Steve Bullman

Flagship Group has developed a unique system which will transform how it manages the thousands of trees for which it is responsible. The Group, the largest housing provider in the East of England, has replaced its time-consuming manual office-based process with a bespoke app-based solution which will free up Flagship’s team of arborists to spend more time out on site. With 3,500 individual and 1,000 groups of trees covering an area from North Essex to North Norfolk within Flagship’s remit, the Group’s Business Intelligence Team was tasked with redesigning the process to be more streamlined. Victoria Green, Business Intelligence Developer, explained: “Our passion is delivering a great service for our customers, so we were very keen to support our arborists by designing a solution to help them work as effectively and efficiently as possible.” Using existing software, the solution has streamlined the arborists’ workload and made requesting of tree work much easier. Through the new solution, Flagship staff can request tree works via a bespoke PowerApp, adding pictures and location to provide clarity to the arborists. The arborists are then able to assess the work via another bespoke PowerApp, identifying what resources are needed. Finally, the lead arborist can geographically manage the team’s workload effectively and the arborists can log their work using the GIS-based system, provided by ESRI. Andy Blackman, GIS Developer said: “Our system enables us to visualise the team’s work on a map - combined with the arborist’s live location to enable maximum efficiency when assigning and recording work. This allows the arborists to amend existing and add new tree data while in the field, allowing the Group to better understand and manage our assets.” The solution, which is unique to Flagship, offers huge benefits to the tree service which was brought in-house from January 2018. Jonny Worden, Lead Arborist said: “This new system will transform the way we operate and allow us to more accurately pinpoint the work that is required. It will mean that we are better informed before we go out on site and able to easily plan and deliver our work.” The team are continuing to develop the solution, looking for ways to enhance its functionality. *Anyone interested in finding out more about the solution which has been developed by the Business Intelligence Team can get in touch with Andy Blackman ([email protected]) or Victoria Green ([email protected]).

Perennial is here to help people, and at this time of year we help lots of families worried about the extra costs of childcare, holiday activities and food over the school summer holidays. www.perennial.org.uk/holidayhelp #stressfreeschoolholidays #heretohelp #supportingourindustry #stressfreesummer #Perennial180 As schools prepare to close their doors for the long summer break, Perennial can help parents and carers worried about the additional cost of the school holidays. It costs families an average of £124.23 per week for full-time holiday childcare and many parents pay more than twice as much during the holidays as they do for after-school clubs during term time. Most working parents are unable to take 13 weeks annual leave to look after children in holiday periods, so must incur childcare costs instead. Perennial can support people working in all areas of the wider horticulture industry with childcare costs, holiday activities and clubs, to allow people to continue working, and help meet the costs of additional food required over the summer break. The team can also help people access other sources of support depending on their situation. Julia Hayne, Director of Services at Perennial, is keen to remind people about how Perennial can help during these times. She says: “Every parent wants their child to enjoy their summer break from school but for people working in our industries, summer can be a busy season and it can be difficult to take time off work to look after children during the day. We understand that many parents and carers, despite careful budgeting, worry about the rising costs of raising a family, especially in the school holidays. We’re here to help alleviate some of the holiday stress with advice and financial support for families with at least one parent working in horticulture.” For families whose children are in receipt of free school meals, which are not provided during the school holidays, the extra food costs associated with the summer break can put additional strain on already stretched budgets. Almost two-thirds of children experience hunger[1] during term time but some families have to find an extra £30 a week in holidays. Julia continues: “It doesn’t take much to push a carefully planned monthly budget over the edge. Many of the people we help are successfully managing their money but we understand how extra meals, holiday childcare and activities can cause additional stress and we’re here to help with that. I’d like to encourage anyone who is worried about the forthcoming school holiday to contact us to find out how we can support them.” Perennial helps people like David* and his wife Hannah who contacted Perennial last year before their children’s summer break. Hannah works full time and David is a self-employed gardener. If you, or someone you know, works in horticulture and needs additional support over the summer break, contact Perennial in confidence on 0800 093 8543, email [email protected] or request support online at www.perennial.org.uk/holidayhelp During term time David takes their two children to primary school and Hannah picks them up so they avoid paying childcare costs. In 2017 Hannah took time off work to cover part of the holiday period and then relied on a friend to help with childcare. This was not possible last year and as summer is David’s busiest period, he was unable to take time off. The family had found a two-week summer holiday club offering outdoor activities provided by their local authority, which both children could attend. Perennial supported the family by helping them pay for the summer school costs, allowing the couple to continue working and their children to enjoy an amazing holiday experience with their friends. *Names and images have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals