Public Sector Services
Waste Management, Refuse collection & RecyclingBest in Britain Award winners for recycling service improvement! SSD can boast decades of practical, hands-on experience improving Waste Management, Refuse Collection and Recycling services for Local Authorities and Town Councils across the country over many years. Our efforts and activities have seen 4% to 19% recycling improvements attained for no extra budget, leading to a 'Best in Britain' award. The later 38% to 67% for £1.7M LESS budget still defying Best in Britain Thinking. Utilising the latest tools and methods, including our own 'Visualising Transformation' approach, we have a proven track record in delivering 'deep dive services'. We are able to dig into the data most LA's already have available to find patterns and opportunities many fail to identify using standard methods. In addition, where the data doesn't exist or isn't complete, we have the in-house capabilities to address and improve to ensure the best possible solutions can be analysed and implemented in the most efficient and effective way. To receive support and help to improve your Waste management, Refuse collection and Recycling services 'Contact Us' HighwaysEngland’s road network is a vitally important national asset. Four million people drive cars, vans or trucks on it every day. Thousands more use coaches and buses on it.
Everyone depends on it – for distribution between factories, ports, warehouses and shops. For travel to work, and for travel on business. Our lives would be very different without the network of roads we often take for granted. SSD have an extensive history in respect to highway development, design, planning and maintenance. This experience provides us insight. We recognise that the traditional approach to highways management tends to separate strategy from maintenance, and designers from builders often seeing less than holistic solutions 'consuming', rather than reducing budgets. The various aspects of 'highways management' such as
Where there is a central team, they typically take a strategic / co-ordination role over all functions with devolved local working. Whatever the model, it is not uncommon to find management silos operating with little view of the whole picture. This often leads to immense overlap, duplication and conflict consuming budgets. The ‘glue’ to all this tends to be the Local Transport Plan (LTP), which is designed as a ‘checks and balances’ approach, always in flux, always in discussion and rarely, if ever considered 'right‘ by those stakeholders involved. Having the extensive experiential knowledge and understanding of these issues which has become a ‘standard’ within the SSD team, we are at the forefront of those offering developmental support services in this area of Local Authority control. We can help you and your teams over-come the disconnects within and between departments through the combination of an holistic perspective steeped in experience and meaningful evidence, methodically collected and verified to ensure the best solution can be identified quickly, while implemented efficiently and effectively. To discuss your Highways Management needs and the benefits SSD can deliver for you 'Contact Us' or read more about our 'holistic' approach on our VT page Stores and procurementAs with any organisation, strategic procurement and purchasing activities are vital to the on time delivery of services, from the provision of concrete and asphalt for repairs, to salt in the winter, through to the supply and servicing of vehicles and ICT systems, effective and efficient procurement is the life-blood of action.
Strategic procurement is all about supplier partnerships and long-term relationships, where EU procurement makes partnerships a difficult destiny we have enabled these, both from within and outside of a council. As with any organisation, the more stock you hold, the less cash you have, so efficiency and short lead-times are just as pertinent to a council as they are to a manufacturing company. Finally, the day to day activities of a purchasing team must be slick and efficient to remove duplication, inaccurate order processing and delays to those delivering customer facing services, such as housing repairs. SSD have extensive experience operating and improving each and every aspect of the purchasing life-cycle throughout local authorities and within the supply chain feeding into them. Redesigning needs upstream of buying services can significantly reduce costs and improve services designed to link with procured partnerships such as for Passenger Transport. To discuss your procurement or purchasing needs contact us here Structural ReviewsThe review of any Management or service delivery structure can often be very difficult, with the fear that any changes are certain to cause a loss of service as a result. Support Services Direct help remove those fears by providing a rich history of successful structural reviews.
SSD have established new departments, new work locations and new systems in a number of Councils, Housing Associations and within a service sector business. We have also conducted significant re-structures of nine other organisations. At no time has any one of the organisations we've helped lost momentum or suffered a reduction in service delivery standards. In fact, all have significantly reduced unit costs, while achieving positive step changes in service delivery. To achieve this, SSD predominantly utilise their in-house talent but, with years of experience in the sector and an extensive network of associates, we can also call upon highly qualified experts for HR, IT and functional specific elements within any Change Process. We have also enabled systemic change with minimalistic structural change, leading directly into learning and development (L&D) plus corporate values shaping. SSD can be contacted about our Structural Review services here Housing and facilities management & maintenanceHousing & Facilities management & maintenance is an area SSD have dealt with the same logical, systematic evidence based approach that has seen us deliver outstanding results in many other public sector engagements.
Local Authorities, Housing associations and private sector suppliers accredited by the Housing Regulator present a diverse and complex landscape in respect to the management of social housing and other facilities. Each service provider may deliver services in the following areas and beyond:
This inter-agency, inter-related service provision requires the highest quality information from data in real-time, geographically identified and co-ordinated via open channels of communication and full transparency. There is no room for silo management structures, culture or ego’s in this arena, a constancy of purpose, to deliver high quality services to residents and leaseholders at an affordable price to the authority has to become the fundamental belief behind actions and behaviours. SSD have broad experience dealing with every aspect of delivering such services, from Anti-Social behaviour to the ICT and Pay and Conditions within large organisations. It is our depth of experience providing workable solutions which sets us apart from the competition. For support that surpasses expectation Contact us today. Fleet |
Change ManagementSSD and our members have been leading change in various environments for decades. We are fully aware and conversant with all of the latest thinking and practices in the market including the tools and principles from the worlds of Lean, Six Sigma and Systems Thinking. More importantly, the depth and breadth of experience we offer allows us to understand when and why each part of these various philosophies can be best combined to deliver the results you require, allowing us to boast an average 70:1 Benefit to cost ratio.
To receive support in all aspects of your Change initiatives 'Contact Us' Business AnalysisSSD have strength in depth with their Consultant's all capable of helping an organisation understand what they do and how they do it, using a very wide array of methods, specifically considering the business units we are working with and the functions performed.
We seek to enable ‘Simplicity on the other side of complexity’ so we often carry out a lot of work to enable those ‘penny-drop moments’ of ‘Oh, I see exactly what you mean!” To achieve that we are thorough, starting with easy discussions to map out how work is done, discussing and improving, then expanding work flows. Using existing data to clean it and combine it to create new insights of better, more useful information. Using bar charts, line charts, run charts, Pareto analysis, and perhaps control charts. All the time, we’ll pass on these additional skills and capabilities to the people who are interested to learn. We visualise information, using mind-maps, rich pictures, spaghetti diagrams, process flows, cause and effect charts, singularly and in combinations, helping groups of people to understand how all aspects of the work combine as an End to End system. Throughout we listen; to the staff, the customers, the supporting services, the service providers, gaining clarity, knowledge and insight. As we progress we build a benefits realisation package, recording the quick wins and early benefits, logging all the options to address and improve, registering what’s important to all the stakeholders, cash, capacity gained, time saved, cleaner services, greater reliability, CO2 saved … what-ever matters to the people, what-ever will help them be motivated to work with us. In eight days we created more information carrying out a deep-dive from a massive spreadsheet that a team of four auditors achieved in four months. For more information or to discuss your requirements Contact Us Organisational Transformation
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Our approach to transformation in the area of fleet management is the result of programmes we've undertaken with local authorities across the country. It also builds on our experience with private sector clients in a range of areas including manufacturing, services, and logistics.
We have extensive knowledge of fleet management throughout the public and private sectors. In local authorities this means we've worked closely with all major service delivery teams, most notably environmental services and Passenger Transport. We have also led reviews within environment services and highways teams, and have worked closely with large housing maintenance teams.
Our methodology is requirements based. We conduct a review of each service requirement to derive quantifiable desired outputs, service levels and current costs. Then we work alongside council teams to design the best service structures to meet these requirements. This includes reviewing procurement of the most suitable assets (or external service provision) to deliver the desired outputs.
We also assess and assist with cultural issues in terms of readiness for change. Service structures evolve over significant periods of time, so implementing and sustaining a major transformation requires substantial commitment from council officers and staff teams.
Extracts from case studies include:
-A twenty two year capital plan
-£5M capital savings in the first 30 months
-£180,000 per annum fuel savings, as part of £1M per annum without a loss of employment
For more information or to discuss your requirements Contact Us
We have extensive knowledge of fleet management throughout the public and private sectors. In local authorities this means we've worked closely with all major service delivery teams, most notably environmental services and Passenger Transport. We have also led reviews within environment services and highways teams, and have worked closely with large housing maintenance teams.
Our methodology is requirements based. We conduct a review of each service requirement to derive quantifiable desired outputs, service levels and current costs. Then we work alongside council teams to design the best service structures to meet these requirements. This includes reviewing procurement of the most suitable assets (or external service provision) to deliver the desired outputs.
We also assess and assist with cultural issues in terms of readiness for change. Service structures evolve over significant periods of time, so implementing and sustaining a major transformation requires substantial commitment from council officers and staff teams.
Extracts from case studies include:
-A twenty two year capital plan
-£5M capital savings in the first 30 months
-£180,000 per annum fuel savings, as part of £1M per annum without a loss of employment
For more information or to discuss your requirements Contact Us
Passenger Transport
The Passenger Transport service deals with transporting the general public around a city or a county, with special services for the vulnerable adults and children.
Bespoke solutions are typically commissioned by Children Services and Adult Social Care to provide Home to School Transport transport for older people, adults with learning difficulties and children in the care of the authority.
Units can be split into several teams; concessions, SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), buses and taxis.
In a large and rural county and throughout a large city, an efficient, reliable travel and transport system is vital to keep the things moving. The Passenger Transport system plays an important role in the prosperity of counties and cities across the country.
The local authorities and their partners play a big part in keeping the road network safe and usable, as well as making sure that transport services meet the needs of local people, businesses and visitors. This requires Passenger Transport services operate seven days a week with a complex range of vehicles and solutions provided through partnership arrangements.
It is this high degree of inter-related complexity that makes SSD the perfect partner for development. With our pragmatic and ‘Facts’ based approach (CPAD / & Visualising Transformation), along with our holistic experience across various related departments, functions and agencies, we can stand in the shoes of multiple stakeholders with knowledge, understanding and empathy. This gives us a unique capability to help your teams find Quality, Cost and Delivery solutions in reduced time-frames.
We are now way ahead in the field in designing Total Transport methodologies enabling significant service improvements, while saving millions, by dealing with ALL Transport.
For more information or to discuss your requirements Contact Us
Bespoke solutions are typically commissioned by Children Services and Adult Social Care to provide Home to School Transport transport for older people, adults with learning difficulties and children in the care of the authority.
Units can be split into several teams; concessions, SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), buses and taxis.
In a large and rural county and throughout a large city, an efficient, reliable travel and transport system is vital to keep the things moving. The Passenger Transport system plays an important role in the prosperity of counties and cities across the country.
The local authorities and their partners play a big part in keeping the road network safe and usable, as well as making sure that transport services meet the needs of local people, businesses and visitors. This requires Passenger Transport services operate seven days a week with a complex range of vehicles and solutions provided through partnership arrangements.
It is this high degree of inter-related complexity that makes SSD the perfect partner for development. With our pragmatic and ‘Facts’ based approach (CPAD / & Visualising Transformation), along with our holistic experience across various related departments, functions and agencies, we can stand in the shoes of multiple stakeholders with knowledge, understanding and empathy. This gives us a unique capability to help your teams find Quality, Cost and Delivery solutions in reduced time-frames.
We are now way ahead in the field in designing Total Transport methodologies enabling significant service improvements, while saving millions, by dealing with ALL Transport.
For more information or to discuss your requirements Contact Us
Parking Services
Parking services is an area that can often be considered a cost to a local authority.
Using our evidence based approach, SSD have a history of reversing this view and creating revenue for local authorities from their parking services.
Car parking touches virtually all people in a community, it is not only a driver issue, Parking service solutions must consider the concerns of cyclists, pedestrians, disabled, home owners, shoppers, businesses and many others. All need to be considered and addressed if a coherent well-rounded solution is to be realised in practice.
'Voice of the Asset' enabled an £800k per annum improvement purely due to an aligned insight. Data>Information>Knowledge>Tactics enabled an immediate £100K per month increased surplus by a simple change of tactics.
In order to consider all aspects of a car parking service which itself remains efficient and effective, the design needs to address issues which are wider than just environmental and customer facing. A parking strategy will directly impact on the vibrancy of an area, and the lifestyles of people attracted to that area... Getting this wrong can have a significant economic impact.
Strategic decisions will ideally give consideration to Customers, Environment and Costs. Whatever the motivation behind decisions made in respect to parking service solutions, ensuring these three aspects are consistent within the thinking process behind those decisions will enable a balanced design with optimised outcomes.
One SSD intervention achieved the following:
• A metropolitan borough council were set to fail to apply for Civil Parking Enforcement on time, had no valid parking strategy, and desperately needed to improve their financial position.
• SSD helped them transform a near catastrophic position, into a well controlled position, increasing the net surplus by £400,000 a year within three months of the review starting.
This is why it pays to engage SSD as your Local Authority development partner.
Contact Us for support that works!
Using our evidence based approach, SSD have a history of reversing this view and creating revenue for local authorities from their parking services.
Car parking touches virtually all people in a community, it is not only a driver issue, Parking service solutions must consider the concerns of cyclists, pedestrians, disabled, home owners, shoppers, businesses and many others. All need to be considered and addressed if a coherent well-rounded solution is to be realised in practice.
'Voice of the Asset' enabled an £800k per annum improvement purely due to an aligned insight. Data>Information>Knowledge>Tactics enabled an immediate £100K per month increased surplus by a simple change of tactics.
In order to consider all aspects of a car parking service which itself remains efficient and effective, the design needs to address issues which are wider than just environmental and customer facing. A parking strategy will directly impact on the vibrancy of an area, and the lifestyles of people attracted to that area... Getting this wrong can have a significant economic impact.
Strategic decisions will ideally give consideration to Customers, Environment and Costs. Whatever the motivation behind decisions made in respect to parking service solutions, ensuring these three aspects are consistent within the thinking process behind those decisions will enable a balanced design with optimised outcomes.
One SSD intervention achieved the following:
• A metropolitan borough council were set to fail to apply for Civil Parking Enforcement on time, had no valid parking strategy, and desperately needed to improve their financial position.
• SSD helped them transform a near catastrophic position, into a well controlled position, increasing the net surplus by £400,000 a year within three months of the review starting.
This is why it pays to engage SSD as your Local Authority development partner.
Contact Us for support that works!
