We’re excited to partner with Pinnacle Group, and eagerly await the start of CAEHRS.”

If you would like to be considered to work with the partnership, please get in touch at: [email protected]

It has been announced that Pinnacle Group has been appointed to Tier 1 and Tier 2 of the Department for Work and Pension’s (DWP) Commercial Agreement for the provision of Employment and Health Related Services (CAEHRS) across North East England, Southern England, Central England, London and the Home Counties and Wales.

Covid fighting UK innovation gains export success

Mark Nolan, Director of ESP said,“We are so proud of ProGuard+, a cleaning agent developed over the last 30 years here in the UK. Originally the product was designed to act as an anti-mold agent, but with technological developments and refinements it’s now recognised as an eco-friendly multi-surface cleaner that kills then protects against bacterial infections and germs. ProGuard+ attacks surface biofilms then coats the area with a positive electrostatic charge that repels any nasties for up to 4 weeks”. “The product can be used as a general cleaner on any surface but also due to its formulation it can be used on areas such as door handles, banisters, lift

buttons, and general touchpoints by just spraying and leaving. The coating wraps itself around such points giving long-lasting protection. Other such toxic disinfectants become obsolete once dry allowing infections to re-contaminate and spread. Available in a premixed 750ml Spray, Concentrate and Santising wipes Pro Guard offers a great cost-effective way to not only clean but protect areas for hours, even weeks. This is proving to be a great success in hotels, nursing homes, public transport and general meeting areas. ProGuard+ is also a deodorizer leaving a fresh scent behind from its nontoxic formula”. Mr Nolan continued,“We are of course keen that

this product is used to help the UK’s fight against the virus, but currently most of our orders are for export, particularly Spain, Eastern Europe and the US.. Which is good for the UK economy during this shutdown but it would be nice to have more interest here in Britain”. ProGuard+ uses a unique electrostatic cleaning technology that has been developed by U.K. scientists over the last 30 years to provide the highest level of long-term protection that no other SINGLE product can deliver. Safe to humans and animals, plant-based, non-toxic, non-corrosive and biodegradable ecologically sanitises to hospital-grade standards. Neutralises odours without leaving residual

chemical smells. Suitable for food preparation areas and taint free. It removes biofilm formation on 99% of surfaces.

TESTED TO:ISO9001ISO13485EN1276 (MEDICAL GRADE)

https://evolve-sp.com/proguard/product/

Evolve Scientific Products (ESP) based in Chesterfield has today announced an international order for its ProGuard+ multi-surface cleaner. A surface cleaner that provides long-lasting effective protection against the Covid-19 virus that could make moving towards an end of lockdown safer and securer for everybody, particularly those in key professions.

Evolve Scientific products in use

Products delivered to Europe

GPSJGPSJGPSJ


GPSJSOLARWINDS - COVER STORY SOLARWINDS - COVER STORY GPSJGPSJ

It’s also acted as a reminder to take a step back and examine how these perennial pressures affect the roles, responsibilities, and priorities of IT professionals. We’re now years into an era driven by hybrid IT, where on-premises and cloud infrastructures live in harmony — as long as the tech pros in charge of those environments have the tools to successfully manage them. This

has broken down silos, forced IT roles to converge out of necessity, and blurred lines of responsibility, often driving more complexity. But where are we heading next? In its IT Trends Report 2020: The Universal Language of IT1, SolarWinds spoke to people in the industry and found organisations working with changing agendas. Many of them are moving away from

chasing much-hyped emerging technologies and renewing their focus on core strategies, including cloud computing and security—technologies with proven and more practical use cases.

Pushing Past the HypeThe research findings underline the point, and it strikes home when you consider organisations aren’t allocating their budgets to

emerging technologies, particularly as their spending is reevaluated in the face of this year’s economic challenges. In fact, nearly two-thirds (62%) of the respondents indicated their organisations’ tech budgets allocate less than 25% of their spending to emerging technologies. As a result, budgets remain overwhelmingly focused on hybrid IT. In fact, 86% of respondents

manage hybrid IT in-house or with an MSP, whereas multi-site and multi-cloud are managed in-house by 37% of respondents or via MSP by 20% of respondents. Though enterprises have invested in engineering teams over the last three years to evaluate and build prototypes around emerging tech, they’ve ultimately discovered many of the buzzworthy technologies—from blockchain to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning—haven’t added real value or delivered significant business transformation. As many people know, hype dies in the light of experience, and only a collective 18% of the respondents named emerging technologies like AI, edge computing, microservices, and containers as the biggest influence on their staffing needs. And while organisations reassess priorities in the face of an oncoming recession, tech pros should routinely ask management to define the core competencies of the organisation as they relate to technology and monitor for gaps between priorities and training. Is the organisation

prioritising digital transformation and its related investments? If so, what are the key performance metrics for evaluating true impact in a time when operational stability and security are paramount? Security is a prime example of the need to focus on core competencies. For 73% of tech pros, at least 10% of their daily responsibilities include IT security management. Many will be

familiar with the top three areas of security skills management tech pro organisations are prioritising for development: network security (49%), backup/recovery (35%), and security information and event management (29%). Despite its importance, public sector organisations aren’t alone in playing a seemingly never-ending game of catch-up in preventing security threats. Although many tech pros have said they want to prioritise security skills over the past several years, security remains an area of opportunity for many. The current circumstances have only served to underline its importance, and throughout this extended work from home period (and in the months to follow), security must enter the core competency set of every tech pro, whether as a self-managed skill set or outsourced to an MSP or MSSP. It’s the job of IT pros to provide clarity and guidance around the functional details of the technologies themselves. In 2020, tech pros should be empowered to move past the

hype and instead invest their IT departments’ time, resources, and effort into developing skills in the technologies expected to have the biggest impact on their business.

Bridge the Skills Gap with TechnologyAs in recent years, tech skills development emerged in the report as a key focus area for professionals across IT

disciplines in 2020. However, the underlying challenge of hybrid IT management will continue to escalate with complexities like multi-cloud and distributed environments. This is backed up by the data, which shows nearly one-third (29%) of the respondents believe tech pros entering the workforce today don’t have the necessary skills to manage modern, distributed IT environments. Many personnel and skills issues relate to growing areas like application performance management (APM) and security and compliance. Indeed, 60% of tech pros/teams/IT departments are spending more time managing apps and services than infrastructure and hardware. This represents a monumental shift in the strategic importance of applications to modern business. This growth in the influence of cloud applications on IT and managed services will continue—according to Gartner2, as many as 60% of organisations will use an external service provider’s cloud managed service offering by 2022, doubling the 2018 figure.

Gartner also predicts the ongoing effect of this on skills: by 2020, 75% of enterprises will experience visible business disruptions due to infrastructure and operations (I&O) skills gaps, an increase from less than 20% in 2016. In addition, tech pros need to develop nontechnical skills to operate within the reality of the universal language of IT, where cross-functional and

business-level communication is necessary. The nontechnical skills tech pros feel are most critical to successfully manage today’s modern IT environments include project management (69%), people management (59%), interpersonal communication skills (55%), and budgeting/finance (also at 55%). They should also remember they expand upon and get a little better at their skill sets each day, and the things they learn today will apply tomorrow. Database admins today, for example, are tomorrow’s data analysts and data scientists. Today’s network admins are tomorrow’s security team. IT skills and roles have a significant amount of overlap, and something you currently know or have experienced can always be applied elsewhere. Yet visibility inside and outside the firewall remains critical, coupled with the need to oversee application performance and security and compliance policies. Leveraging technology solutions with a breadth and depth of cross-functional visibility can help bridge the gap for organisations working to develop the skill sets of their current staff or in the process of hiring specialists to manage these responsibilities. This is particularly true when IT teams are under increasing pressure to keep the organisations they serve performing optimally despite distributed personnel and increasing security attack surfaces. In the months and years ahead, the challenges created by managing hybrid IT will continue to escalate with complexities like multi-cloud and distributed environments, especially with a largely (if not entirely) remote workforce. But this is where SolarWinds’ IT Trends Report 2020: The Universal Language of IT can help individuals and organisations alike adapt their approaches to effectively cope with the most unexpected and stressful situations.

Building bridges with technology in the Public SectorBy Sascha Giese, Head Geek™, SolarWinds

The U.K. public sector has been under more strain this year than it has experienced in decades, with the government relying heavily on technology to help manage its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This crisis has put added pressure on core public sector technology systems and highlights the unrelenting pace of change across IT departments.

1. https://it-trends.solarwinds.com 2. https://www.gartner.com/en/ newsroom/press-releases/ 2019-11-13-gartner-forecasts- worldwide-public-cloud-revenue- to-grow-17-percent-in-202

292526 29GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020 27GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020

GPSJNHS NHS GPSJGPSJ

The English lexicon has changed markedly in light of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic with language like social distancing, lockdown, viral load and furloughing all now in common parlance. Perhaps what is surprising is that words like ‘procurement’ and ‘supply chain’ have been heard equally as frequently. The media headlines around the whole issue of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline clinical staff have been beamed into homes up and down the country on a nightly basis. Undeniably there have been issues. Reports of medics finding it harder to access any sort of PPE, manufacturers talking about unanswered emails for equipment orders, hospitals running out of items, planes sent to Turkey to collect emergency supplies, and a failure of demand management, all adds up to a steady stream of headlines that haven’t painted a pretty picture of the profession at times. Clearly there are mitigating reasons for all this and answers as to why things occurred are never simple. Frankly, we’re living in exceptional and unprecedented times. Most of us could not have imagined a couple of months ago how we would be living today. Furthermore, the NHS is a complicated, fragmented, multi-faceted organisation – a diverse entity with numerous needs and requirements, hampered by a history of financial pressures. Even more diverse and complicated is the social care sector where we have seen equally harrowing headlines.

So, and with the benefit of hindsight, we should take the opportunity to learn from what has happened and use this to see what can be learnt to move us forward positively. How we can use the current experience to transition and run the NHS for the better and prepare for when Covid-20, 21 or 22 – or some other virulent virus - comes along? First, this is a great opportunity for procurement to demonstrate the strategic role it has to play in NHS activities. No longer should it be seen as simply as an enabler to get medical supplies ordered, ensure that the lowest price is paid and that invoices are settled. Procurement has a much more important role to play assessing, for example, what are we buying and why, where we get items from, understanding the power regimes in the marketplace, are alternatives reviewed thoroughly, can IT be used to boost order efficiency and so on. And it should even include getting into the granular detail of what each NHS department or consultant spends on a per patient basis so that productivity improvements can be identified and targeted. As part of this, greater strategic sourcing initiatives are required to examine the relevant attributes from sourcing from multiple providers, how inventory is managed over time to ensure stock is rotated properly and is within ‘shelf life’. Further, we should review our reliance on overseas suppliers or whether local sourcing and the development of UK manufacturing should be a bigger part of the product buying mix.

Shining a light on procurement is not new. Improving procurement processes was the focus of Lord Carter of Coles’ report on operational productivity and performance published back in 2016. The NHS has seen many changes as a consequence, but perhaps in certain areas we haven’t gone far enough to challenge existing practices and check their robustness? Second, supply chain resilience will become the new topic for discussion. Good practice regularly involves a thorough audit of chains so that there’s a detailed and comprehensive understanding about the source of equipment and consumables and therefore a clearer appreciation about the NHS’ ability to react, cope and maintain services in the event of a health crisis. In-depth risk analysis and due diligence of suppliers has to be carried out to know precisely where products are made, are they fit for purpose, whether they meet legal, medical and ethical standards, the different logistics steps in the delivery chain to get them from site of manufacture to UK hospitals, the risks associated with this, suppliers’ financial stability and capability to truly deliver contractually and so on. It is all about understanding the robustness of the supply chain and how you de-risk and mitigate any issues found so as to avoid scrabbling about to find items in an emergency – or even day-to-day – when demand is at a premium. Third, the pre-occupation with price needs to be balanced with ‘value’. For example, what is the impact of not being able to buy

PPE now? The answer is that we are probably spending between five and 10 times more getting it from elsewhere in the world and air freighting it home. And then, of course, there is the impact on the health, confidence and happiness of clinical staff – let alone the patients themselves - when it comes to hands-on treatment. A greater awareness, sensitivity and acknowledgment of this must be on the agenda. Fourth, as we come out of Covid, NHS managers will need to review the whole medical ecosystem to look at how procurement and the organisation of it can be improved for the country. More than likely shared services will play a bigger role with the private sector engaged to assist based on their subject expertise. Inherent in this is that there should better pooling of resources and co-ordination

Procurement must become centre stage in the NHS if we’re to cope with the public health demands of the nation

IGEL, the edge OS leader for cloud workspaces, today announced the launch of IGEL Ready, a new program that opens up the company’s core enterprise software for any technology partner to integrate and validate their products. Technologies from over 90 companies are already integrated within IGEL’s platform — including Microsoft, Citrix and Zoom, and that number is expected to double by 2021 with the freedom afforded by IGEL Ready. Ultimately, the program creates an ecosystem where customers can consider compatible devices and applications across a range of categories, quickly deploy to their virtual desktop or cloud workspace, and securely access from any device equipped with IGEL software. The news comes at a critical juncture for IT. Widespread cloud migration and a surging distributed workforce have transformed how enterprises manage and secure endpoints, fueling demand for virtual apps, desktops and cloud workspaces. In 2019, Microsoft invigorated the market with the long-awaited launch of Windows Virtual Desktop, which publicly embraced Linux at the endpoint. These conditions are driving growth and leadership for IGEL, which recognized early on that its edge operating system

and management tools could help businesses migrate to the cloud overnight. When installed with IGEL OS, any x86-64 device — including Windows desktops, laptops, HP or Dell Wyse thin clients and MacBook devices — can connect to any cloud, including AWS, Azure, Citrix and VMware. With IGEL, enterprises can easily repurpose existing hardware and manage thousands of endpoints from a single interface, all with the added security of a lightweight, read-only Linux OS. “The timing is right for IGEL,” said Jed Ayres, CEO, IGEL. “Over a decade ago, we saw an open opportunity in the market with the growth of the cloud and virtual desktops. We decided to shift focus and perfect our simple, yet powerful edge operating system, ultimately positioning IGEL for tremendous growth. Today, we’re entering a new era as we transition to an open platform that’s primed for partner integration.” IGEL has emerged as a leading voice on the edge, and a trusted partner to enterprises. In 2018, the company crossed the $100M revenue threshold, and today is seeing demand skyrocket as remote work rapidly transforms modern life. With the IGEL Ready program, businesses can now tap IGEL’s

prolific partner network with even greater confidence to provide employees with the most essential tools and capabilities to do their jobs securely and effectively. In its 20-year history, IGEL has fostered relationships with some of the biggest names in hardware and software, including Amazon, AMD, Intel, VMware and Cisco. In 2019, IGEL was announced as the first Linux-based OS certified for Windows Virtual Desktop. For technology partners, IGEL Ready presents a compelling opportunity to share their products with a growing, relevant market and provide a heightened experience for customers. “For 20 years, Citrix and IGEL have worked closely together to deliver simple, smart and secure solutions to our mutual customers,” said Pratik Shah, Director of Product Management at Citrix. “Now, we’re excited to expand our partnership with the launch of IGEL Ready to ensure that our validated solutions can be easily identified, and that our customers can be assured they are running the most up-to-date versions that have been tested for performance and interoperability.” IGEL Ready is now accepting applications from any hardware, software or peripheral company interested in integrating and verifying their technology with IGEL. The company is already

working with more than 150 partners to introduce them to the program, including Goliath Technologies, Lakeside Software, LG Business Solutions, Liquidware, Login VSI, PrinterLogic, Sennheiser, Tehama, Cherry, ControlUp, deviceTRUST, Fluendo, Tricerat, SecMaker, OnLogic, Systec & Solutions, BUURST, Channel Mechanics, Veridium and EPOS.After meeting specific hardware and software requirements to ensure compatibility, the applications will be featured on the customer-facing IGEL Ready Showcase under eight categories: • Cloud Workspaces / VDI / DaaS• Communication and collaboration• Software and applications• Endpoints• Peripherals and others• Printers and scanners• Security • Analytics By participating in the program, partners will be able to reach over 3,000,000 IGEL OS-powered endpoints, more than 17,000 IGEL customers and thousands of resellers. To learn more and start the application process, visit igel.com/partners/technology-partners/ To explore the IGEL Ready ecosystem of solutions, visit igel.com/ready

IGEL Ready Program opens Edge OS for unlimited partner integration

Jonathan Wedgbury

Over 90 partners already integrate hardware, software and applications into IGEL platform; new program expected to double partnerships by 2021, creating an ecosystem for endless possibilities

Jonathan Wedgbury, Genmed’s chief executive officer, provides advice about how NHS supply chains and procurement strategies need to change following the coronavirus disease pandemic

between the Department of Health, NHS Supply Chain and third party organisations probably via a shared services collaborative platform. This should be bolstered with ‘pushing and pulling’ of information across the whole NHS system so that co-ordination of procurement

activities is enhanced. Whilst the recriminations around what was and was not done and the timeliness of these efforts will be with us for a while, as a profession procurement has an opportunity to take some positive lessons from what has been an unprecedented few months for

the whole world. It would be remiss of us if we didn’t take this opportunity to adapt and learn from the coronavirus experience and change our approach to procurement in the NHS. We need to adopt best practices regardless of which industry we take it from, create the right industry

partnerships and collaborations and hire the right people with the expertise and know-how to drive things forward effectively. Through this we can achieve the performance, efficiency and value for money that the NHS deserves.

28 GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020 29GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020 29

GPSJWINTER MAINTENANCE FEATURE GPSJGPSJGPSJGPSJGPSJWINTER MAINTENANCE FEATUREGPSJ

Winter Maintenance Feature

The following feature looks at some of the ways local authorities and councils are keeping ahead of the winter weather with new equipment and products, as well as the help they will get from contractors and suppliers in the highways industry. One council looks at the health and safety implications for its workers at this challenging time of year. Highways England’s Met Office winter desk tell us they are the experts to ask about traffic and snow at this time of the year and gave GPSJ an inside look at their work. A recent partnership they started with the Met Office is now helping councils to plan ahead much more efficiently. Working around the clock the team based at the National Traffic Operations Centre (NTOC) in Birmingham are on hand to provide updates to Highways England’s seven regional operation centres. Using their knowledge of weather balloons, rainfall radars, satellites and sensors they are key to Highways England’s winter preparedness. Mike Bench is Highways England’s lead Met Office advisor and helps Highways England keep traffic moving when severe weather occurs. Located at NTOC Mike has an overview of the Highways

England network and can see where any difficulties may arise and act to pass on any weather information that may assist in planning. Current observational data from the Met Office team is backed up by weather forecast information which comes from their super computer at their headquarters in Exeter. This helps them predict how the current weather will evolve over the coming hours and days, and when to issue weather alerts. Mike told GPSJ: “We routinely prepare forecasts and pass on information to the regional operation centres so they can plan for any adverse weather around the network – or to take advantage of good weather where possible. By providing detailed forecasts, there’s time to prepare vehicles and adjust shift rosters to bring additional crews in during severe weather events. “I’m on the lookout for anything weather related that may impact on the network. For example, there might be a big storm approaching the UK. We would then look at what areas of the network or road users might be at risk, such as high sided or vulnerable vehicles being blown over, falling trees, heavy snow

forecast or perhaps flooding. “We would then liaise with the National Incident Liaison Officer, who can set signs and signals across the country, and speak to the different regions so that maintenance crews and recovery vehicles are prepared to go out, and if necessary safety restrictions can be put on affected bridges or exposed routes. We also offer advice about when restrictions can be removed at the earliest opportunity to minimise any disruption.” Mike and his colleagues are on site every day from 1 October through to 30 April each year.

New Gritters take to the roadsNinety-three new state of the art gritters will be patrolling England’s motorways and major A roads this winter as part of a multi-million investment to help keep traffic moving in severe weather. The new gritters will improve safety for drivers and workers due to the vehicles’ improved technology, set up and enhanced visibility. They also treat the roads at a maximum of 50mph, 10mph faster than earlier models. Highways England’s winter fleet manager Jane Wilkins said: “The latest vehicles contain

innovative technology which includes being able to pre-programme the gritters with information specific to each gritting route. This enables salt to be spread onto the road automatically, considering any specific requirements for bridges, landscape and other road features allowing drivers to give their full attention to driving at all times.

“When the wintry weather does arrive our 1,300 specially trained gritter drivers will be ready to work around the clock to keep traffic moving.” To help keep drivers on the move this winter, Highways England has 535 gritters available which have all gone through a summer service, 127 depots based at strategic points across the network, 23 snow blowers which can remove up to 2,500 tonnes of snow per hour and will be storing over 280,000 tonnes of salt. To monitor the weather around the clock Highways England has around 250 weather stations located across its 4,400 miles of motorways and major A roads. Overhead warning signs can also be used to inform motorists of severe weather.

As temperatures begin to drop and Autumn turns to Winter, Government & Public Sector Journal asks the question that most roads users want to know: Is it going to snow? And if so, how safe are our highways and roads going to be this Winter?

More demand on local authorities expected this Winter

Winter is just round the corner and although we haven’t had a significant cold spell at the time of writing we are sure to have one soon. Authorities will have taken delivery of their purchased or hired winter fleets and be ready to take on whatever winter throws at us. An area for authorities to consider in their winter service plan is the growing popularity of cycle lanes which are used to travel to work and for leisure purposes. Ensuring the winter fleet includes the appropriate equipment and products is key to keeping these lanes ice free.According to ‘We are Cycling UK’, 4% of commuters travelled to work by bicycle (2018 statistics) and this is increasing. This may seem a small percentage, however in places like Cambridge, nearly 41% of people use a bicycle at least three times a week. It is no surprise that during the current pandemic more people are choosing to stay away from public transport and instead use a bike or walk to their final

destination. There are therefore more obligations on authorities to keep cycle lanes and footways clear from ice and snow this winter. Traditionally, solid salt crystal which is used on the highways requires the vehicle traffic to assist with the brining process. Traffic is needed to help break down the salt for it to then start working on treating or preventing ice. Footways and cycleways are more reliant on the material itself to anti-ice or de-ice the surface as they do not have the large vehicle tyres to assist with the process. One of the other issues with larger particles of solid salt, is it can create a slip hazard particularly on a bend or at a junction. Liquid treatment reduces this risk. Mark Dutton from Safecote told us “liquid offers significant benefits when treating footways and cycleways and it has the added benefit of working immediately, meaning it also provides an effective protection against the formation of ice, as

well as lasting significantly longer.“Liquid solutions can come with anti-corrosion inhibitors which are obviously beneficial for use on areas where there are items that may corrode such as bridges and street furniture. “Dependent on the sprayer you use, you are able to accurately distribute liquid ensuring less wastage of the de-icer product. “You also use less chemicals in the application of liquid de-icer to achieve similar results to solid salt.” Taking all these factors into account means liquid is the preferred choice for the treatment of cycleways and footways.We’ve established that liquid is the preferred choice of application for cycleways and footways but what is the best way to apply it? The most efficient and effective way to apply the liquid to narrow access routes is via a liquid trailer sprayer. A trailer which can be towed by any small plant vehicle or 4x4 with a two-tonne payload is perfect. As the trailer is self-powered by it’s axle’s driven

hydraulic system there is no need for an auxiliary engine which are both expensive to maintain and noisy. This is especially important at a time of day when there is little ambient noise to dampen the sound. A trailer which has adjustable flow, patterns and spray widths is essential in meeting the differing demands of the routes and the inclusion of a handheld lance for street furniture and bridges is an added bonus. Completing routes with a limited tank capacity is a widely reported issue often meaning that support vehicles had to follow the sprayers. Consideration should be given to a trailer which allows sufficient tank capacity to complete over 80 kilometres without refilling, therefore reducing the reliance on a support vehicle to refill.Andrew Lupton from ECON added “From listening to customers it was clear that there was a gap in the market for this type of vehicle. Keeping cycleway and footpaths safe for pedestrians and cyclists is becoming more and more important. “Liquid is by far the most effective and safest product to use on cycleways and footpaths and as the use of these increases, it is vital authorities look to using the latest innovated products to assist in the safety of these routes.”

Andrew Lupton, Sales Director at Econ Engineering and Mark Dutton, Managing Director at Safecote review the growing demand on authorities to keep cycle lanes and footways clear this winter and explain which equipment and products offer the best effectiveness.

Leaf clearing at Cannon Hall, Barnsley

HIGHWAYS, CYCLE LANES AND PATHWAYS

30 27GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL SUMMER/AUTUMN 2015 29GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020 31GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020

GPSJWINTER MAINTENANCE FEATURE GPSJWINTER MAINTENANCE FEATUREGPSJ

Minimizing your public sector Winter risk with GRITIT

In the UK there are over 16 million square metres of property owned by the Government. This vast estate comprises almost 14,000 buildings, from schools, hospitals and essential services, to the offices housing our 5.5 million public sector workers. Yet according to the Winter compliance experts at GRITIT, too many organizations are failing to adequately plan to mitigate the hazards in outdoor environments that can impact employees and the public alike. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), some five million days are lost annually through workplace injuries, with slips, trips and falls making up more than half of all reported major/specified injuries and almost 29 per cent of over-seven-day injuries. These not only cost the UK economy billions of pounds, but in the public administration category alone, accidents of this type account for 28% of employee injuries!

You Have A ’Duty of Care’The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 not only states that employers have a Duty of Care to provide a safe working environment to ensure the welfare of its own employees, but also of anyone visiting or passing by a site, including suppliers and members of the public. Failure to achieve this risks injury to individuals and can also have a major impact on an organization’s reputation and finances. While in the UK we have yet to reach the extremes of our Transatlantic cousins when it comes to ambulance chasing, recent years have seen the flourishing of a compensation culture fueled by

“no win no fee” legal services, with accidents from trips and falls having the greatest potential for high value claims and compensation. Even if no injury has occurred as a result of slips or trips in icy conditions, bosses are still at risk of prosecution under the new stricter enforcement of Health & Safety Executive (HSE) regulations. In other words, when it comes to safety, it’s not only your responsibility under law, but your neck is on the line too. As well as the risk of action being taken on an institutional level, it’s vital to remember that there is also the possibility for action to be taken against individuals within an organization whose actions – or inaction – result in health and safety lapses. It should also be noted that breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act fall under criminal rather than civil law, which means that liable individuals may end up facing far tougher financial sanctions and even end up with a criminal record.

The Cost To The Public SectorPublic sector bodies are increasingly feeling the mounting cost of such cases: For example, after a slip on playground ice, one West Midlands pupil was awarded £35,000. Elsewhere, poor maintenance of surfaces in car parks cost councils in England and Wales £7.3m in personal claims – 82% of which were the result of potholes. Engaging a company such as Gritit which not only acts as your eyes and ears prewarning you of potential risk, but, with a multi-service offering, can fix all

of these potential issues without requiring another supplier, makes safety, economic and administrative sense.

Managing Your Outdoor SpacesDespite the enormity of the risks and consequences, many organizations still leave far too much to chance in how they manage outdoor spaces. Consider the fact that more than 50 per cent of slips and trips occur in the autumn/winter months: According to the Hospital Episode Statistics for England, over 7,200 people were treated in hospital after slipping on snow or ice during the harsh winter of 2017/18. Yet, despite clear dangers presented by snow and ice, many organizations double down on the risks by failing to plan accordingly. Past research by the IWFM has found that almost a quarter of facilities managers said that they don’t have a winter maintenance plan in place to ensure that the right procedures, training and equipment are in place to effectively anticipate and clear snow and ice. Of the organizations that do have a plan of this type, 26 per cent fail to review the plan annually to ensure that it’s fit for purpose. At other points on the calendar, a lack of effective planning and risk assessment in grounds maintenance can expose an organization to other environmental dangers. For example, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), falling trees or branches kill between 5-6 people a year. While this is a relatively rare occurrence, the HSE notes that “the low

level of overall risk may not be perceived in this way by the public, particularly following an incident”, and recommends that management of trees on sites has to be demonstrably proportionate to the level of risk in that location. Organizations with wooded areas on site must therefore have in place an appropriate inspection regime that takes into account factors such as the level of access by employees or members of the public or whether foliage is obstructing sight lines to adjacent roads. Any inspection process should also seek to identify risks such as tripping hazards from tree roots.

Gritit: Your Eyes on the GroundIt’s just before 6 am on Sunday when Steve arrives at the first of his sites, stopping at the gate and leaning out of the window of the gritting truck to tap in the code that’s recorded on the app on his smartphone. The security gate shudders open - a good sign, the code sent by the client was correct - and he pulls into the empty car park. It’s time to get to work. Alongside his vehicle he notices a thin stream of water running across the pavement, already spotting the potential winter danger posed by forming ice. But on this still warm morning Steve doesn’t need to fetch a shovel and grit. Instead, he records the hazard of the leaking air conditioning unit as an advisory note to the client; a proactive warning of a possible issue. This is Gritit: your compliance experts at work. Describing our own Winter “Dry Run” day is a good way to make people appreciate just how

For public sector organizations with properties which include pathways, car parks and pedestrian walkways, facility management is not simply a matter of aesthetics. Perhaps the greatest challenge they face is in managing risk and compliance.

proactive GRITIT Winter Gritting operates as your eyes and ears on the ground, alerting you to risk. This evolution can best be understood in terms of two key drivers: Changes in technology - a shift in the art of the possible - and the extra benefit from using Winter compliance experts as your risk advisors on the ground. While gritting itself may seem low tech on the surface, virtually everything around the delivery of the service itself is being transformed by technology. Arguably, it has actually been ahead of the curve in becoming a data driven service, as decisions as to when and how to grit sites has for some time been guided by increasingly accurate weather data using industry-specific weather data. For example, the sector has adopted technology and location intelligence to automate service activation and scheduling whenever zero road surface temperatures are forecast. The benefits of such an approach include ensuring a consistent and accurate response to unexpected bad weather, scheduling vehicle routes and service delivery for best results (i.e avoiding spreading grit at a site just before heavy precipitation), and preventing wasteful gritting on days when it isn’t needed. This last factor is particularly attractive to site managers as only gritting when needed delivers savings that add up considerably over the course of a winter. Technological developments have also transformed the extent of service level guarantees that integrated facility service companies can provide. Mobile technology helps everyone in this

respect: Operators such as Steve have access to customer site plans and instructions on custom apps on their smartphones and this also cuts their admin by streamlining service delivery and the process of reporting. When Steve arrives at a site both his personal and vehicle movements are recorded, showing the client where he is, and a data trail to prove the job was completed. All of this data is available to customers, so that they know exactly when a site has been gritted. Steve can also warn his customers of potential issues such as poor tarmac, with a tickbox to have the issue fixed by the other experts in the Gritit family such as NMC Surfacing.

Effective Winter Maintenance PlanningSo what does an effective plan look like? Let’s take as an example the key elements of an effective winter maintenance plan for handling snowy and icy conditions. This should include:

• Use of a recognized health and safety management system such as OHSAS1800115 to ensure the plan is fit for purpose.• Clearly defined and communicated responsibilities - both on the ground and with a senior ‘champion’ to ensure high level management buy-in.• A process for documenting the proactive actions, incidents and investigations undertaken with records maintained and kept for a minimum of three years.• Ensuring the plan is based on detailed surveys to identify hazard areas and that action is

undertaken according to agreed action triggers for service (e.g. accurate real time weather data).• Adequate resourcing – whether via specialist contractors or in house - with a dedicated, trained team, sufficient and well-maintained PPE.• Clearly defined KPIs to measure performance against and a process to review the plan and any KPIs on a regular basis (at least bi-annually)

While these elements would constitute best practice for taking on snow and ice, very similar professional discipline and principles (identifying roles and responsibilities, documenting activity and reviewing against KPIs) can be applied to other contexts where risks may arise.

Specialist Winter ServicesProfessionalizing outdoor facilities management is ultimately the key to ensuring that an organization is able to meet its Duty of Care, manages risk, and meets the expectations of its insurers. However, doing so can involve a degree of upfront investment in processes and skills that, as public sector budgets face ever-greater pressure, is often difficult to meet. As a result, engaging with specialist contractors is a cost-effective way of delivering a high standard of maintenance. Yet the private sector doesn’t automatically deliver silver bullet solutions: service providers can offer a broad spectrum of capabilities and indeed, professional standards. For example, in areas such as grounds maintenance, many smaller contractors and

subcontractors are still offering a very traditional landscaping service that’s rich in horticultural skill but lacking the level of risk management knowledge or policy guidance that’s on hand from more forward-looking businesses able to examine your compliance and give you headsup compliance alerts, being your eyes and ears on the ground. Additionally, just like in every other walk of life, technology is starting to have a real impact in outdoor facilities management and in winter maintenance by making service provision more efficient, effective and accountable. As part of a new breed of technology-driven service provider, at GRITIT we see immense advantages in mobile technology in particular as it allows teams on the ground to able to immediately access customer instructions and site plans to help ensure delivery against your KPIs. Mobile devices also let teams record their activity in real time in order to record risks and document action taken. These leaps in technology are changing the nature of what constitutes best practice and while it is possible to implement some of these practices in house, tapping into this level of infrastructure is a compelling reason to engage with multi-service experts such as Gritit.

For more information on how to help mitigate risk in your organization call GRITIT on 0800 0432911 or visit www.gritit.com


WINTER MAINTENANCE FEATUREGPSJ


GPSJWINTER MAINTENANCE FEATURE GPSJGPSJ

New 9 tonne tractor-towed Salt Spreader a genuine rival for traditional HGV gritting vehicles VALE Engineering has unveiled its new TS6000 model, the York-based company’s largest ever tractor-towed salt spreader. The TS6000 has a 6.0m³ hopper capacity to take approximately 9000kg of salt which is the same capacity as a traditional 18T HGV Gritter. VALE Engineering has calculated that the TS6000 could significantly reduce winter maintenance costs for local authorities from Day 1, with a 79% saving on capital investment and a 54% saving on capital and operational costs combined.*

James Wilson, Managing Director of Vale Engineering (York) Ltd states: “With much lower capital expense and maintenance costs, we can demonstrate that this tractor-towed salt spreader provides a very cost-effective alternative to front-line 18T HGV gritting vehicles used by local authorities and independent contractors responsible for the highways winter maintenance. Like all our other tractor-towed salt spreaders, the TS6000 is capable of spreading wet or dry, brown or white salt, via its unique POZI-FEED stainless steel auger system. It is fitted with a high-speed agricultural axle and high-speed wheels and tyres.”

Massive savings on winter maintenance can be achieved In these incredibly challenging times, there is enormous pressure on local authorities to reduce budgets whilst still maintaining a high level of service. Traditionally, highways have been gritted using HGV lorries. However, when legislation changed in 2013, it permitted agricultural vehicles using red diesel to tow trailed gritters on the highways when previously they had only been allowed to snowplough. This legislation change opened up new opportunities and ways to potentially reduce budget costs. Whilst VALE acknowledges that this is not necessarily a concept for all locations, the company believes it is worth embarking on a cost comparison to see if it is something which could be used to ease the current pressure on councils by utilising in-house grounds maintenance tractors and/or external agricultural contractors. To back up its claims, VALE Engineering has taken the cost of a traditional 18T gritting lorry fitted with a 6 cubic metre gritter operated by in-house staff and has compared those capital and operational costs with a similar sized tractor-towed salt

spreader bought by the council and free issued to an agricultural contractor to be operated by them in conjunction with their tractor. In their calculations, VALE has assumed the equipment would be written off over 7 years and the number of grit runs within the season would be 40. Using these figures, VALE believes the yearly equipment cost of an 18T HGV Gritter Lorry would be £16,857, whereas the comparable costs with an equivalent tractor-towed salt spreader would be £3,557, a saving of almost 80%. Although operational costs for the tractor-towed salt spreader would be higher than those of an 18T HGV Gritter Lorry, when capital and operational costs are combined, every year an 18T HGV Gritter Lorry would cost a local authority £19,657, according to VALE, whereas the tractor-towed salt spreader equivalent would be just £9,157, a potential saving of over 50%.*

What do local authorities think?James Wilson of VALE Engineering reports that: “Tractor availability, combined with ever-tightening council budgets, means that tractor gritters are often seen as a really cost-effective alternative to traditional gritting methods and now form

an essential part of many local authority winter maintenance plans. Tractor mounted salt spreaders, and snow ploughs, are now used extensively, either as a direct replacement, or to provide extra resilience to, the front-line gritting HGV fleet.” Perhaps the final words should go to Richard Marr, Highways Area Manager at North Yorkshire County Council who has gone on record to say: “Utilising agricultural contractors and farmers is a very cost-effective method of increasing resilience without a large investment in capital equipment. We have found this method of service delivery very successful and effective.” QED as the scientists would say…

VALE Engineering is the UK’s leading supplier of winter maintenance and weed control equipment for the municipal and amenity sectors with standard designs including salt spreaders and snow ploughs for highways as well as liquid de-icers for cycleways. For further information email [email protected], visit www.valeuk.com or telephone 01904 738533.

*Source: “Under Pressure to save money?” published by VALE Engineering (York) Ltd.

Milton Keynes Council Highways

PreparationOur winter season begins in September when we start preparing for the cold weather. We fill up our specially built salt barn at our Bleak Hall depot which holds over 6,000 tonnes of rock salt. Across the borough there’s over 400 grit bins to check and fill too. We have a fleet of nine gritting lorries here and each of them are named. Last year we ran a competition to get the public to suggest and then vote on a name for two of our gritters

and Spready Mercury and Tyrannathawrus Rex won out of the final ten.This year our mini gritters have just been named Gritter Thunberg and Roger Spreaderer! The public take a keen interest in gritting over the winter and are reassured that there is a team out and about salting before they set off for the school run or morning commute.

The Gritting TeamOur gritter drivers spend 5 months on call for gritting duty.

This has a big impact on family life as they can and do get called on at all times of the day or night. We’ve even been gritting on Christmas Day, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve! It’s a big commitment from the team as they must be prepared all the time, there’s no drinking alcohol, you might be called out in the middle of the night and you’ll have to adjust your sleeping patterns. Many drivers also do their day jobs working around gritting too. They also must keep nearby

so there’s no weekend breaks or visiting relatives a long way away when they are on call. Many grit lorry drivers say they enjoy doing the job because it feels good to be doing something important. Without them gritting the roads they would be dangerous, and the city would come to a stop including emergency vehicles. They go out in difficult conditions to make the road network safer for everyone else. This includes during heavy snow, freezing temperatures and foggy conditions. During prolonged periods of snow such as the Beast from the East in 2018, they were called in most days to go out and grit the road networks in difficult conditions. Occasionally they also must content with broken down vehicles in the road, a variety of wildlife including badgers, deer and foxes and sometimes verbal abuse. However, despite that there is a camaraderie within the teams, and they support each other through the long shifts covering the set priority routes.

Some interesting facts about tractors! And why they are ideal for winter maintenance

• Since 2013 tractors have been able to grit using red diesel whilst HMRC also decided not to impose a restrictive work radius • There are 323,000 tractors in the UK** with a large proportion of them underutilised on farms and at councils in winter time • Virtually all tractors are 4-wheel drive, making them ideal for winter work in ice and snow• Agricultural vehicles do not require tachographs, so driver’s hours also do not apply • Tractors have a heavy-duty front axle which means there is less of a compromise between the weight of a front implement and its strength• The standard cost per hour for a 100-150hp tractor and operator is typically £35/per hour including fuel, wear & tear and damage, as well as operator’s wages, holiday, sick pay etc• In 2015 the maximum speed for tractors was increased to suit their increasingly sophisticated transmission and braking systems • Tractors have industry standard methods of attaching equipment to them, meaning snow ploughs do not have to be custom fitted

Source: Agricultural Engineers Association.

34 GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2017 35GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020

GPSJWINTER MAINTENANCE FEATURE GPSJWINTER MAINTENANCE FEATUREGPSJ

#SayNOtoRockSalt #SayYEStoEcoGrit

What can be done?The solution is surprisingly simple but it would require us all to make a little change. Many little changes can make a life changing difference, as all of us are affected on a daily basis by these problems. With this kind of change we would all start to see the results in our lifetime. The change in question is to stop putting down untreated rock salt onto our roads, pavements and car parks over the winter period. Brine and pure de-icing salt aren’t much better either.

What’s wrong with what we are doing now?In their current form, these products are super corrosive and terrible for our environment and ecosystem. They are not even

that affective, sometimes having to be put down multiple times a day, as these products have a low absorption factor. They are also only active to temperatures of -7C and anything below that renders them useless (the ground temperature is often colder than the air temperature). Their corrosive nature is evident all around us if we stop and look. Where grit bins are placed at sloping junctions and on hills, the roads are much worse than the surrounding areas. It doesn’t matter if the surface is tarmac (asphalt) or concrete, rock salt will eat its way through the surface as the hard grit embeds itself into the smallest cracks and holes. With the high volume of traffic we have on the roads, this causes the whole surface area to weaken

and deteriorate much quicker than we can fix. Potholes need to be permanently fixed without cutting a section out (Thermal Road Repairs leads the way with this technology), nothing else will do but because the whole road surface is getting eaten away, as soon as you fix one pothole another will appear near by because of the weakened surface. Highways England recognise a deterioration annually of 3% to the road network which must run in the £10b’s, even £100b’s in damage annually when you work out how many roads we have and this is increasing each year with new housing estates being built everywhere so the problem is only going to get worse, not better and if our weather starts to worsen in the future, we are going to have a real problem on our hands.

Are the products we are using now that bad?Nature over millions of years has locked away many “nasties” inside the rock salt to protect the planet and we are spreading it back around before we’ve even treated it, no wonder it’s cheap. Urea is touted as a safe alternative to rock salt but in reality, if adopted on a national level would put our waterways and sea at risk of toxic algae blooms (more info in online article) which would be devastating for us.

Is there any hope?Fortunately yes, and it comes under the name of EcoGrit Concentrate. EcoGrit can be applied traditionally like rock salt, it works to a temperature of -20C and is 80%, yes 80% less corrosive.

It also has a much higher absorption factor meaning it doesn’t need to be put down as often and in low traffic areas can last a number of days depending on snowfall. It has the ability to be mixed with water so it can be applied by spray. In this form it works to about -8C (100g per litre) but can cover a larger area than in grit (granular) form. It’s ideal for steps, fire escapes, paths and entrances to buildings. It creates no mess and isn’t walked into buildings. EcoGrit has no storing or handling restrictions and does not fall under COSHH regulations. It can also be used in large amounts (nationally) without harm to the environment unlike Urea. It is a natural, bio-degradable product with inbuilt rust inhibitors. It is non-toxic and safe to use around children, plants and animals (non-harmful if ingested). EcoGrit can be used as an anti-icer, de-icer or anti corrosion liquid.

Please help rebuild our country!Keeping a few buckets on hand will prevent us from having to close schools or key services and allow people to queue safely this winter. We know we need to make a change as we can’t keep destroying our roads quicker than we can fix them, otherwise we will never be a nation that can truly grow again. Let’s make Britain “GREAT” again.

Visit www.ecogrit.co.ukTo trial this product please email [email protected], or call 0800 193 6466.

Traffic accidents, potholes, road deterioration, trip hazards on pavements and in car parks, There seems to be an epidemic happening all around us affecting every city, town, village and the connecting roads in between. Why is this happening? What can we realistically do about it?

Reesink clears path adding more specialist machineryReesink agriculture new distributor for agrimetal blowers and sweepers

AgriMetal is a familiar brand for Reesink’s managing director David Cole: “I’ve worked with AgriMetal before and recognise it as a popular blower line with great reliability and features, so when the opportunity arose recently to bring it in under our newly formed Agricultural division here at Reesink we didn’t hesitate. Customers responded to the brand’s performance, build quality and competitive pricing in the past and I am sure will do so again.” There are three leaf and debris blowers available. All are tractor mounted with the BW2500 requiring 25hp at the PTO, BW3500 35hp and

BW4500, 45hp respectively. They have an aluminium rather than steel impellor which, because it requires less energy at full throttle, delivers a quieter, smoother and vibration free operation. This will have sure-fire appeal to golf courses and urban sports ground, for example, where it is important to keep noise pollution to a minimum. The lightweight construction reduces the sudden loading on the driveline and helps reduce belt wear as the PTO is engaged. The large roller on which the blower rides lets you work in the worst conditions without marking or compacting the turf, particularly useful for

sports surfaces, especially on turns. In fact, in contrast to the competition, the roller will often repair imperfections on the turf. This low decibel series of tractor-drawn blowers has been designed for maximum productivity and minimum maintenance and are a worthy addition to any golf course, sports ground, paddock and orchard and the option to fit caster wheels, which allows the machine to switch to hard surface application, makes them a good option for public schools, colleges, universities and large estates for driveway clearing too. Joining the blowers are two collectors, the Tuff Vac and Multi Vac. The Tuff Vac comes in two variants, PTO driven for use with a 35hp+ tractor, or with its own 27hp engine allowing it to be towed by a smaller tractor or larger utility vehicle. The Multi Vac is pulled and powered by any 50hp or higher tractor. The Tuff Vac delivers a simple but effective proposition in either version. A hydraulic counter rotating brush or rubber ‘finger’ rotor provides superior performance on hard to pick up materials such as straw and a whopping 50 percent more exhaust area than some competitive models means more vacuum and less clogging. The addition of a wander hose kit for awkward areas and the standard heavy duty ‘finger’ rotor which can be optionally changed to a nylon bristle brush for hard

surfaces means it’s a versatile little number. Meanwhile, the Multi Vac has a large format design, greater holding capacity and a new brush system that is second to none in sweeping leaves and branch debris. The impeller RPM is reduced for a quieter operating level, reducing noise pollution, and two rotary blades turn at high speed to shred leaves and branches. A third rotary blade is located inside the pick-up head throat so preventing clogging. This exclusive internal shredder greatly increases the volume of debris that is packed into the hopper and prevents dust to deliver a cleaner job. The pickup head rides on four large rollers to eliminate marking, compacting and scuffing of the surface and the new brush freely pivots so as not to damage the turf while throwing leaves and branches into the intake.Steven Haynes, sales manager Reesink Agriculture, continues: “For those looking for a debris blower or collector, this range is competitive and worth a look. The products deliver high performance, excellent air flow and are not too noisy, while Reesink and its dealers brings customer support and finance to the party.”

For further information on the range, call Reesink Agriculture on 01480 226800, email [email protected], or visit reesinkagriculture.co.uk

Reesink is the new distributor for AgriMetal blowers and collectors in the UK. A range of three low decibel three-point linkage mounted debris blowers and two high capacity collectors, recognised for their safe, efficient and reliable performance for sports, grounds and other turf customers, are now available from the agricultural and turfcare distributor in time for Autumn.

The tractor mounted BW3500 leaf and debris blower, part of the AgriMetal range.


GPSJIT GPSJ

36

LOCAL AUTHORITY & COUNCILGPSJ


GPSJGPSJ

Working from home looks set to stay for public sector employeesDistributed workforces transforming the way the public sector manages and secures endpoints.

Many public sector employees look set to remain working from home for the long-term, as a result of the pandemic. Public sector leaders reported that working from home was here to stay with almost half of those surveyed believing that 70% or more of their formerly office-based employees would be allowed to continue to work from home in some capacity. Reasons given included “proof that working from home was more productive” and that it “allowed for a review of property use and the subsequent potential savings from reducing office space”. The findings came from a survey questioning public sector leaders on the biggest challenges facing their UK IT teams during the pandemic. The independent research was commissioned by IGEL, provider of the next-gen edge OS for cloud workspaces, and undertaken by market researchers Question & Retain.

Public sector challengesProviding access to business critical applications and suitable computing devices were the biggest initial challenges facing UK public sector IT teams (33%), as employees rushed to work from home during the coronavirus pandemic; while 28% said it was providing suitable mobile computing devices to their now remote workforce.

Other significant challenges included broadband and Wi-Fi connectivity issues at employees’ homes. These issues were just one of a number of support problems that resulted in 60% of IT teams reporting an increase in end-user support as employees worked remotely. Of those, over a third saw up to 50% more end-user support requests, 6% up to 100% more, 12% up to 200% more and 6% up to 300% more support requests. However, a third reported no noticeable change and 6% reported less support required than usual, likely to be as a result of furloughed staff.

Priority technology investment Investments in cloud (29%) and hardware (26%) were predicted to see the biggest spend increases over the next 12 months as organisations adjusted their IT infrastructure to reflect the new working culture, followed by security (13%) and virtual desktop Infrastructure (10%).

“This research shows that public sector IT teams have been incredibly quick and versatile in adjusting to the requirements of the pandemic and successful in keeping vital public sector services operational,” said Simon Townsend, Chief Marketing

Officer at IGEL. “In less than a few months, work from home and remote working computing demands have gone beyond being simply desired, to becoming essential. The priority moving forward is to establish a resilient IT infrastructure to support the significant proportion of the workforce that will continue operating remotely. Large distributed workforces and the resulting trend towards widespread cloud migration is transforming how the public sector manages and secures endpoints, fueling demand for virtual apps, desktops and cloud workspaces.”

Conclusions and considerationsFor many organisations, the move to a distributed workforce was an understandably enormous initial jolt but as the workforce and systems settle to a new way of working, there will be time to consider the opportunities and benefits in the new approach to working. As well as the technology needs of a distributed workforce, organisation and IT leaders can now consider the implications for their real estate. There may be opportunities to rationalise office space and make financial savings. Public sector leaders will also need to consider the impact working away from a centralised office will have on staff work patterns, and the different support they may need to provide users.

Facilitated by a flexible IT infrastructureThese opportunities can only be capitalised on with a robust flexible working IT infrastructure that can support these changes. A Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and cloud workspace can be

that solution. It can be an effective migration pathway to leapfrog to the latest technology platforms and enable workforce flexibility with centralised management and increased levels of security.

How IGEL can helpBusiness continuity, remote working and workspace agility have become a critical business priority as organisations look to enable their workforce access to desktops, applications, and data from remote locations. IGEL’s Work-From-Home Kit provides everything you need to deploy, manage, and secure IGEL OS to thousands of users, regardless of where they work. VDI and Desktop as a Service (DaaS) enables organisations to rapidly deploy Windows desktops and business line applications in a consistent, secure and performant way. VDI and DaaS is helping organisations not just enable work from home strategies but enable employees to work from anywhere. Solutions from Citrix, VMware, Microsoft and Amazon offer both on-premises and cloud-delivered solutions. While these solutions offer new ways to deploy desktops and applications, organisations still require a secure and easy way to manage the endpoints. IGEL OS provides this solution; even enabling old devices and those beyond end of life support to be quickly and simply converted to IGEL endpoints, with all the security and management advantages it brings. For more information on IGEL, visit www.igel.com. For an Executive Summary of the IGEL Public Sector Pulse Check research visit: https://www.igel.com/public-sector-distributed-workforce-executive-summary/

Bristow & Sutor donates PPE to Citizens Advice BureauCitizens Advice in Birmingham received several boxes of PPE recently, donated by Bristow & Sutor, one of the UK’s leading players specialising in debt recovery, based in Washford, Redditch.

This PPE donation was made as part of ongoing support to Birmingham City Council, whom Bristow & Sutor have successfully worked with for over 12 years. In that time, Bristow & Sutor has developed and enhanced services including the introduction of webchat for debtors, increasing outbound calls, implementing text reminders for cases in payment arrangements, implementing more payment methods and prioritising the most successful contact methods. From 2019 to 2020, Citizens Advice delivered 1265 outreach sessions in hospitals, libraries, job centres, HMP Birmingham, Birmingham Magistrates’ Court and mental health venues across Birmingham. 50 volunteers and 57 paid staff helped to assist 28,924 clients during this time. It is hoped the boxes of masks, hand gel, wipes and gloves provided by Bristow & Sutor will help ensure this important work can continue safely for anyone that needs support this year and beyond. Every Bristow & Sutor enforcement agent, formerly known as bailiffs, now possess equipment such as masks, hand sanitisers, antibacterial wipes, disinfectant sprays and gloves as standard. All members of staff have been trained on the use of PPE and must pass an industry approved course before being allowed to conduct visits. They are not permitted to enter properties currently, so any resolution found is done so in a socially distanced manner from the doorstep. On receiving the donation of PPE, Kelly Danks, Debt Service Manager, Citizens Advice Birmingham, said, “We were delighted to receive this donation as it will allow us to speak face to face with more local people

about their circumstances. This is important for vulnerable members of the Birmingham community, especially when you consider more people may be facing vulnerable circumstances currently. Thank you to Bristow & Sutor for their generosity and support.” Bristow & Sutor employees are directly employed and are not paid based on the performance of one visit, their goal remains to help find the best solution and not focus purely on achieving immediate revenue. Before resuming visits, Bristow & Sutor supplied reconnection letters to debtors, giving them the opportunity to set up flexible payment arrangements and discuss changing circumstances. Emma Watson, Head of External Communications at Bristow & Sutor, says, “We understand better than

anyone the importance of communicating with those in debt and the positive outcomes those conversations can lead to. Our business has strong roots in the local community and as part of our support to Birmingham City Council, we wanted to do something to help ensure access to impartial advice is not restricted for anyone at this difficult time. Citizens Advice Birmingham have been very grateful for the PPE donation and we are currently looking into the possibility of making further donations to other local institutions within the region.” Bristow & Sutor are committed to supporting charities and voluntary organisations who provide debt advice to local communities. As part of their ongoing social value initiative, they are now offering to provide free boxes of PPE to other

organisations, enabling face-to-face debt advice to remain accessible in these trying times. Bristow & Sutor has over 42 years’ experience in the collection of local council tax, non-domestic rates and unpaid Penalty Charge Notices. The company prides itself on delivering an ethical, compliant and high-quality service to the public and private sectors. Agents regularly assist debtors with completing questionnaires, setting up payment arrangements and directing them towards support and advice where appropriate. They are trained to the highest standard and use modern technology and data to achieve market-leading performance, whilst protecting the most vulnerable in society and the reputations of clients.


GPSJIT GPSJ


NHSGPSJ

InfoSaaS to make its solutions available free of charge to UKCloud customers in partnership agreement

UKCloud’s customers and partners can now access InfoSaaS’s solutions supporting data security, risk management and general business compliance activities (ISO9001, ISO27001, ISO27017, ISO27018 and ISO27701), supply chain management (ISO28001), data protection, (UK Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR) and health and safety risk management (ISO45001). Peter Rossi, co-founder of InfoSaaS, said: “Our solutions have always been intended to make obsolete the ‘traditional’ approaches used by companies for their information security, risk management and compliance activities, which are prone to human error and omissions. Essentially, we aim to help organisations to move on from spreadsheets and documents – but, of course, inertia and cost are always obstacles to change. This agreement removes the cost issue, for companies which have – through a process of digital transformation and migration to the cloud – already shown that they are unlikely to be held back by inertia.”

James Maynard, Solutions Director for UKCloud said: “UKCloud is committed to supporting our public sector customers and industry partners in driving out the cost and risk associated with traditional approaches to common challenges such as security and compliance. We have developed our multi-cloud platform to provide the flexibility, assurance, and expertise necessary to power innovative and specialist SaaS solutions, ensuring our customers and partners never have to compromise on security or value. We are delighted that InfoSaaS has chosen to use our platform to deliver this generous offer designed to accelerate adoption of digital solutions.”InfoSaaS provides industry-leading SaaS software solutions for achieving and retaining multiple ISO management system certifications. By virtue of being platform-based, its solutions enable:• Compliance managers (or whoever is responsible for ISO compliance within their organisation) to collaborate

easily with other, remote colleagues, and to conduct “internal audits” to ensure that standards are met ahead of any external audit; and• Certification Bodies to conduct surveillance audits more easily and even remotely.

ISO management system certifications have grown in importance to organisations operating in increasingly competitive markets around the world, clearly communicating relevant or important competencies to potential customers. Demonstrating certification against industry standards and evidencing a mature approach to the protection of sensitive information and personal data have become baseline requirements in many markets and for some customers.

InfoSaaS and UKCloud have signed a partnership agreement that will see InfoSaaS’s data security, risk management and compliance software solutions made available to UKCloud’s customers and partners, free of charge for the an initial six month period.

NHS Lanarkshire to advance Scotland’s patient safety agenda with Patientrack

An early warning system that helps busy doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals to quickly identify when patients are at risk of deterioration is to be deployed across hospitals and community settings throughout Lanarkshire. Patientrack, which first hit headlines in Scotland for helping staff at NHS Fife to transform clinical practice and to significantly cut cardiac arrests, will now be deployed across the entirety of NHS Lanarkshire in a new five-year contract with smart health technology provider Alcidion. The decision, driven by clinical demand for the system in Lanarkshire, follows a robust trial of the Patientrack electronic observations and alerting system at University Hospital Monklands. The system was deployed into the hospital’s Operational Command Centre – the first of its kind anywhere in Scotland – where large-scale screens show staff the status of each patient throughout the hospital. The new agreement will see Patientrack rapidly expanded to help many of the 12,000 staff working in NHS Lanarkshire’s communities, health centres, clinics and at three district general hospitals – University Hospital Hairmyres, University Hospital Monklands and University Hospital Wishaw.

Donald Wilson, NHS Lanarkshire’s director of information and digital technology, said: “This implementation of Patientrack will expand on what we have learned from the Monklands digital hospital initiative and its links to the command centre we have established at the current site.” In NHS Lanarkshire’s three acute hospitals, Patientrack will allow nurses to digitally capture patient vital signs at the bedside before it automatically calculates a patient’s early warning score and alerts clinicians to attend when needed. In the community, the system will be configured to the specific needs of a range of relevant services, for example, mental health. Lynette Ousby, UK general manager for Alcidion, said: “The project at NHS Lanarkshire is a direct response to an active clinical demand for a technology that is genuinely useful for hard working NHS professionals. The expansion of Patientrack across NHS Lanarkshire is demonstrable of an appetite in Scotland to use health tech to deliver the best and safest care possible for patients. “We are committed to making this a huge success in Lanarkshire, and to supporting the ‘once for Scotland’ mission to accelerate digital technologies across the country when they

have proven they can deliver.” Patientrack is also used more widely in other parts of the UK to spot patient deterioration and allow early intervention. Hospitals in England, for example, have innovated with the system to help identify and manage conditions including sepsis, and to even predict and prevent deadly illnesses such as hospital acquired acute kidney injury. Alcidion also plans to launch a new technology into the NHS during 2020 in order to provide the NHS with new options around integrating and realising more value from existing IT, and in embracing modern technologies that can automate thousands of routine processes and care plans currently manually delivered by doctors and nurses. Alcidion Group Managing Director, Kate Quirke said, “Supporting the delivery of NHS Lanarkshire’s clinical and technology strategy is an important opportunity for Alcidion. The NHS is a core focus for Alcidion globally, and Scotland is an important part of that focus as we work to help hospitals advance patient safety and to use technology to make the right thing to do the easiest thing to do.”

NHS Lanarkshire signs up to deploy Alcidion’s early warning system that has already helped healthcare professionals in Scotland improve patient care and safety.

A leading supplier of this kind of high-level support is the Bristol-based consultancy, Transformation-Leaders.com, whose Managing Director, David Pinchard, says: “We fully understand the financial and manpower restraints facing the UK’s public sector and have responded with a unique and cost-effective business model that can help these under-pressure managers deliver new services and political initiatives whilst complying with all necessary financial standing orders, HR regulations and ‘best value’ criteria. “Starting with a well-constructed project specification is the key to success,” says David. “The tighter the tender, the greater

the return on investment and the more successful the outcome”. “This is why we like to be in at the start of a project and work alongside clients to develop a well-thought out specification, clear objectives and a realistic timetable for the successful delivery of the project, especially those that are valued under the EU’s ‘small lots’ threshold @ c. £65,630 or c.£118,130 for central government contracts. “Once the specification is in place, our clients then have the option of going out to tender – which can often be a lengthy and unpredictable process - or they can contract one of our pre-qualified business transformation experts to deliver the project, starting work within a few days

and with strict cost-controls in place. “Government agencies which we have helped in this way include the General Social Care Council, the Legal Services Board, the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, the Law Society and the Stationery Office and Ordnance Survey, along with local authority and regional government agencies across many sectors. “Our clients are always surprised to learn that this kind of highly-qualified managerial support can be acquired within such a short turnaround period and that transformation-leaders.com will continue to provide 24/7 back-up support should unforeseen circumstances or problems arise.

“Full details of how we work can be found on our website - www.transformation-leaders.com which demonstrates our ability to deliver complex public and private sector projects on time, on budget and to specification, no matter what it takes, and with offices in London, Bristol and Halifax, help and advice is never far away”.

Contact David Pinchard: 020 7830 9663 david.pinchard@transformation-leaders.comwww.transformation-leaders.com

Unremitting financial pressures, ongoing staff reductions and the unforgiving need to deliver new political initiatives against tight budgets are leading local, regional and national government managers across the UK to turn to outsourced private sector business transformation experts for the delivery of organisational change and new services.

Under pressure public sector managers turn to private sector boardroom expertise

David Pinchard


GPSJTRANSFORMATION-LEADERS NHS GPSJGPSJ

Andy Kinnear joins Ethical Healthcare Consulting

Andy Kinnear is to join Ethical Healthcare Consulting, a growing community interest company that is proud to be the only not-for-profit digital health consultancy in the UK. The former chair of BCS Health and Care and director of digital transformation at NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit, will become partnerships director at Ethical, which is expanding by bringing together high calibre like-minded experts. Andy joins Anne Cooper, the former chief nurse at NHS Digital, who is Ethical’s clinical director. Andy Kinnear said: “I am really looking forward to getting started. I like what Ethical and the people who work for it stand for: they have real public sector values, and an emphasis on delivering value for health and care that I find very attractive.”

Ethical Healthcare Consulting was founded by its chief executive, Thomas Webb, who previously worked for the NHS and wanted to provide a different consultancy offering more in line with NHS values. The community interest company is focussed on supporting digital transformation projects across healthcare, from strategy through to business cases, procurement and implementation. It specialises in EPR, clinical imaging, enterprise infrastructure and data strategies as well as clinical safety. With few financial motivations, the team is focused purely on working in partnership with the NHS, to improve patient care. Andy Kinnear said: “Most of our work is focused on the real problems that the NHS needs to address today. We all know that a new wave of innovation is

coming, with AI and robotics and other technologies that will have a lot to offer health and care in the future. “But we will only be able to realise their potential if we get good, digital foundations in place now. “We need to create a framework for the exciting world that is coming. That is what I spent my career in the NHS doing, and what I am joining Ethical to continue to do.” Thomas Webb said he really welcomed the fact that Andy Kinnear had decided to join Ethical’s “small but smart team” at an exciting time for the consultancy. “It is credit to the Ethical team that they have helped to create an environment in which Andy feels he can continue with his ambition and share our ethos. “I know that Andy has had

his pick of prestigious offers, so it says something that he has decided to work with us,” he said. “We are not super-corporate, and we don’t subscribe to the ‘omnipotent consultant’ mould. “We like to think of ourselves as normal, approachable human beings who want to do good work for the right reasons. I’m sure that Andy will support our growth and help us to do more of it, so everybody can benefit from the next wave of digital transformation.” Ethical is currently working clinical safety for national Covid-19 response programmes, multiple regional EPR and imaging programmes as well as the growing number of regional image and record sharing projects that are being launched to support the NHS ‘reset’ next year.

Influential digital health leader joins growing not-for-profit consultancy committed to ‘making a difference to and for the NHS’

Andy Kinnear


4342 GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020

GPSJLOCAL AUTHORITY & COUNCIL GROUNDS MAINTENANCE GPSJGPSJ

Social Value is no longer optional: The positive policy changes affecting public sector procurementThe Cabinet Office’s Social Value Procurement Policy Note (PNN) came into effect in September and will be applied to all new procurements from 1st January 2021. Sarah Stone, director at Social Value agency – Samtaler, discusses the changes and advises how the public sector should respond.

Do you know what Social Value is and how to implement it effectively? Local government has embraced the term since the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, yet it’s still very common to see blank expressions on the faces of Central Government buyers when you mention social value. This is all about to change following the Cabinet Office’s Social Value Procurement Policy Note (PPN). A transformational move that will catapult Social Value up the agenda. Departments are being told that Social Value should be explicitly evaluated in all central government procurement rather than just ‘considered’ - as is currently required under the Act. Application is mandatory in central government and procurers are being instructed to ensure it carries a heavy enough score to be a differentiating factor in bid evaluation. It applies to procurements covered by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and all Central Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies. Together these are referred to as ‘In-Scope Organisations’ and management teams in these organisations need to turn their attention to Social Value and fast. I’ve been working in this field since 2015 supporting local government procurers and their suppliers to identify practical ways to create Social Value. If you’re the Chief Executive or a member of the senior management team at one of these In-Scope Organisations, here are eight things you can do:

1. Embed Social Value across your organisation. This isn’t just about procurement. Social Value is fundamentally a principle that should inform everything you do. Make sure your staff know this is a priority and provide leadership to support them in implementing it properly.

2. Develop a Social Value strategy. Start by considering what your communities, services users and the people you buy products and services for need. Then gather together a list of who you buy from and consider the resources they might they have available. Pinpoint areas that overlap and align with your strategic priorities. A good Social Value strategy will also cover things like contract management and training of staff and suppliers.

3. Talk to your suppliers. What are they already doing to support the economy and what ideas do they have to support people living in the community where the contract is being delivered? Many larger firms have corporate responsibility or volunteering programmes that can be redirected. Procurement teams are understandably cautious about engaging with suppliers outside the formal procurement process so it’s important to find a way to enable these conversations. Employing a third party often helps.

4. Talk to the people your products and services are being bought for to find out what they need. This insight will help guide your suppliers and

focus your procurement team. Regularly refresh and update it. At the moment you should be focusing on the organisations serving the communities and sectors that have been most impacted by COVID.

5. Don’t squeeze suppliers to give you something extra for free. This is one of the biggest complaints we hear from suppliers. Be empathetic and think about it from their perspective. Done badly, social value costs money and drives prices up. Done well it creates value for everyone. You should be focusing on how your suppliers can add value for your communities, not asking them to give you things for free.

6. Train your staff. One of the biggest challenges category managers in procurement teams face is when the internal buyer doesn’t understand what social value is and resists putting it in the contract. At Samtaler, we often provide Social Value training to employees outside procurement. The Cabinet Office is also making training products available to

support implementation of the model in central government. E-learning is also available via the Government Commercial College.

7. Identify procurement opportunities that could be matched with social value initiatives. For example, housing contracts could support initiatives that tackle homelessness, while heating system suppliers could work with programmes addressing fuel poverty. Speak to the category managers of these contracts and make sure they are aware of the needs of your community groups.

8. Look at what Local Government has been doing – there is a LOT of great practice out there. Liverpool City Council is a great example. Local Authorities in Scotland (where it’s called ‘Community Benefit’) are also doing lots in this space.

To help broaden your understanding of what social value is and how to create it, visit www.samtaler.co.uk and sign-up to company’s monthly Social Value Files newsletter.

Sarah Stone

Daniel has almost fifteen years’ experience in sports turf management in various roles including head groundsman at East Dorset Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, and three years sales experience working with all Reesink brands in Glasgow and West Scotland. It is this mix of sales set against a practical background ‘in the field’ that Daniel, and Reesink Turfcare equipment sales manager Alastair Rowell, say will benefit customers in the Midlands. Daniel comments: “My time in

various greenkeeping positions and as a head groundsman has certainly enabled me to relate to customers in my sales role with Reesink over the last few years. It’s given me a practical understanding of what they want to achieve, and which products will best suit their needs. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with Reesink in Scotland and I feel fortunate that my experience and sales record affords me this new opportunity to work with Reesink customers in the Midlands. I’m excited

about making a new home in the area and look forward to carrying on the good relationships the company has with existing customers and creating new ones with those who have not benefited from fantastic brands such as Toro before.” Daniel’s role covers both fine turf and grounds customers and turfcare equipment sales manager Alastair says Daniel is ideal to cover both markets: “The Midlands is a key area for us, so it was imperative we get the right person in the role.

The remit includes all turfcare customers from golf clubs and sports venues, to local authorities and contractors, which matches with Daniel’s experience to date. He not only understands sales, but also the pressures and requirements of all those working in the turfcare sector. I believe he is a strong replacement for our open sales area.” Daniel can be contacted via Reesink HQ from 1 November on 01480 226800.

Daniel Tomberry is relocating to the Midlands from South West Scotland to take on the role of sales manager for the area.

New Reesink sales manager for Midlands: Experienced rep relocates for key role Daniel Tomberry is relocating to the Midlands from South West Scotland to take on the role of sales manager for the area.


With recent NHS figures revealing that one in six children in England have a probable mental health difficulty – a dramatic increase since the onset of the Covid crisis – and the Children’s Commissioner urging the Government to take immediate action to tackle this ‘growing epidemic’, placing young people’s wellbeing at the top of the agenda is more important than ever.

Looked After Children, many of whom also have Special Educational Needs, are four times more likely to experience mental health difficulties than other young people, and the pandemic has exacerbated many issues such as anxiety, depression and emotional or behavioural difficulties. Notoriously long waiting lists for young people to get the professional help they desperately need are compounding the problem, with data showing that around 75 per cent wait so long their condition gets worse or they are unable to access any treatment at all. While efforts to improve parents’ and carers’ access to professional advice and resources – such as through Public Health England’s Better Health - Every Mind Matters campaign or the Government-led initiative to introduce designated Mental Health Support teams in schools – are a step in the right direction, the impact is slow to filter through to those who require urgent intervention. So what can be done to bolster wellbeing among vulnerable young people and build brighter futures?

Team workBuilding strong support networks around young people is absolutely key - Ofsted’s latest report examining the impact of COVID-19 across the sectors it inspects highlights that “children’s experiences [during lockdown and school closures] weren’t necessarily determined by privilege or deprivation. Rather, those who are coping well have good support structures around them”. It is crucial that all parties supporting young people are ‘singing from the same hymn sheet’. A joined-up approach with shared strategies and goals ensures continuity and consistency – fundamental to maximising outcomes. Foster carers, staff, family members, educators, social workers, care agency managers must pool their expertise and perspectives, working together to put the child at the heart of care. It is also imperative that their own mental health needs are met - many care and education staff have made significant personal sacrifices throughout the pandemic, going the extra mile to help those entrusted to their care. At Outcomes First Group we have created new clinical / well-being regions led by Consultant Clinical Psychologists and Education Psychologists to provide enhanced levels of support, advice and guidance to education and care staff, parents and carers across all our residential care, education and fostering services. Through ‘multidisciplinary’ team work we can ensure everyone’s support needs are met, creating a nurturing network around young people.

Prompt actionSpeed is of the essence when tackling issues impacting on young people’s mental health, to prevent problems from escalating. Vulnerable children may require urgent expert support to address an eating disorder or other behaviours that put their health at risk such as self-harm or online misuse. Time spent online soared during lockdown, and while the internet has been a lifeline in many ways, it has also left young people vulnerable to online abuse, bullying or intense feelings of isolation and anxiety. Knowing how to access expert support swiftly is paramount. We have established a wellbeing/clinical support line which is managed by a senior clinician, ensuring that any carer, parent or staff member who needs advice or support has an immediate first port of call. From that first contact they will be guided to the most appropriate support.

Local expertiseBeing able to trust the source of advice and support is critical when seeking help for those with mental health difficulties. Despite the digital era giving us so much information at our fingertips, there is no substitute for sound local expertise from real people who are part of the community. At a local level we are creating more wellbeing hubs and locality based teams to complement our local offer and to enable us to provide additional services on a commissioned basis. This enables us to simplify access to key therapeutic support for children and young people such as speech and language therapy,

occupational therapy, clinical or education psychology.

Therapeutic knowledgeUnderstanding the impact of trauma on children and learning effective strategies for working with them are fundamental to helping them manage their difficulties. To maximise outcomes, therapeutic knowledge needs to be the common thread running between all parties involved in young people’s care, in particular knowledge of:• complex trauma and how it affects a child’s development• interpreting a child’s behaviour as a form of communication• the four pillars of PACE (Playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy) and its importance in developing relationships with children• reflective practice and how to apply it in a carer’s/educator’s role Our therapeutic parenting training programmes – accredited by the British Psychological Society – are being rolled out rapidly to all staff and carers throughout our organisation, from foster parents, to residential care workers, to staff in schools and even our executive team. Ultimately, success with children and young people is measured through wellbeing – getting the right support for our young people and their care team enables them to thrive in their education or care environment. Our new wellbeing hubs aim to combine the best of all worlds – promote the wellbeing of staff, carers, educators and young people through localised expertise in order to drive the best possible outcomes.

Young people’s mental health has plummeted since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic – what can be done to bolster wellbeing and build brighter futures?

GPSJGPSJGPSJ

Mike Blakey, Group Director of Quality, Outcomes First Group

IGEL chosen for major end user computing upgrade project at four municipalities in the Netherlands

IGEL, provider of the next-gen edge OS for cloud workspaces, today announced that ICT NML1, a technology and communications service provider owned by four Dutch municipalities in North and Central Limburg, has completed an extensive project to refresh their entire end-user computing infrastructure. ICT NML has implemented IGEL OS and IGEL UD3 endpoints at various local government office locations replacing 2,400 end-of-life zero clients. This is part of a wider €9 million investment – encompassing 27 different IT programs2 - to consolidate the technology used by the municipalities of Roermond, Venlo, Weert and Nederweert. This means that one modern, robust, secure and standardized IT environment has been deployed at the four councils. Established in 2018, ICT NML’s remit is to manage the entire ICT infrastructure for the four local authorities who provide all public services to over 220,000 residents. This includes issuing passports, driving licenses, building permits, providing social services, unemployment benefit and so on. Joost Poulissen, ICT NML’s team leader, explains, “Historically each municipality had its own IT department, budget and infrastructure. Creating a shared ICT service has meant they can punch above their individual weight in terms of the quality of enterprise

technology purchased, IT management has been simplified with money saved in the long run. Given the investment made, our ambition is to work with other municipalities, public sector and not for profit organizations in the Netherlands.”

Desktop IT Needed ReplacingFrom a VDI perspective, VMware Horizon was installed in 2013 with zero clients on the desktops running the PC over IP (PCoIP) display protocol. Dennis Buskes, ICT NML’s senior engineer, explains, “The endpoints were out of date and needed replacing but we wanted a new solution which had multi-protocol capabilities. This allows us to transition away from PCoIP to use VMware’s Blast Extreme, but also to run a dual environment so that the migration can be staged in our own time. IGEL OS and UD3 endpoints offer this capability.” ICT NML worked with local IGEL reseller, ARP, who provided assistance with the implementation. Poulissen says, “It was important to get our EUC upgrade program right because it was the first project where end-users experienced change themselves. Although it was a big job, we did it in just four months with our customers not experiencing any downtime.” ICT NML selected IGEL for various other reasons:• The IGEL Universal Management Suite (UMS) offered better management capabilities compared

to the competition allowing firmware updates to be pushed automatically to all endpoints. The UMS offers 7,000 configuration points so that the end-user experience can be finely tuned;• IGEL OS also enables the conversion of x86-64 devices. ICT NML has used the edge software to convert 150 Dell and Toshiba laptops into Linux- based IGEL machines – the first time that staff have been able to deliver remotely managed and secure laptops;• IGEL’s Cloud Gateway allows endpoints not on the corporate network to be connected such as devices located externally at meeting rooms, swimming pools or for staff working at home or visiting residents. Settings, updates and profiles are sent to the devices with staff shadowed for helpdesk purposes. IGEL OS also supports two-factor authentication for enhanced security. • IGEL OS enables easy connection to VDI and cloud workspaces using the UD3 endpoints and converted laptops. IGEL OS-powered endpoints are agnostic and can support both routes to application delivery given the built-in Firefox browser. Dirk Gielen, ICT NML project manager, explains, “We’re running about 800 applications within the municipalities – around 200 are already web-based SaaS solutions, others are legacy

systems over a decade old. Our goal is to give safe access to these SaaS apps directly from IGEL so as to reduce the amount of costly hardware required to underpin VDI whilst also making it faster for staff to access systems as they avoid the time delay logging into Horizon.” Harm Bolwerk, IGEL’s regional sales manager in Netherlands, said, “ICT NML has realized a step change in terms of EUC manageability working with us. Centralized control of desktops and laptops, automated firmware updates and simplified day to day maintenance means that many man-hours are saved – time that can be spent on far more strategic and productive initiatives. That’s the benefit of the IGEL OS combined with UMS.”

IGEL on Social MediaTwitter: www.twitter.com/IGEL_TechnologyFacebook: www.facebook.com/igel.technologyLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/igel-technology YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/IGELTechnologyTV IGEL Community: www.igel.com/community

1 ICT Noord en Midden Limburg. 2 This includes migrating from Microsoft Windows 7 to 10, updating server, storage and network hardware, implementing VMware and introducing a new enterprise-class back-up solution.

IGEL OS delivers easy and secure management of thousands of endpoints enabling ICT NML to now offer services to all Dutch public sector and not for profit organizations.

COVID-19 IT

46 GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL WINTER 2014GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2020

COVID-19GPSJ

IT hinders UK public sector response to Pandemic

A major pan-European study of 3,500 public servants has found that while almost three quarters (74%) of UK public servants experienced a major increase in remote working amongst their teams in response to Covid-19, over a third (37%) found that their IT hindered their ability to respond to the crisis. The study found the UK public sector experienced the biggest shift to remote working of the eight European countries analysed.

Despite the impact of technology on responding effectively to the crisis, almost two thirds (58%) of UK public servants indicated that service quality can be maintained or even improved with a remote model. This was only slightly below the European average of 62% - with Italy topping the rankings - with almost three quarters (71%) expecting no effect, or an improvement in services delivered remotely. The UK findings, which form part of the major new pan-European survey across eight countries, are published by management and technology consultancy BearingPoint. The study also found few UK public servants interested in the latest tablet or touchscreen device to help them deliver their work more effectively, but almost 2 in 5 (38%) need a modern/faster

computer, 34% require improved applications on their computer, and 31% need access to better IT infrastructure. Overall UK public servants’ views on remote working are positive – and compared to their European counterparts - the UK (52%) only ranks second to Italy (54%) for wanting to continue to work remotely regularly after the Covid-19 crisis is over. Almost three quarters (73%) of UK public servants also reported that the Covid-19 crisis has either had a positive impact on collaboration (46%) or had no effect on how their team has worked together (27%). But the BearingPoint report says that with a greater number of public servants in the UK and Europe wishing to continue working from home after the pandemic, the success of this new hybrid model (split between working remotely and in the office) relies on an effective allocation of tasks and careful planning of those activities carried out face-to-face rather than remotely.

Stewart Johns, Partner at BearingPoint said: “Our study has shone a light on the fact that in the UK and across Europe, public sector organisations need to prioritise investments in basic IT hardware and infrastructure to enable more effective remote working and

delivery of services. Remote working requires effective platforms for collaboration and remote conferencing, and professionalising the use of collaborative platforms such as MS Teams, will also future-proof service delivery and maintain public sector morale during these challenging times, and beyond.” The BearingPoint study also found:• Covid-19 response and job satisfaction – There has also been signs of a positive morale boost in the UK’s public sector - with almost half (43%) of public servants reporting that the response to Covid-19 has had a positive impact on their job satisfaction.• New skills - Over two thirds (69%) of UK public servants also state that the Covid-19 crisis has increased the need for new skills in their role; with a similar number (68%) stating that they will need new skills in the next three years.

Stewart Johns from BearingPoint added: “There’s a real hunger amongst public servants to acquire new skills, citing skills development as the key dimension to improve service quality, ahead of technology, management and the working environment. Public sector organisations should therefore invest more in L&D to

help public servants’ transition to new ways of working and take advantage of new technologies. With the right level of support, public servants can continue their transition from ‘process followers’ to ‘problem solvers’.” The countries included in the BearingPoint study were France, Germany, UK, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ireland using information captured from online surveys of representative sample groups over the summer period 2020. BearingPoint’s clients include many of the world’s leading companies and government organisations. The firm has a global consulting network with more than 10,000 people and supports clients in over 70 countries.

Stewart Johns

UNIQUE CCTV PLATFORM SUPPORTS IMPROVEMENTS IN AIR QUALITY AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT3 Integrates enforcement of CAZ, LEZ and traffic contraventions

on single platform3 Best in class multiple pollutant gas and particulate matter

sensor • Simple install and add-on to enforcement cameras • Cost effective for rapid high density/hyper local

deployments • Provides cloud based real-time data visualisation3 Transfers real-time air quality data via existing camera SIM3 Validates impact of improved driver compliance on air quality3 Delivers lowest total cost of ownership

POLICEANPR in usewww.met-police.uk

RisingBollards

THINK TRAFFIC, THINK CCTV, THINK VIDEALERT

For UK and International enquiries: Videalert Ltd, Clock House, Paines Lane, Pinner, Middlesex, HA5 3BY, UK

+44 (0) 20 3931 6556 [email protected]

www.videalert.com

governmenttel: 0845 345 5222 fax: 0207 183 7005 government and public sector journal autumn 2020 3...

Documents