Meter readers are the public face of energy suppliers and fulfil the crucial role of reading meters and carrying out safety inspections in customers’ homes and businesses. Adhering to Health & Safety guidance, delivering good customer service on the doorstep and ensuring operational productivity are vital elements to the successful management of meter reading activities. The effective planning of route optimisation for meter reading routes is the key to this management success.

GIS technology is part of everyday life for modern utilities companies, most commonly for the
mapping of infrastructure. However, GIS technology also has a significant role to play when it comes to cycle day and workload planning. It goes without saying that billing is important for both operator and customer, so it must be accurate and timely. Daily workloads must be balanced, manageable and efficient.

Since 2015 Integrated Skills Limited (ISL) have been working with one of the most well-known
suppliers of retail gas and electricity in the UK. ISL’s solutions have brought about significant efficiency savings, freeing up resources for re-deployment into, amongst other things, the Smart Meter roll out program.

ISL have supplied both RouteSmart for ArcGIS for a nationwide ‘master’ route optimisation initiative, and Routing-as-a-Service (RaaS) for the on-going dynamic optimisation of routes to meet the complex needs of one of the biggest operators in this sector.

Master Route Optimisation

RouteSmart for ArcGIS is built specifically to address the challenges of high-density utility meter reading, handling millions of customers over a complex walking and driving network. Algorithms balance cycle days to create workloads in contiguous geographic areas. The number of days customers can change forwards or backwards is controlled through simple settings and sophisticated solvers to manage the level of business change. Clean sheet approaches can be taken, maximising optimisation, but with the associated business-as-usual challenges. Following many years of experience ISL would always recommend modelling a number of options to analyse costs Vs.benefits.

Once cycle days have been balanced daily routes can be generated easily to provide even workloads across the meter reading teams. RouteSmart for ArcGIS considers a wide range of important parameters, including side of street working, walking speeds, read times, meter locations, length of time away from vehicle, single fuel, dual fuel, flat sequencing (low to high or high to low) and call rates. All over a customised road and footpath network where parking locations are chosen intelligently, walk orders optimised and mileage minimised.

ISL’s experience working with a national “big six” organisation reinforced our belief in the need for, and importance of, accurate door-to-door planning. Precise route sequences are essential for smooth operations in the field. Meter readers operating handheld devices do not have time to scroll through lists of poorly sequenced addresses. Solver options in RouteSmart for ArcGIS control the driving and walking flow of routes up and down streets and within buildings. Maximum parameters allow meter readers to park their vehicle and perform walking tours to a pre-determined length of time or number of addresses, returning them to the parking point as part of a natural loop.

For the planning of Base Routes an in-house team reviewed results and fine-tuned routes and
sequences with local knowledge from field teams, all with tools available in the desktop environment.

Dynamic Route Optimisation

From the outset of this project all stakeholders understood that master route optimisation was only the start of the process. With balanced cycle days and a set of pre-planned master routes available as back-up, attention was turned to maintaining optimum performance. Route optimisation for utilities must reflect the dynamic nature of customer churn and roll out of Smart Meters. To address this challenge ISL offer RaaS, a cloud-based optimisation engine capable of generating optimised routes and sequences within minutes.

To account for new customers, non-communicating Smart Meters and meters requiring safety
inspections, services location data is sent to RaaS for routing on a daily basis. Within minutes RaaS creates all the optimised routes and sequences for the target cycle day – typically 200 routes per day. Key parameters used for master route optimisation are adhered to. Data transmission in and out of the system is via APIs with no user interaction required in this fully automated process.

Continued daily planning for routes ensures meter reading businesses are always operating optimum routes and able to release capacity within the field teams for redeployment into other business critical functions. Highly accurate sequences are relied upon by meter readers on the ground for smooth operations in the field which delivers the best chance of achieving call rate targets.

Contractors

Energy providers that outsource meter reading can also benefit from this technology. By using
RouteSmart for ArcGIS the energy providers can calculate the optimal routes, the optimal cycle day and ensure call rate targets are achievable before publishing the tender notice thus ensuring that prospective suppliers provide cost estimates based on the same operational data. Once the contract is awarded the new contractor can take advantage of RaaS to account for ongoing change.

Business Meters (not so Smart)

The principles outlined earlier in this paper referring to the effective planning of optimal meter reading routes is equally applicable to the reading of business meters as domestic ones. The key difference being that business meters tend to be spread over larger geographic areas and involve more driving than walking. Route optimisation solutions like RouteSmart for ArcGIS easily handles this operational requirement with its “mixed mode” feature which enables the software to create routes based on driving and walking. Just as well as the Smart Meter installation rate into business premises is very low.

The timing of meter reading in the commercial sector is also an important consideration. RouteSmart for ArcGIS and RaaS both support timed service operations with earliest arrival, latest arrival and blackout windows available at the individual customer level.

Every Cloud has a Silver Lining

Regardless of whether you manage an in-house or outsourced meter reading team, whether you are
a contractor or energy supplier, domestic or commercial meters, the application of GIS based route optimisation/planning has proven its ability to deliver cost savings and drive up productivity through efficiency savings. The power of GIS can be delivered via consultancy services, through hosted software solutions or dynamically via a SaaS offering in the Cloud. The choice is yours to make.

The post Proven: Successful deployment of GIS technology for optimising meter reading appeared first on Integrated Skills.

At Integrated Skills Ltd (ISL), we believe that creating a culture of purpose and social responsibility is fundamental to building a successful, employee-owned business. One of the ways we bring this to life is through our support for paid volunteering days—a practice increasingly recognised by management thinkers and business leaders as a hallmark of a values-driven, engaged workplace.

The Business Case for Volunteering

Across management theory & practice, paid volunteering is seen not as a perk, but as a strategic investment. Michael Porter’s concept of Creating Shared Value argues that companies can generate economic benefit while addressing societal challenges—volunteering sits squarely within this framework. Likewise, Peter Drucker championed the idea that organisations must contribute to society and foster a sense of meaning among employees.

Simon Sinek’s Start With Why philosophy reinforces this idea. When employees understand and connect with their company’s mission, morale, engagement, and loyalty improve. Paid volunteering opportunities are a tangible way to connect people to that “why.”

The benefits are well documented by thought leaders and research alike:

• Improves employee engagement and satisfaction
• Strengthens employer brand and corporate reputation
• Develops leadership, collaboration, and soft skills
• Reinforces alignment with organisational values and purpose
• Builds meaningful relationships with local communities

[caption id="attachment_7729" align="alignnone" width="300"] Melton team gardening near Leicester[/caption]

Why SMEs Should Lead the Way

While many large corporates—such as Aviva, Lloyds Banking Group, and BT—formally support paid volunteering under their CSR and ESG strategies, the practice is less widespread among UK SMEs. Research from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) highlights that smaller firms often face resource constraints that limit participation in employer-supported volunteering (ESV). Even in larger organisations, uptake can be modest; the London Benchmarking Group reports that only around 14% of eligible employees actually use their allocated volunteering time.

There is clearly untapped potential for SMEs to lead in this space. Paid volunteering days offer a cost-effective way to boost morale, foster team cohesion, and build an authentic employer brand—especially important in talent-driven sectors where Millennials and Gen Z employees prioritise social impact.

ISL’s Experience as an Employee-Owned Business

When ISL transitioned to a hybrid Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), one of the first outcomes of the employee forum was a collective request to introduce paid volunteering days. With board approval and strong internal support, teams in our Leeds and Melton Mowbray offices initiated local volunteering activities in 2023—and again, independently, in 2025, both teams engaged in meaningful group volunteering, coincidentally on the same day.

We don’t view these initiatives as a cost. We see them as a long-term investment in our people, our culture, and our brand. Volunteering strengthens bonds across our teams and communities, reinforces our values, and supports our vision as a purpose-led, employee-owned organisation.
At ISL, volunteering isn't just encouraged—it's part of who we are.

[caption id="attachment_8326" align="alignnone" width="135"] Our MD Alan collecting for FareShare[/caption]

The post Paid Volunteering Days: Investing in Purpose, People, and Community appeared first on Integrated Skills.

The UK economy shrank unexpectedly in January contracting by 0.1%. According to the BBC website: “Economists had predicted the economy would grow by 0.1% in January, after 0.4% growth in December. Monthly readings can be volatile, and the ONS said the economy was estimated to have grown by 0.2% over the three months to January…. With tax rises coming into force in April, concerns remain that economic growth will remain sluggish for some time”. The overall picture for the UK was one of weak growth, said Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics.

What is the impact of ‘a weak growth economy’ on local government service provision?

A sluggish economy leads to lower business profits and weaker property markets, reducing tax revenue collected by councils. Typically, central government often reduces funding to local councils during periods of economic stagnation as part of broader austerity measures. This reduced income must be seen in context of higher outgoings which is compounded in periods of weak economic performance due to an increased demand for local government services: More people require social care, housing support, and benefits as job opportunities decline. Economic hardship often leads to worse mental and physical health, increasing pressure on NHS partnerships, social care, and homelessness services.

To combat this many councils make difficult choices, often cutting non-essential services such as libraries, leisure centres, road maintenance, and youth programs. To reduce costs further, some councils privatise services, potentially leading to lower service quality and accessibility issues.

A long-term impact of poor national economic performance is reduced capital spending in the local authority sector. Weak economic growth means local authorities may postpone or cancel transport, housing, and regeneration projects, slowing long-term development. Infrastructure delays can discourage investment, exacerbating economic stagnation.

As witnessed in the last three years there is an increased risk of council insolvency. Section 114 Notices have been issued in extreme cases whereby councils declare themselves effectively bankrupt, as seen with Birmingham City Council, leading to drastic service cuts.

Major world economic disruptions in recent decades have made matters worse. Following the 2008 financial crisis, the UK government implemented austerity measures starting in 2010, leading to significant reductions in local government budgets. These cuts affected various public services, including social care, housing, and infrastructure maintenance. Then there was the second austerity period (2021–2024) where high inflation and the removal of COVID-era support measures led to a renewed phase of austerity. Local governments faced increased financial strain, with some councils warning of potential insolvency without additional funding.

In 2025/26, structural reforms in the local government sector are looming adding to uncertainty.  Proposals have been made to restructure local government by introducing combined authorities and elected regional mayors, potentially dissolving existing district or borough councils. Critics argue this could centralize power and undermine local democracy. It is also argued that such changes can exacerbate economic disparities between regions, with wealth and investment often concentrated in specific areas that can return a higher GDP, primarily where there are cities and large conurbations. Furthermore, any disparities in funding and decision-making leads to uneven development across the country.

What can councils do to mitigate the effects of the stagnant economy?

With financial pressures mounting, councils are doing more with less primarily through innovation and smarter spending. One area being considered is shared services & collaboration through the merging of ‘back-office’ functions (HR, IT, procurement) across councils to reduce administrative costs.

Digital transformation & AI adoption is another area many councils are investigating. Increasing the use of AI and automation for customer service is topical with projects already starting. Shifting even more services online to reduce costs (e.g., digital planning applications, remote council meetings) is increasingly common. In 2024 the Local Government Association (LGA) called for the establishment of a “Local Government Centre for Digital Technology (LGCDT)” the aim of which is to promote technological innovation to deliver reform and inclusive economic growth across councils. The LGCDT envisions a future where local government fully leverages digital tools, to empower communities and drive economic growth, aligning with the Government’s agenda for public sector reform. Furthermore, the LGA believes that “local government needs a new devolved operating model, and a Local Government Centre for Digital Technology would enable engagement, coordination and impact”. More about the LGCDT can be found here: State of Digital Local Government | Local Government Association

Maximising asset utilisation is another key area for some councils. In waste & recycling collection this involves working the vehicles more through a longer day (while rostering drivers and crews to split shifts). Adopting a four-day working week for crews but having vehicles work 6 or 7 days is also underway. Another concept is to optimise cross boundary working, ie, partnering with a neighbouring council to reduce non-productive driving time along council boundaries.

The UK economic outlook remains uncertain, so local government is innovating & collaborating to ensure the continued provision of services while having an eye on both short- and long-term solutions.

The post The impact of a weak growth economy on UK local government service provision appeared first on Integrated Skills.

Deployment of RouteSmart-for-ArcGIS & RaaS for optimising waste collection routes: Commercial waste, recycling & related materials

Introduction

The business case for deploying route optimsiation solution in the collection of domestic waste & recycling is proven, with the vast majority of local authorities and their contractors having such technology in place for many years.

Waste & recycling collection is an expensive operation due to labour costs, fuel, vehicles and insurances. Creating optimal routes significantly reduces these costs through reduced drive time, more collections per route, reduced fuel costs, a more balanced workload across an area and is often used for ‘what if’ scenario modelling (such as when bidding for a new contract).

Historically private waste & recycling companies have chosen to invest in fleet management software, vehicle tracking and on-board cameras over route optimisation. This is due, in part, to the poor routing results provided by non-GIS based route optimisation solutions that only route to postcode level rather than geocode (x, y or lat/long).

Those private waste & recycling companies that have adopted GIS based route optimisation technology have seen savings in fleet operations by as much as 25%.

GIS route optimisation is not solely concerned with the routes for that day – the technology also has a significant role to play when it comes to cycle day and workload planning.

A key component of any GIS based route optimisation solution is the location data. And by ‘location’ we do not just mean postal address. GIS based route optimisation can route to a geocode (x,y coordinate/latitude and longitude) so can route to a farm shed, a lay-by, cricket pavilion, etc.

Integrated Skills Limited (ISL) have been working with in the waste sector since 1987, and is one of the most well-known suppliers of GIS based route optimisation solutions in the UK, Europe and the Middle East.

ISL have supplied both RouteSmart for ArcGIS for ‘master’ route optimisation initiatives, and Routing-as-a-Service (RaaS) for the on-going dynamic optimisation of routes to meet the complex needs of one of the biggest operators in this sector. In addition, ISL created and hosted an address validation service to ensure source location data was accurate for route optimisation purposes.

Master Route Optimisation

RouteSmart for ArcGIS is built specifically to address the challenges of waste & recycling collections (and bin deliveries), and can handle a handful of locations over a small geographical area or millions of customer sites on a national scale.

The algorithms can balance collection days over time to create workloads in contiguous geographic areas.  The number of days a customer collection can change forwards or backwards is controlled by the user to minimise impact through simple settings and sophisticated solvers to manage the level of business change.  ‘Clean sheet’ approaches can be taken, maximising optimisation, but with the associated business-as-usual challenges.  Following many years of experience ISL would always recommend modelling a number of options to analyse costs Vs. benefits.

Once collection days have been balanced daily routes can be generated easily to provide even workloads across the waste & recycling collection teams.  This step can be processing by either RaaS or RouteSmart for ArcGIS. Both consider a wide range of important parameters including:

• side of street working
• bin locations - not always at the ‘address’ but, for example, in the back alley
• length of time serving the bin
• time window restricted access

ISL’s experience working nationally in this sector has reinforced our belief in the need for, and importance of, accurate bin-to-bin planning rather than postcode to postcode planning.  Precise route sequences are essential for smooth operations in the field. ………

For the ‘master’ route planning Integrated Skills can either:

1. Conduct the master route planning on a consultancy basis providing the client with the optimised & balanced routes
2. Train an in-house ‘core competency’ team. None of team need to have GIS or IT experience prior to the project starting. A good understanding of the business process it more important. Typically teams are up and running in a matter of weeks creating routes, reviewing results and fine-tuning routes and sequences with input from drivers, all with tools available in the RouteSmart desktop environment.

Dynamic Route Optimisation

Master route optimisation is one stage in the process.  With balanced collection days (and a set of pre-planned master routes available as back-up) attention turns to maintaining optimum performance – the management of client loss & gain often called ‘churn’).  Route optimisation for commercial waste & recycling must reflect the dynamic nature of customer churn.  To address this challenge ISL offer RaaS, a cloud-based optimisation engine capable of generating optimised routes and sequences within minutes.

To account for new and ex customers services location data is sent to RaaS for routing on a daily basis (can be more or less often).  Within minutes RaaS creates all the optimised routes and sequences.  Key parameters used for master route optimisation are adhered to.  Data transmission in and out of the system is via APIs with no user interaction required in this fully automated process.

Regular (daily, weekly, monthly) planning for routes ensures our clients are always operating optimum routes and able to release capacity within the vehicle fleet for redeployment into other business critical functions.

Location, Location, Location

ISL is an Ordnance Survey partner, and expert in the application of various data sets including:

• Highways
• Address Base

The use of these data sets in combination enables our route optimisation tools to create routes to an accuracy of less than 5 meters: If the bin is located in a back alley, side street, communal bin store, the 3^rd field on the campsite, etc – we can route directly to it!

On the street

Once a route is optimised, you have a choice as to what degree you want operatives to work optimally.

• The optimised sequence of meter reads can be exported to mobile devices. This allows operatives to chose how they move between the optimised sequence of stops.
• The optimised sequence and the optimal route (the bit between each stop) can be downloaded to mobile devices

There is a significant hardware cost implication here as downloading the optimsied route with the optimised  sequence requires are higher specification of device as it needs significantly more processing power.

Every Cloud has a Silver Lining

Regardless of whether you manage an in-house or outsourced meter reading team, whether you are a contractor or energy supplier, domestic or commercial meters, the application of GIS based route optimisation/planning has proven its ability to deliver cost savings and drive up productivity through efficiency savings. The power of GIS can be delivered via consultancy services, through ISL’s hosted RouteSmart-for-ArcGIS solution and/or dynamically via our RaaS Cloud offering.

A typical route optimisation project for the waste & recycling sector

• Project Initiation Meeting
  • Identify project aims and objectives with the client
  • Agree timescales
  • Discuss data requirements – both for input to RouteSmart and output to client systems
  • Discuss service pattern objectives, ie, 2 day per week collections – Mon/Wed or Tue/Fri

• Address Geocoding (if required)
  • Address lookup to identify latitude and longitude (Ordnance Survey data)

• Data Import
  • Streets – travel speeds, road routing information, restrictions, service
  • Facilities – depot and disposal locations
  • Service locations – bin locations, individual addresses, service times, weights, time windows

• Data Validation
  • • Visualisation of data in RouteSmart for ArcGIS
    • Analysis of data and benchmarking
    • Recommendations to resolve data gaps and for data improvements

• Collection Day Modelling
  • Multi-day scenario planning (‘service day’ planning) that accounts for differing collection frequencies across collection locations

• RouteSmart Modelling
  • • Scenario modelling (as per agreed specification) to review options such as, modified working hours, depot and disposal locations, fleet requirements
    • Models reviewed by client and preferred option selected

• Detailed Route Design
  • Preferred option worked up to a full set of detailed optimised routes
  • First-pass route editing undertaken
  • Map and route sheet outputs provided to the client for review and feedback

• Route Editing and Finalised Outputs
  • Client feedback entered in to the optimised model
  • Final map and route sheet outputs provided to the client

• Go Live
• Post Go Live Route Review
  • If required, following roll-out, enter client feedback based on first 8 weeks of operating new routes
  • Provide updated map and route sheet outputs

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GIS-based Route Optimisation: From Desktop to Mobile and the Cloud

Integrated Skills provide route optimisation solutions across the UK, Europe, Middle East and North Africa.

Working with Newcastle we have been able to improve services, enhance efficiency and help make great savings.

ISL Newcastle City Council presentation

The post ISL Newcastle City Council Presentation to ESRI UK User Conference 2015 appeared first on Integrated Skills.

Integrated Skills: How a Small Tech Company Became Employee Owned

This article was originally published by our procurement partners at Bramble Hub.

Integrated Skills Limited (ISL) has been a Bramble Hub partner for seven years, and together we have delivered their waste management solutions to several UK local authorities. We recently wrote about their software suite, in particular RouteSmart-for-ArcGIS™, which optimizes waste collection routes and can save local authorities money by reducing mileage (and of course CO2 emissions).

Aside from their excellence in waste management technologies, ISL is interesting for another reason: in 2021, the business was restructured and became an Employee-Owned Trust (EOT).  How and why did this come about, and how has it changed the business?

EOTs (in their current legal form) were an innovation introduced by the Coalition government headed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg. A government review into the obstacles preventing employee ownership resulted in a 2012 report - Sharing success: the Nuttall review of  employee ownership - which set out proposals for increasing employee ownership of businesses. In turn, this led to legislation that introduced rules and tax benefits for EOTs.

There are now around 1,000 EOTs in the country. Alan Paget, the company’s CEO, had the job of overseeing the restructure, and is enthusiastic about the change. The EOT regulations resulted from a typical Conservative / Liberal compromise, which brought benefits to both parties: “The Tories won a reduction in capital gains tax, and the Lib Dems managed to extend employee ownership.”

The initial impetus, he says, came from ISL’s two founders, who owned a majority of the business. EOTs gave them a tax-free exit: a significant incentive to hand the business over to its employees rather than simply sell their shares to the highest bidder.

How does it work?

In the restructure, the exiting founders sold their shares to a trust. The rest of the business is still owned by four shareholders, including Alan. In this sense the Trust is not a ‘pure’ one; but it does hold a controlling stake in ISL. The agreement states that the company must repay the exiting majority shareholders out of its profits over a seven and a half year period.

The trust is overseen by a board of six trustees, and this is where it begins to differ significantly from a traditional limited company structure. Rather than represent the interests  of shareholders, the trustees are committed to representing the interests of employees.

The ISL board of trustees consists of six members, representing a balance of interests:

• Two of the board members are employees.
• One of the founders is on the board, and will remain until the company has paid for the shares.
• As CEO, Alan sits on the board, and must report on company performance.
• A minority shareholder is also a board member.
• And the sixth position is held by an independent member, Abi Knight, who has financial experience in the tech industry.

Alan is resistant to using the word ‘democracy’ to describe the new structure: “We’re an EOT, not a cooperative”. But still, it does have democratic elements. The two employee board members are elected by a secret ballot of their peers. Employees must have worked at ISL for at least 12 months to serve on the board, and the role is time-limited. The board meets four times per year. Once the debt to the outgoing owners is paid off, the founder will leave the board.

So not only do employees have a powerful voice, but the entire structure is devoted to protecting their joint interests. And there is another tax benefit: employees can be paid an annual bonus, based on profitability, of up to £3,400 per year.

What are the effects of the restructure?

ISL’s revolution is a modest one. The management team stays unchanged, and still has day-to-day responsibility for running the business. But now, the CEO answers to the board of trustees, and not directly to the shareholders. Employee board members get a direct say on important business issues, including executive remuneration.

The new structure has led to cultural change within the business in a number of ways. With great power comes great responsibility (apologies to Marvel), and employees with more control are likely to take more responsibility for outcomes. This in turn motivates employees to be more interested in the financials and the company strategy – Alan suggests that “a management ethos is coming down the ranks.”

The changes in structure and culture are also strong business selling points. Alan lists the benefits that employee ownership brings to ISL’s customers: Stability is a key one. The structure prevents unexpected takeovers that might arise if shareholders sell to outsiders. So far, the indication is that employee loyalty and customer service have improved. Employees now see a longer-term stake in the business – they are motivated to help produce profit in order to complete the purchase of the business.

With the EOT board having to sign off on pay rises above a certain percentage of salary, the structure is loaded against excessive executive pay: something that can arguably reduce employee morale and slow investment in new products.

The experiment is a young one, but Alan feels it is progressing well so far. All eyes are on the prize of Integrated Skills becoming fully independent, and highly profitable, in 2028. See the article at Bramble Hub.

Bramble Hub ISL Employee Owned White Paper

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What every Waste & Environmental Manager should know

On a recent Circular Economy Masterclass the key concepts and latest developments everyone should know were highlighted by Brian Mayne in an interview with Stuart Henshaw from Integrated Skills. One of the topics covered was the activities that a local authority waste manager can take to achieve a Circular Economy (CE) and the benefits that can be delivered as a result of these actions. Some of the issues discussed are set out below.

A CE is an alternative to a traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose). It is based on the principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems. There are a wide range of business models being used to deliver a CE, these include organisations;

• Manufacturing products from bio-based or renewable materials
• Replacing non-renewable resources with bio-based or renewable materials
• Using end of life products and re-using them in new products
• Developing products as a service
• Offering customers products for a subscription fee or a usage based charge instead of them owning it
• Providing customers an opportunity to buy a pre-defined service and quality level, with a guaranteed outcome.

So how does that fit with the role of a waste manager delivering frontline services to the public?

The modern day waste manager has to juggle several roles including being a buyer and consumer of goods and services, a user of facilities and vehicles as well as a major collector of resources of reusable and repairable products and recyclable materials whilst not forgetting the awareness-raising role of informing the public of their role in reduction, reuse, recycling and responsible consumption.

Circular procurement

In buying works, goods and services waste managers can apply procurement principles that have an important role in supporting the move towards a CE. Circular procurement sets out an approach to green public procurement which pays special attention to “the purchase of works, goods or services that seek to contribute to the closed energy and material loops within supply chains, whilst minimising, and in the best case avoiding, negative environmental impacts and waste creation across the whole life-cycle.”

There are many ways that procurement can be used to support a CE such as ensuring the longevity of items are considered when selecting goods, buying products that can be reused or refurbished, or goods that can go back to the supplier at end of life. Waste managers need to ask whether any of the goods, works and services being purchased are resource and energy efficient. They need to consider specifying recycled content or purchase reclaimed products instead of new ones. Take office furniture, for instance, there is a wide range of items made out of recycled products or alternatives such as getting existing furnishings refreshed and returned to in as-new condition.

There are also different ways of procurement rather than buying a product outright such as the ‘Product-as-a-Service’ business model that provides a service in areas that were traditionally sold as products. For a waste manager, an example could be buying workwear or uniforms. The uniforms would remain the property of a supplier to the end of their life cycle. As the owner, the supplier has an interest in maintaining the garments in good condition to ensure a long useful life for them. Local authorities would not have to tie up capital in work uniforms or allocate resources to their management and maintenance. This would enable them to have easy access to clean, serviced, safe clothes that meet the required quality standards for their workforce.

Market creation

There are many potential barriers to circular procurement, including insufficient market capacity to deliver CE outcomes, an immature supply chain, a shortage of necessary technical knowledge, or skills (e.g. for repairing products). Often businesses have insufficient capital to bring solutions to market, or simply because the approach is different there is a lack of demand by purchasers as they are unaware or unprepared to take risks on new products or delivery mechanisms.

Waste managers can help create and develop the market for new business models such as encouraging suppliers to develop new approaches in their production of goods, through activities such as ‘Meet the Buyer’ events.

Other initiatives could include developing innovative performance frameworks with suppliers that reward CE outcomes, sharing risk in bringing in new materials, end of life approaches or new service models and supporting the supply chain in the development of specific CE goods, services, or business models by helping facilitate pilots and trials.

Facilities

Waste managers are responsible for a range of facilities such as depots and offices which need to be fully utilised to maximise their efficiency. If not then there is an opportunity for collaboration between local authorities, local businesses to ensure that they are being used to capacity. Another business model of the CE is shared services. There is already a track record of authorities working in collaboration with each other. In fact, as a result of austerity measures, they have been at the forefront of finding ways to deliver effective services through cost-efficient and innovative means and shared capital and service arrangements have been one of the most popular and successful methods of retaining services while achieving efficiencies and savings. Sharing allows existing goods and resources to be used more fully, rather than letting them lay dormant.

Vehicles

One way waste managers can support the CE is by adopting technologies such as the IoT (Internet of Things). By adding intelligence to a vehicle, IoT technologies can create an asset that can signal problems, determine when it needs to be repaired, and schedule its maintenance. Predictive maintenance for vehicles, identifies issues before they occur. By reducing breakdowns vehicles are available longer and as a result more productive and replaced less, which fits with the CE principle of ensuring products to last longer.

Many Managers are already evaluating the suitability and impact of alternative fuels, including the opportunities offered by battery technology. Whichever fuel is used though, applying route optimisation to the Council’s collection routes, can form part of their circular strategy to reduce their environmental impact by becoming more efficient and less wasteful.

Materials

Local authorities have long been at the forefront, often with social enterprises as their partners at HWRCs, of redistributing furniture, tools, books, CDs, DVDs, toys and games to new owners, without reprocessing to take place. They also play a key role in providing high-quality materials to manufacturers through their collection schemes ensuring the materials they collect can be used in new products reducing the consumption of fresh raw materials. Also, there are opportunities to expand the collection of more niche materials such as Absorbent Hygiene Products, mattresses and carpets which will help new businesses develop and expand.

Awareness raising

Behavioural change is key to making the CE a reality. Awareness campaigns have long been a mainstay of local government targeted at encouraging householders to ensure the correct materials are placed in the right containers so extending this to get them to stop buying things that they don’t really need and stop throwing away products that still have life is well within their capability.

Another area often overlooked is that CE thinking encourages organisations to take a much closer look at the economic, employment and societal impacts of their activities as they shift towards a CE. Waste Managers will need to become the person asking the awkward questions of their service: What is the destination of this material? In what country is it processed and under what social conditions?

Benefits

The benefits that can materialise from these activities to deliver a CE can also bring advantages to a local authority, they include;

• collecting more goods for reuse or repair will reduce the amount of waste generated. The materials collected could help create jobs locally, by providing the items to local businesses. Business models based on reuse, leasing, repair and remanufacturing could create four times more jobs than waste treatment, disposal and recycling.
• improving the quality of materials collected as well as the amount and variety in more efficient ways can provide economic benefits. Ensuring the quality of recyclables can help secure better prices than for poor quality material especially at times of low demand. There is also the potential of receiving additional income from the sale of recyclables, as well as savings from increased diversion from disposal and effective service design. It also offers the opportunity to support economic growth by making more materials available which linked with a local authority’s circular procurement activities that exercise a preference for recycled goods, can provide the economic impetus for companies to use more recyclable materials in the production of their products.
• collecting food waste holds great potential for the CE. According to the European Environment Agency’s reducing and using bio-waste could cut emissions, improve soils and provide energy.
• offering opportunities for collaboration and sharing between local authorities can enable efficiencies in service delivery and provide financial savings. Reduction in expenditure will enable funds to be spent elsewhere.
• providing more opportunities for repair, reuse and recycling, can conserve resources, reduce the need to grow, harvest or extract new raw materials, lessen demand for raw materials, save energy and cut carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere.

All of these activities can assist a local authority in their climate change and sustainability ambitions.

The CE, according to the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, represents systemic change. It goes beyond fixing current issues and incremental improvements, to a full-scale industrial transformation. Local authority waste managers by adopting new ways of thinking can help redesign the present ‘take, make, dispose system and play an important role in accelerating the change to a circular system so that we can all reap the benefits it will bring to our economy, society and environment.

Authors

Brian Royson Mayne

Brian is a fellow of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, Chartered Environmentalist, and is recognised by the International Solid Waste Association as an International Waste Manager. Recently he was a visiting lecturer in Environmental Policy and Management at the School of Engineering, Cardiff University, and also developed lectures for BioInnovation Wales a unique partnership scheme between Aberystwyth and Swansea Universities on the circular economy. Brian has also lectured at Leeds and Reading Universities, in addition to publishing research on many waste and resource efficiency topics including the circular economy.

Brian has extensive experience of working within the circular economy this has included business development, for Zero Waste Scotland providing advice to SMEs and Social Enterprises. He has also developed and delivered a training course to increase awareness of the circular economy in Wales, identifying why itis important and develop an understanding of how the circular economy, and in particular reuse and recycling, can be promoted and delivered in the NHS. He is presently a Director at HJL Environmental a boutique environmental consultancy who offer bespoke solutions.

Stuart Henshaw

Stuart is a Member of the Chartered Institution of Waste Managers. He trained as a Landscape Architect, before moving into Waste Management which has been his focus for the last 30 years. He began his career with the Tidy Britain Group, then moved to manage local authority services at Selby District Council for 15 years. He has an MSc in Environmental Policy & Management and has been Project Director at Integrated Skills for over 10 years implementing over 100 local authority projects, and recently moved to head its UK Business Development. He leads Integrated Skills monthly webinar programme.

Circular-Economy White Paper

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Proven: Successful deployment of GIS technology for optimising meter reading operations delivers efficiency savings

Meter readers are the public face of energy suppliers and fulfil the crucial role of reading meters and carrying out safety inspections in customers’ homes and businesses. Adhering to Health & Safety guidance, delivering good customer service on the doorstep and ensuring operational productivity are vital elements to the successful management of meter reading activities. The effective planning of optimal meter reading routes is the key to this management success.

GIS technology is part of everyday life for modern utilities companies, most commonly for the mapping of infrastructure. However, GIS technology also has a significant role to play when it comes to cycle day and workload planning. It goes without saying that billing is important for both operator and customer, so it must be accurate and timely. Daily workloads must be balanced, manageable and efficient.

Since 2015 Integrated Skills Limited (ISL) have been working with one of the most well-known suppliers of retail gas and electricity in the UK. ISL’s solutions have brought about significant efficiency savings, freeing up resources for re-deployment into, amongst other things, the Smart Meter roll out program.

ISL have supplied both RouteSmart for ArcGIS for a nationwide ‘master’ route optimisation initiative, and Routing-as-a-Service (RaaS) for the on-going dynamic optimisation of routes to meet the complex needs of one of the biggest operators in this sector.

Master Route Optimisation

RouteSmart for ArcGIS is built specifically to address the challenges of high-density utility meter reading, handling millions of customers over a complex walking and driving network. Algorithms balance cycle days to create workloads in contiguous geographic areas. The number of days customers can change forwards or backwards is controlled through simple settings and sophisticated solvers to manage the level of business change. Clean sheet approaches can be taken, maximising optimisation, but with the associated business-as-usual challenges. Following many years of experience ISL would always recommend modelling a number of options to analyse costs Vs. benefits.

Once cycle days have been balanced daily routes can be generated easily to provide even workloads across the meter reading teams. RouteSmart for ArcGIS considers a wide range of important parameters, including side of street working, walking speeds, read times, meter locations, length of time away from vehicle, single fuel, dual fuel, flat sequencing (low to high or high to low) and call rates. All over a customised road and footpath network where parking locations are chosen intelligently, walk orders optimised and mileage minimised.

ISL’s experience working with a national “big six” organisation reinforced our belief in the need for, and importance of, accurate door-to-door planning. Precise route sequences are essential for smooth operations in the field. Meter readers operating handheld devices do not have time to scroll through lists of poorly sequenced addresses. Solver options in RouteSmart for ArcGIS control the driving and walking flow of routes up and down streets and within buildings. Maximum parameters allow meter readers to park their vehicle and perform walking tours to a pre-determined length of time or number of addresses, returning them to the parking point as part of a natural loop.

For the planning of Base Routes an in-house team reviewed results and fine-tuned routes and sequences with local knowledge from field teams, all with tools available in the desktop environment.

Dynamic Route Optimisation

From the outset of this project all stakeholders understood that master route optimisation as only the start of the process. With balanced cycle days and a set of pre-planned master routes available as back-up, attention was turned to maintaining optimum performance. Route optimisation for utilities must reflect the dynamic nature of customer churn and roll out of Smart Meters. To address this challenge ISL offer RaaS, a cloud-based optimisation engine capable of generating optimised routes and sequences within minutes.

To account for new customers, non-communicating Smart Meters and meters requiring safety inspections, services location data is sent to RaaS for routing on a daily basis. Within minutes RaaS creates all the optimised routes and sequences for the target cycle day – typically 200 routes per day. Key parameters used for master route optimisation are adhered to. Data transmission in and out of the system is via APIs with no user interaction required in this fully automated process.

Continued daily planning for routes ensures meter reading businesses are always operating optimum routes and able to release capacity within the field teams for redeployment into other business critical functions. Highly accurate sequences are relied upon by meter readers on the ground for smooth operations in the field which delivers the best chance of achieving call rate targets.

Contractors

Energy providers that outsource meter reading can also benefit from this technology. By using RouteSmart for ArcGIS the energy providers can calculate the optimal routes, the optimal cycle day and ensure call rate targets are achievable before publishing the tender notice thus ensuring that prospective suppliers provide cost estimates based on the same operational data. Once the contract is awarded the new contractor can take advantage of RaaS to account for ongoing change.

Business Meters (not so Smart)

The principles outlined earlier in this paper referring to the effective planning of optimal meter reading routes is equally applicable to the reading of business meters as domestic ones. The key difference being that business meters tend to be spread over larger geographic areas and involve more driving than walking. Route optimisation solutions like RouteSmart for ArcGIS easily handles this operational requirement with its “mixed mode” feature which enables the software to create routes based on driving and walking. Just as well as the Smart Meter installation rate into business premises is very low.

The timing of meter reading in the commercial sector is also an important consideration. RouteSmart for ArcGIS and RaaS both support timed service operations with earliest arrival, latest arrival and blackout windows available at the individual customer level.

Every Cloud has a Silver Lining

Regardless of whether you manage an in-house or outsourced meter reading team, whether you are a contractor or energy supplier, domestic or commercial meters, the application of GIS based route optimisation/planning has proven its ability to deliver cost savings and drive up productivity through efficiency savings. The power of GIS can be delivered via consultancy services, through hosted software solutions or dynamically via a SaaS offering in the Cloud. The choice is yours to make.

Route Optmisation for Utilities - Meter Reading

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See the presentation here

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