Bramble Hub, in partnership with Whitespace Work Software, has been awarded a contract to provide Whitespace’s software and services to Aberdeenshire Council, in order to digitise and automate the Council’s waste collection services. The Council’s tender documents state that the system “… will allow the frontline crews to receive and send collection information during the day and therefore provide real-time information to the back-office and customers”.

The online system will be provided as SaaS (software-as-a-service) by Whitespace, who will host and support the software on the Council’s behalf. It will be integrated with the Council’s website and resident mobile app as well as the Council’s CRM system. Additionally, Whitespace will provide in-cab systems, allowing crews to access the software, and the Council to manage collections in real-time.

In order to deliver these services, the Council has purchased the following Whitespace modules:

Mike Nicholls, Whitespace’s Commercial Director, says “We will be helping the Council to streamline its services across the board. As well as municipal waste collections, we will be dealing with the full range of commercial waste services, including contract management and legal documentation.”

The route optimisation module will be used to reduce the mileage driven (and so also cut carbon emissions), as well as be used to help the Council transition to three-weekly collections.

Aberdeenshire Council covers a mostly rural area with a population of around 243,000 people. The Waste Service collects recycling and waste from 120,000 homes and 4, 000 businesses, along with functions to support this and street cleansing duties. There are 6 collection depots with up to 80 collection vehicles and vans.

The project was funded by Zero Waste Scotland, and the tender was issued under the Data and Application Solutions Framework from Crown Commercial Service. The agreement will run for an initial three years, with scope for extension by an additional one or two years.

Andrew Sheridan of Aberdeenshire Council, says of the partnership: “We are looking forward to working with Whitespace to help us increase productivity by removing the current paper-based processes, improve the safety of employees and the public and provide better communication and information flow to residents and businesses.”