Spring Has Sprung!

Hello and welcome to our first newsletter of 2026!

We haven't hit your inboxes since December last year but for good reason - things have been busy...

We've been sponsoring and speaking at APSE, working through our RouteSmart partner's re-brand, planning our march webinar on Simpler Recycling and writing about the Local Government reorganisation we're sure is top of mind for you all.

Throw in some new integrations from Fleetclear and updates to our PowerBI connector and we've been kept nicely busy throughout Q1. Read on for the details and get in touch if we can support you at all.

APSE Street Cleansing Seminar

For our second year, Integrated Skills were delighted to act as lead sponsors for the APSE (The Association for Public Service Excellence) Street Cleansing & Street Scene Seminar 2026.

We gathered at the National Conference Centre (Motorcycle Museum) in Solihull on the 5th February and really enjoyed manning our stand and meeting everyone who came to chat with us.

One of our clients, Geoffrey Knight (Environment and Design Manager, Durham County Council) gave a presentation "Sweeping Change: How Technology Is Transforming Street Cleansing Services in Durham"

In this fantastic talk, Geoffrey covered the many areas in which Durham County Council have seen positive changes thanks to integrating technology, including:

• Digitising to manage services
• Evaluating work
• Providing Service Confirmation to improve public satisfaction

A summary of the event can be found here - if you've never been along to an APSE event, we highly recommend it.

Simpler Recycling Webinar

Our next webinar is on the 26th March 2026.

We'll be joined by Victoria Crawford our go-to independent waste and resources management consultant, for a comprehensive update on the Government’s Simpler Recycling strategy.

As always, the webinar is free to attend

This session is ideal for anyone involved in Waste Operations or Policy roles who needs a clear summary of the strategy’s current developments and next steps.

Topics will include:

• Simpler Recycling
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
• Deposit Return Scheme (DRS)
• Commercial Recycling
• Food Waste

Plus: A live Q&A session – no question is too small!

A Warm Welcome to Integrated Skills

We are so pleased to welcome some exciting new and rebooted clients:

• North Yorkshire Council: Route Optimisation Consultancy
• Shropshire Council: RouteSmart for ArcGIS Plan subscribers
• Chelmsford City Council: Migration from RSAG to RS Optimize, Navigator to SmartSuite Mobile, and Fusion to SmartSuite Web

The Impact of Local Government Reorganisation on Waste & Recycling Collection Activities

Our January blog laid out the 5 key challenges faced by Local Authorities who are facing reorganisation:

1. Policy Harmonisation
2. IT and Data Integration
3. Fleet and Route Optimisation
4. Staffing and TUPE Considerations
5. Procurement and Contract Alignment

2 of these 5 key issues rang particularly true of our new client, North Yorkshire Council (the largest authority in England), who are currently utilising our Route Optimisation services.

Our team are working with the Authority to bring together existing waste data from each of the seven ‘legacy’ Council areas' IT systems to formulate one data set - a ‘single source of truth’.

This is the key requirement for Integrated Skills’ next challenge; to provide ideal waste collection routes across the new authority.

The blog covers why waste and recycling collections are impacted by necessary shake ups, lessons learned from both past and planned reorganisations, and how we can help with the transition:

Read the full blog here

Fleetclear Camera Integration

Introducing Integrated Skills' vehicle camera partners, Fleetclear.

ISL have been working with Fleetclear to integrate their camera systems with our SmartSuite software.

This useful integration allows back-office teams to view a live feed and also capture footage as needed, improving safety, mitigating the financial risk of insurance claims, and increasing operational efficiency.

SmartSuite & PowerBI: Turn SmartSuite Data into Clear Decisions

Our 6th January article (link below) explains how our new SmartSuite Power BI Connecter makes your operational data work harder for you.

Without any manual exports and no double handling, your teams can turn live SmartSuite data into clear dashboards in minutes.

It's simple, fast and built for busy services.

The connector gives access to a wide range of data, including:

• Reports
• Operators
• Vehicles
• Route Events
• Job Instances
• Trade Sites and Events

This means you can create anything from simple management reports to detailed, cross-service dashboards - no matter how complex, your data becomes visual, easy to read and ready to share.

The outcome:

• Broader access to operational insight
• Clearer reporting across departments
• Better informed decisions

Whether you already use SmartSuite, work with Integrated Skills in another way, or are new to us, Power BI integration could transform how your authority uses data.

We'd love to show you what's possible.

RouteSmart Product Rebrand

Our RouteSmart partners from across the pond have informed us of several product name changes, detailed below. Rest assured, there are no changes to the products themselves, the changes are in name only.

• RouteSmartOnline will become RouteSmart Optimize
• RouteSmart for ArcGISPro will become RouteSmart Plan
• RouteSmart RAAS will become RouteSmart Engine

You will see these changes reflected on our website, in our communications and in our marketing over the next few months.

“It’s been a great start to the year. We all understand the challenges facing our council clients and they aren’t getting any easier, but it’s inspiring to see how innovation and amazing collaboration are driving real improvements on the ground.” -
Alan Paget , CEO at Integrated Skills

The post March 2026 Newsletter: Adventures at APSE, Local Goverment Reorganisation & New Integrations appeared first on Integrated Skills.

Hello, and Welcome to Our October Newsletter

This month we'll be updating you on our experience at the Resource & Waste Management Expo, highlighting some of our most successful integrations and how they could work for you, and bringing some exciting new tech to your attention.

Resource & Waste Management Expo 2025

We always enjoy the RWM Expo, and this year was no different.

Our Business Development Director, Stuart Henshaw and Jonathan Uttley, our Implementations Consultant (above) manned our stand and had some great conversations with industry peers, as well as existing and prospective clients.

Simon Erskine, one of our Senior Developers, caught up with Danielle Baci from RouteSmart Technologies, our route optimisation software supplier (below). It's always a pleasure to meet with our tech partners in real life!

Some of the new tech on display was really inspiring and exciting to see too...

Integrations

We’ve been shouting about the need for integrated solutions since our formation (hence the name), and we're seeing outstanding results for our clients in this area.

Our latest integrations with other specialist software include:

• CRM Services - SmartSuite includes an Integrations API which connects to your CRM system (for example, Microsoft Dynamics), enabling your teams to view the ‘real-time’ service status for an address. We've now reduced double-handling further, and enabled CRM teams to make important service information changes within SmartSuite via our Integrations API.
• SmartSuite Power BI Connector - For Waste Managers, the routine service information gathered by SmartSuite forms powerful ‘service intelligence’ which can now be analysed - harnessing the power of Power BI via the SmartSuite Power BI Connector. Managers benefit from advanced reporting, allowing them to view trends and patterns.
• Fleetclear Vehicle Cameras - Integration work between Fleetclear and Integrated Skills means that clients with the Fleetclear Camera system can view footage within SmartSuite. Live cameras can be viewed within the SmartSuite platform, and short CCTV clips related to a specific service report (such as a non-presented bin) can be attached to the address service history, and viewed if the report is contested.
• Teltonika Telematics - SmartSuite is gaining traction in the street cleansing environment. By integrating with Teltonika, we give clients the ability to follow live routes and brushes/up/down data. Our partnership with nomix enviro also provides a live view of spray bar on/off. Clients can search for previous sweeping evidence too - we're excited about the possibilities for the further integration of telematics in the future.

Read more about our integrations in our April 2025 blog:

https://www.integrated-skills.com/intelligent-integration-technology/

Binsight has caught our eye!

While wandering around the RWM expo there is always something new to see, and one innovation that grabbed our attention was an intelligent helper/service bin solution to help authorities monitor resident’s participation in food waste collections.

The bin is wheeled along the footpath away from the vehicle, and each time the bin crew empty a food caddy into the bin, an ‘intelligent’ sensor automatically records the date/time/location stamp.

There are no codes or code-readers, and no bin-chipping required.

The Binsight system from Biffa, provides authorities with this GPS data, which can be analysed to show participation levels along each street. When linked with Power BI, it can be integrated with national statistics to identify trends and target interventions.

This tech is a free-standing project for Biffa - meaning you don't need to be an existing customer to utilise the scheme.

For more information, email binsight@biffa.co.uk.

Integrated Skills will be at the annual LARAC conference on the 8th & 9th October at the Hotel Metropole, Birmingham.

Stuart Henshaw & Andy Clewes will be presenting RouteSmart Optimize, and our SmartSuite (in-cab and back-office) solution. We’ll also be open to any waste composition analysis chat too.

Come and say hello 👋

“ISL are knowledgeable, friendly and apply both common sense and logic to their projects which is invaluable.”

Si Pocock-Cluley, Head of Operations Value & Innovation, Ubico

A life-time, partnership approach to working with clients has led to decades of success since our incorporation in 1993.

We have continually developed new and innovative software and services for clients since our inception, and will continue to create the tools our sector needs for many years to come.

Helpful Links

• Digital Waste Tracking with Integrated Skills
• Identifying Contaminated Bins: Why Modern Tech Requires Smart Management
• Intelligent Integration Technology

The post October 2025 Newsletter appeared first on Integrated Skills.

Welcome to our brand new newsletter!

In this edition, we'll be highlighting some of the fantastic software developments available to our existing clients.

Read on to find out about key features of our SmartSuite solution, as well as three RouteSmart migration pathways to suit your needs.

Let's bring your systems up to date; ready for Simpler Recycling and the further regulatory changes to come.

SmartSuite: The Management System for All Aspects of Waste & Recycling Operations

SmartSuite is packed with innovative and simple-to-use features that benefit the entire team; from drivers to back office staff and management.

For today, we're focussing on our in-cab and web tools.

SmartSuite Mobile

Our in-cab solution navigates drivers along optimised routes using GPS - great stuff, but that's not all...

The user-friendly interface allows drivers to:

• Automatically generate completion data
• Report service issues
• Log ad-hoc tasks for other teams
• Utilise two-way messaging for immediate communication between operations management and crews

Drivers can interact with the system as little or a much as preferred, with the proximity feature allowing for automatic service verification. Assisted collections can be flagged and confirmed as completed, comments can be logged to alert other crews of a property-specific issue, and photos can be allocated to missed bin reports, providing clarity and speed of resolution for back office staff and residents.

SmartSuite Web

A single, map-based platform that enables management to track all day-to-day service activity in real time, make instant & effective operational decisions and view service history.

This single, live viewpoint has far reaching capabilities, including:

• Viewing driver-created messages such as “no access”, “container damaged”
• Viewing evidentiary photos for clarity on any issues encountered
• Sending messages to the driver's in-cab device
• Viewing the live status of each route as a percentage of completion
• Viewing the entire service history for a particular address or service

Reports can be viewed in real time and/or downloaded from historic data. APIs can be used to link data to a CRM system - enabling the creation of public-facing calendars and alerts.

SmartSuite is fully integrated with the route optimisation solutions below as well as vehicle telematics and vehicle cameras.

We'll be detailing further SmartSuite features in future newsletters - keep an eye on your inbox.

We Provide 3 Migration Options to Get You From Old to New

For all RouteSmart desktop users, the year ahead will see some changes as the old Esri ArcMap-based product is replaced.

Reach out for more information on our migration pathways:

• RouteSmart Optimize -

Operational for over 4 years in the US, well established in the UK and preferred by new clients including LB of Islington and Dudley MBC as well as those clients migrating from the old solution.

If you missed our June webinar, never fear. Over the coming weeks we will be contacting clients who are looking to migrate.

Contact Andy

• RouteSmart For ArcGIS Pro -

Exclusive product for our street-based service clients. Do you apply route optimisation to street cleaning, gully emptying etc?

RouteSmart Plan provides a range of GIS tools to manipulate data specifically relating to streets.

We'd love to talk you through it.

Contact Andy

• RaaS -

Need automated dynamic routing to manage bulky waste collection, bin deliveries, etc?

RaaS (Routing -as-a-Service) is a Cloud only, system-to-system route optimisation solution that requires no manual intervention.

This route optimisation service has a successful API linking it to back-office systems such as CRMs.

Find out more

“RouteSmart software is a game changer from a logistics and service delivery perspective. It has the potential to transform how we provide services to our residents and creates a knowledge base for current and future crews and operatives”.

Darren Trowlen, Waste Collection Manager, Belfast City

Meet us at the RWM Expo this September - Stand CT-G284

Integrated Skills.

A life-time, partnership approach to working with clients has led to decades of success since our incorporation in 1993.

We have continually developed new and innovative software and services for clients since our inception, and will continue to create the tools our sector needs for many years to come.

Helpful Links

https://www.integrated-skills.com/garden-waste-collections-and-simpler-recycling-technology-driven-solutions-for-local-authorities/

https://www.integrated-skills.com/commercial-waste-collection-challenges-faced-in-2025/

https://www.integrated-skills.com/waste-management-software-vs-the-scourge-of-fly-tipping-creating-a-coordinated-response-for-local-councils/

The post September 2025 Newsletter appeared first on Integrated Skills.