Surrey County Council get the latest toy 9

Emma Boon Campaign

It’s great to see councils trying to find ways of working more efficiently. Technology absolutely has a role to play, with laptops and mobile phones (both now can be bought relatively cheaply) meaning staff aren’t tied to their desks and can do more work on the go. But sometimes I get the sneaking suspicion that councils are trying something new out because it’s the latest toy, not because it’s actually going to be more efficient than what they’ve already got.

Surrey County Council has perfectly demonstrated this approach with a video recently posted on their You Tube page. It features a demonstration of an app developed for the new BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet. The council’s own website proudly announces that this tablet has yet to even be launched in the UK yet social workers are trialling this new technology for two months.

Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, Michael Gosling, hopes that this new app will “help save time and money by reducing the burden of paperwork, allowing social workers to focus on caring for the elderly.”

A noble ambition indeed, but do they really need Blackberry Playbooks and apps to reduce paperwork? Never mind the fact that the tablets have been slated as rubbish with a battery life so short staff will be popping back to the office to charge it up, they are going to cost a small fortune. Councils should embrace new ideas and should looks at ways of improving care for the elderly and providing better services, but they must be wary of the temptation to throw money at the latest gadget as a means to achieving this. We don’t know whether Surrey CC has any Playbooks or plans to buy any, and there is probably no cost for this trial, but taxpayers should consider firing a warning shot across the council’s bow now if they think this trial could be paving the way for extravagant spending. We’ve said it before on this blog, councils shouldn’t spend taxpayers’ money on frivolous nonsense just to make themselves appear innovative and revolutionary.

All that aside I should mention the reason that this came to my attention is because I encountered their You Tube channel. Aside from the danger that they’re about to splurge (or have already splurged) huge sums of money on tablet devices, someone at Surrey CC took the time to film a video about this ground-breaking (ahem) news and upload it to web. Seriously fellas, you have too much time on your hands.

Emma Boon

Emma is the Campaign Director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance. She leads efforts to change policy through powerful campaigns and is the voice of the TPA in the media.

Follow @emmaboon

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ITF5KFAMR7NQPAP2T4BLXYW3TI flint

Perhaps you should think things through a bit more before posting!

If a mobile device gives a worker, council or otherwise, access to up to date information when and where it’s needed, and the ability to update and record information “live” isn’t that a good thing? Isn’t this the sort of efficiency gain we want to see?

Tablets, laptops and mobile phones are not interchangeable devices – you cannot type on a laptop whilst standing up and you cannot enter even moderate amounts of data on a mobile phone quickly and accurately (unless you’re a teenager). Tablets open up options for new ways of working that just haven’t been possible before.

Isn’t it reasonable for an organisation to trial something new to see if it will deliver on it’s promises rather than launch wholesale into a project with uncertain outcomes? … especially in an areas of new technology and ergonomics?

If you read your own link you will see RIM ascribed the poor battery life to the unit being tested as a demo unit. It is very common for tech companies to make early versions of new devices available to journalists and other reviewers so this is entirely plausible.

It may be true that that Blackberry device doesn’t stand up well against it’s iPad & Android alternatives, but the Playbook (bloody silly name) has something the others don’t have… security. If there is one thing that keeps Blackberry devices in the game it’s their security, encryption and the ability to remotely wipe the device. If they had chosen Apple iPads then you could criticise them for playing with toys. And who would be amongst the first in the queue to lambast the council should they lose an insecure device…?

I have no idea what the actual application is these devices are being used for – it could be valuable – it could be a waste of time. I’d prefer to know a bit more about it before making a judgement.

http://profiles.google.com/sadbutmadlad Sad But Mad Lad

You missed the point of the story. It’s not the job of councils to trial new devices and new methods just because new high tech devices have been invented.

As for laptops and other mobile devices providing efficiency gains. Nope never happens. Usually what happens is that the software is written so badly or doesn’t go with the natural flow of the worker that it usually generates extra work. Unless there is an absolute direct need to update something ‘live’ then pen and paper usually works a lot better than any tech. And if does need to be live, just use some boring but useful tech – a laptop which can do most things, not some expensive limited use mobile device.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ITF5KFAMR7NQPAP2T4BLXYW3TI flint

Why on earth should any organisation, public or private, be precluded from examining new technology to see if it can provide any benefit in improving service or cutting costs. At what point should a council be “allowed” to use new technology?

Mobile devices never provide efficiency gains!!!! – utter, unmitigated tosh.

The chap who fixed my fridge a while ago had access to a full set of manuals online and access to a full parts availability and ordering service. Whilst I would have preferred he fixed my fridge on his first visit before he left he’d ordered the necessary part and booked his return visit.

And I suppose those handheld devices carried by couriers are just there to make them feel “flash” and not to help with automated tracking in a highly competitive, cost conscious environment.

If the article had actually discussed the use of mobile in the context of the actual application it might of been able to draw a sensible conclusion as to the true value of the device in question. Without context the article is little more than ignorant and shallow.

There is more than enough true abuse of tax revenue that the TPA should be going after. Ill considered articles such as this (and others recently) only serve to dilute the overall message.

Matthew

I’m afraid I have to disagree with both your posts, I’m not sure what your access oto technology is, but you assuem that you can do things with a tablet that can’t be done with a laptop; That, in your temrs, is utter tosh. Tablets have been around for at least 10 years, they are no only taking off because Apple made them fashionable. They are expensive and half as powerful as a half the price laptop which can do more. You say that with a laptop you can’t type whilst standing up, i’d counter that you don’t need to type standing up, and that if you in fact sit down with a real keyboard you’d type much faster than one fingered typing on a tablet whilst standing up. I agree with the article, this is more to do with playing with new toys than improving processes.

I do agree that technology has it’s place, and can indeed make life easier, but this is not the way to do it.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ITF5KFAMR7NQPAP2T4BLXYW3TI flint

Disagree away, and don’t be afraid… that’s the fun of the Internet.

My access to technology is probably better than most, being surrounded as I am at the moment by laptops, smartphones, desktops, servers and an Android tablet. In addition I had the chance yesterday to spend some time (not much admittedly) with a Playbook. I found it robust, well made, fast and responsive.

Yes, tablets have been around for many years, and yes Apple have recently popularised the paradigm but todays tablets are a different beast to previous iterations being lighter, faster, longer lived (battery) and permanently connected.

There is self-evidently a very real positive benefit from light weight, long lived portable devices. Warehouses, supermarkets and couriers are just a few examples but these tend to be custom, dedicated hardware with very specific functions (how many have you seen carrying laptops?). The use of generic tablets able to run easily developed applications opens up the potential of cost cutting and efficiency gains to anybody.

Most laptops in the same price range as tablets are plastic bodied, consumer grade machines that wouldn’t last 12 months with a truly mobile worker.

You are right in that, as a general rule, there is no real substitute for a keyboard for quick, accurate entry of moderate to large amounts of information for workers in an office environment but the same cannot be said for somebody who is mainly on foot and mobile for most or all of their working day (if you have a laptop trying walking around with it for several hours entering data – see how you get on).

As I tried to make clear this should be about the application, not the technology. If the application is such that mobile data access improves the productivity/efficiency of the workers involved (taking into account costs incurred) then Surrey CC should be applauded for the forward thinking. If this is just a case of someone shoving a square peg in a round hole because they want a tablet to play with then by all means administer a well justified slap (but if that were the case they wouldn’t have chosen the Playbook).

Alanrp123

How long have local councils been i the business of testing new technology, time these wasters were stopped from wasting tax payers money on such frivolous items!!

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ITF5KFAMR7NQPAP2T4BLXYW3TI flint

Why shouldn’t councils try out new technology if there’s a good prospect that it might make them more efficient or saved money? Or should they be restricted to using quill pens & parchment?

Dinosaur

My local council at it again !!! Rather than waste money on ‘toys’ for social workers it would be better if they were actually selected & trained to do their jobs properly. I worked with social workers for 30 years as a police officer and then for a further 3 in education, liaising with them and attending regular meetings. I can honestly say that in all that time I met possibly 2 who were any good. The remainder were often scruffy, unprofessional, indecisive, vacant, inexperienced etc. The continued ‘slaughter of the innocents’ aka Baby ‘P’, Tyra Henry, Victoria Climbie (I even remember the long ago case of Maria Colwell) will continue while social workers faff about on new gizmos refusing to concentrate on real issues and real decisions about cases such as those above.
Don Foxwell

I can only hope that Hampshire CC don’t think it’s a good idea; they do daft and expensive things too!