Survey of the network is a key part of the job for Eryri's wardens. The CAMS Mobile app allows efficient data collection in the field, integrating with the device's camera and GPS. As network coverage can be unreliable, it was important that the mobile app could function completely offline, without an internet connection. All the data and background mapping are held on the device for use in the field, and a one-touch operation allows the data to be synchronised with the main system when a connection is available. To help ensure quality and consistency of data, we configured the app to make certain data fields mandatory, and to ensure all updates from the field had a photo associated with them. It was also important for Eryri that the app could also be used in the Welsh language, so we worked with them to implement translations and allow the app to switch between Welsh and English at the touch of a button.

Eryri wardens have a rolling programme of rights of way to survey, and tools built into the CAMS Pro and CAMS Mobile solution assist with this. A task is created for a warden to survey a path by a particular date, and when that task is completed, the system automatically generates the next survey task based on the priority of the path and when it was surveyed this time. This process saves Eryri's senior wardens a lot of time from having to manually identify and reassign links to wardens for survey. From the perspective of the surveyors, they get a prioritised, date-based task list that they can work from, so they always know their priority tasks.

Field survey is only part of the story. In the office, Eryri staff need a system that helps them manage the rights of way network and respond to problems. The CAMS Pro solution provides this. An intuitive, easy-to-use web application provides a portal for members of the public to report issues on the path network, and for officers to track these issues through to completion. The system assists with prioritising issues and setting target dates, based on the authority's published rule base, and allows office staff to record tasks for field teams to work on. Operating fully bilingually, the website allows members of the public to submit reports of issues they encounter, and to see the and be notified about progress of their reported issues. This self-service frees up officer time to work on resolving the issues.

For officers, the public portal makes their job easier as the issue reports come to them in a standardised format, linked to a map location and using standardised descriptors. Photos may also be included. A simple interface takes the officer through the workflow of reviewing the issue, accepting or rejecting it in the system, and assigning appropriate tasks to wardens. Wardens receive all the information about their jobs on their tablets, and can update the information in the field, whether that's adding further detail for specialist teams, or signing the issue off when the work is done. This closes the loop, and the system automatically updates the complainant to let them know their issue is now resolved.

Further information from Timothy Derbyshire

The Rights of Way network in Calderdale comprises nearly 1,400km of moorland, steep valleys, and urban areas. The fieldwork was completed in three months, using a team of five surveyors armed with rugged tablets using our CAMS Mobile app. Our surveyors collected information on every furniture item and every issue/problem and captured over 27,000 photos. This gave officers at Calderdale Council a complete picture of their public rights of way.

Rather than simply handing back static report files, Exegesis loaded all the information from the survey into our new cloud-based CAMS Pro solution. This provides powerful searching capabilities, interactive mapping and photos integrated via LibraryLink in an accessible, intuitive website interface. But CAMS Pro is more than just an interface for viewing the survey data; it also includes tools for prioritising the issues, assigning tasks to officers, and tracking the progress of issues through to completion. A wide range of reports can be run from the system, and the interactive map allows the information to be visualised in different ways. In addition, CAMS Pro facilitates engagement with the public by allowing Calderdale Council to easily publish their register of applications for Definitive Map Modification Orders & Public Path Orders. To help keep the data up to date when working in the field, we also provided Calderdale Council with CAMS Mobile for their own use as well, allowing offline edits to the data, and synchronising directly with their CAMS Pro system when signal is available.

This project provided Calderdale Council with a comprehensive, up to date dataset of their public rights of way, along with easy-to-use tools to enable them to manage the data and to get the most value from it.

Further information from Timothy Derbyshire

Exegesis was commissioned by Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) to develop a website and mobile app, plus the underlying database and API, to enable local authorities and other stakeholders in Scotland to monitor litter and fly-tipping incidents.

ZWS is the body responsible for reducing waste and promoting a circular economy in Scotland and has been a FlyMapper partner organisation since 2013. The Litter Monitoring System (LMS) took the pre-existing functionality of FlyMapper and added the ability to record and analyse detailed surveys of street litter. These surveys are used to support the requirements of the Scottish Government's Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse (CoPLAR).

The LMS mobile app is built using Xamarin, a cross-platform development tool that allows the sharing of a codebase between Android and iOS app versions.

The LMS web site allows management of both the fly-tipping and litter monitoring elements and is built within a cloudscribe Content Management System. It already contains details of previously recorded fly-tipping incidents in Scotland.

Data taken from the Technical support for CoPLAR Land Zoning in Scotland project is imported into LMS as local authorities continue to come on-board.

Further information from Richard Griffiths.

The surveyor found the system easy to use in the field, and was impressed with the performance, GPS response and camera quality in the tablet. The 16% survey equated to about 140km of public rights of way, and this was completed in the field in just a couple of weeks.

After the fieldwork was successfully completed, the data were synchronised into the authority's CAMS system, allowing them to generate reports and plan for the future maintenance of the network.

Further information from Timothy Derbyshire

The first part was a review of the available historic and cultural data, along with options for using them and the opportunities for public engagement in this area. We contacted a number of potential data holders by phone and email to discuss the data they held and how it could be used within the Long Forest project. Much of this information was only available in non-digital formats, but we identified several potentially very useful digital datasets and the options for utilising them. We also considered the opportunities for engaging the public through historic and cultural data dissemination and collection.

The second part was a review of the available options for a website and mobile app. As the project was still in an early stage, the Long Forest project team had no preconceived ideas regarding these, so we were able to fully explore all the possibilities. This included practical considerations, such as which platforms to use, how to implement bilingual display and the use of social media, as well as specific functionality that the website and mobile app could have. Options included:

• Crowd sourced mapping of extant and historic hedgerows
• A hedgerow survey mobile app with an integrated plant identification tool and associated web-based survey management
• Event management, covering everything from talks to practical hedgerow management sessions
• The use of Quick Response (QR) codes placed around the countryside to alert mobile app users to features of interest and present them with relevant information
• Games to engage the interest of all ages, some of which could also be used to generate useful data

Mock-ups were created for the crowdsourced mapping of hedgerows and the hedgerow survey app.

Further information from Crispin Flower.

The client required an affordable, mobile system for data gathering in the field. A key requirement was the ability to synchronise the data wirelessly with CAMS Desktop in the office from anywhere at any time.

CAMS Mobile gives you:

• Live data collection in the field
• Portable, lightweight Smartphone / tablet
• Fast, accurate GPS
• Fast, simple recording of data
• Mapping and intuitive forms
• In-built camera
• Seamless data sync 

CAMS Mobile is ideal for:

• Carrying-out condition surveys
• Ad hoc recording of work
• Information resource in your pocket
• Populating asset registers
• Recording issues
• Recording details of site visits

Download a flyer. Further information is available from Simon Allen.

The development and User Acceptance Testing were undertaken rapidly to allow the volunteer surveyors to get out in the field as soon as possible - five weeks from design to deployment! The results were hugely positive with nearly 800 surveys quickly completed and all surveyors enjoying the process.

The National Park Conservation Officer concluded that this project had shown the way for future Heritage at Risk surveying, with significant advantages over previous methodologies.

In 2014 we are enhancing the app for a new round of surveying.

See also the Ordnance Survey case study. Further information from Crispin Flower.

Find out more about FlyMapper.

The system is currently in use by 12 Local Authorities in Scotland and 15 in Wales and had recorded over 80,000 fly-tipping incidents since 2014.

FlyMapper has two components: FlyMapper Web and FlyMapper Mobile. These are two ‘views’ onto the same dataset (if you add a record on the mobile you see it on web and vice versa):

FlyMapper Mobile:

• Smartphone app utilising GPS
• Simple to use
• Works on Android and iOS devices
• Works on and off-line (using local mapping)

FlyMapper Web – similar functionality to the mobile app plus:

• User registration management
• Analysis and reporting
• Data export
• WMS
• Optimised for office use on standard web browsers

Further information is available from Richard Griffiths.

Further information from Laine Skinner.