Southwark Council

The Requirement

In contrast to other London boroughs, Southwark has a high proportion of public housing - almost 50,000 units - making it the largest social landlord in London. With such a high number of tenants and people seeking council housing, there is great pressure on front-desk staff in housing offices and one stop shops. The council required a solution that could ease this burden and enable self-service access to housing information and advice.

The Solution

Amatica was contracted by ITNet, Southwark's IT services supplier, to supply, install and manage a network of 9 touchscreen kiosks.

The kiosks incorporate a touchtone telephone that is linked directly to Southwark's call centre. This enables residents to report faults or make payments. A touchscreen housing application draws content from the housing section of the council's website, and there are additional internet links to specific areas of the council's web site.

Web navigation is via a track ball whilst the on-screen keyboard enables users to complete online forms and send e-mails to the council. A secure browser and receipt printer are also incorporated into the kiosks, as is a card reader, to accommodate future plans for Council smart cards.

Data is drawn directly from the Southwark website, which means that if the website is updated, the kiosk content is also updated - there is no need for separate content management facilities.

The Outcome

The kiosks offer quick and easy enquiry resolution for customers - a 'one-stop-shop' for housing information. In turn, they have helped to reduce unnecessary administration and queues and give faster, more accurate handling and less duplication. Specialist staff are freed from routine enquiries and transaction time is reduced. Importantly, the kiosks also extend online council services to a wider audience.