News

In this News page we will give you a taste of the events and changes within our company, as well as some of the jobs and projects that Integrated Skills are undertaking. For older news, please select a News Archive from the list on the left.

March 2009  Update on Renfrewshire Route Optimisation  ISL are pleased to announce that Renfrewshire Council have made good progress in the implementation of the RouteSmart project and have purchased two secondary RouteSmart software licences as well as TrackSmart GPS hire for vehicle tracking.

March 2009  New Team Member for ISL  Integrated Skills are delighted to welcome Jamie Middleton to the team. Jamie is a graduate in Environmental Science and has an MSc in Integrated Environmental Studies. His experience includes ISO 14001 EMS as well as a range of GIS applications in the environmental sector. Jamie will be based at ISL’s Southampton office and will provide support on RouteSmart™ and other GIS projects as well as assisting clients with ISO 14001 accreditation.

March 2009  Three Year Support for DEFRA & MoD  Integrated Skills is pleased to announce that it has been awarded separate framework contracts by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Defence to provide environmental advice and support over the next three years.

February 2009  Update on Merton Route Optimisation  Merton Council successfully introduce new optimised refuse collection rounds prepared by ISL using RouteSmart software. The project centred on moving from a patchwork system of collection rounds to daily zones. Work commenced in earnest in the last two months of 2008 and after an intensive period of round modelling, route testing and communication, the new rounds were successfully implemented at the end of February.

January 2009  Route Optimisation for Renfrewshire Council  ISL have won a competitive tender to supply RouteSmart^TM software, training and support to Renfrewshire Council in connection with the optimisation of refuse collection, street cleaning and related environmental services. This is ISL’s first significant sale of its market leading route optimisation solution in Scotland and the level of interest in Scottish local authority GIS and waste services departments is very encouraging.

December 2008  Performance Manager Contract Management System for Bahrain  ISL has been appointed to undertake a scoping study for the development and implementation of a customised Performance Manager Contract Management System in Bahrain. The bespoke real-time web-based contract management system will incorporate a wide range of functional features including GIS integration, mobile devices, performance monitoring and reporting, inspections and complaints management. The system will be used for the provision of waste collection and cleansing services for Manama and Muharraq municipalities. Client Confidential.

December 2008  Valuation and Financial Reporting System  ISL has been appointed to specify, develop, implement and support a bespoke valuation and financial reporting system for a private bank (client confidential). The system will manage assets in excess of £2 billion.

December 2008  TrackSmart and RouteSmart^TM applied to Merton's refuse and recycling collection services  The London Borough of Merton has chosen Integrated Skills using RouteSmart^TM software to prepare new routes using its refuse and recycling collection services in a drive to improve service efficiency and balance workloads between crews. The current rounds are planned on a “patchwork” basis, with each collection vehicle responsible for its own area. The new regime will divide the Borough into 5 daily zones with the entire collection fleet operating in each zone on each day. This system will streamline supervision and management and enable missed collections or vehicle breakdowns to be resolved more efficiently. The project started with all the existing rounds being mapped using  TrackSmart, ISL’s cost effective GPS tracker hire service. This exercise highlighted variations in productivity across the Borough related to property type, traffic constraints and so on.

UPDATE: The new routes were successfully implemented in late February 2009.

November 2008  Implementation of Montenegro Solid Waste Master Plan  ISL, in joint venture with Egis-BCEOM, the French consulting engineers, commenced a project for the European Investment Bank to review the 2004 Solid Waste Master Plan and make recommendations for the priorities in relation to its implementation. ISL provided the Team Leader, waste management expert and transportation expert and consequently undertook the bulk of the work.  The results have been favourably received, both by the Montenegrin Ministry of Tourism and Environment and also by the ultimate client, the EIB.

UPDATE, March 2009: The EIB has now granted a further extension to the project in which ISL have been asked to ensure that all the necessary documentation, feasibility studies and EIAs have been prepared to appropriate EU standards.

November 2008  Planning and Permitting Projects  The ISL Planning team have been successful in securing planning permission for a number of clients in Hampshire and Buckinghamshire. The projects include waste recycling, agricultural improvement and restoration of a former landfill site. We were also successful in obtaining planning permission for a residential property adjacent to the River Thames which incorporated a floating foundation designed to withstand flood events.

The ISL Permitting team have also been successful in the transfer of an Environmental Permit from a Local Authority to a private contractor. We have a number of Permit applications for a range of facilities including; inert waste recycling, commercial waste recycling and municipal waste transfer, awaiting determination.

October 2008  ISL Newsletter  The ISL Newsletter for October '08 is a special 'routing' issue focussing on ISL's development of RouteSmart^TM Navigator, an "in-cab" navigation device that enables drivers of refuse vehicles, street sweeping vehicles, etc. to navigate newly optimised routes by following an on-screen display and spoken instructions. Please click here to see the newsletter in PDF format (350KB).