“I have really been impressed with the professionalism and passion PSS and Agile Orange have shown through the development of the PSSUltimate system. PSSUltimate has moved us towards being a virtually paperless service that has two-way real time communication with frontline staff in the field. We now have accurate records of completed works histories for each site we manage and an ever growing database of management information that will help us ensure we can improve the efficiency of the service going forward.”
– Barry Emmerson, Grounds Maintenance Service Manager.
Working with Islington Borough Council
In 2015, PSS won a tender for Islington Borough Council and over the past 18 months have been working closely with Barry Emmerson (Grounds Maintenance Service Manager) and software developers to develop a fully integrated online software system that moves the management of the parks services online.
Islington’s Park Service were working day-to-day by using a combination of paper and electronic systems. This led to an increased risk of duplicated effort, loss of information due to different platforms being used, and potential breakdowns in communication between teams. It was a lot more difficult to coordinate teams and deal with urgent issues as they arose in this manner. This often resulted in a higher risk of poor workmanship and accidents.
Development of PSSultimate
PSSUltimate has been built to encompass each job role within the departments that use the software. The system has both a Mobile and a Web Application which provides Team Leaders, Ground Operatives and Supervisors a live view into their Database. Working with RFID technology, Users are able to scan their passes on the Mobile devices in order to log into the system – providing more secure account access than a username and password. Supervisors and Technical Officers are able to track their team’s progress through Work Programs in real time. If there are Ad Hoc Tasks that require attention, these can be created and sent to the appropriate Site as an Urgent Task to be dealt with by Operatives and Team Leaders.
Health, Safety and Training
There is also a large Health and Safety Assessment element to PSSUltimate. It needed to record checks for machinery; and notify a mechanic if an item was failed. Management would be able to see which Operative used which piece of equipment, and when.
PSSUltimate can also keep a record of training each member of staff has undertaken, as well as record attendance at training sessions – the system will not allow a member of staff to sign out a piece of equipment they are not qualified to use.
All data within PSSUltimate is fully interrogable, and with the inclusion of Zoho reporting, Islington are able to create fully customisable reports to reflect any aspect of the data they require.
Launching PSSultimate
Islington Borough Council successfully completed a trial using PSSUltimate in 2017, which is now live and being rolled out to over 100 members of staff across the Parks Management Service. It is envisaged that the creation of PSSUltimate will help Local Authorities across the UK better manage their Grounds Maintenance, Equipment Inventories and Training requirements, allowing them to oversee and improve the condition of all Sites under their remit.
