THE London Irish firm Arriva Digital was among the winners in this year’s Local Government Chronicle Awards.
Led by Noel Byrne and Eamon McGurk, the firm was recognised in the Digital Impact category, for providing the technology behind Croydon council’s Origin to Destination app.
That is now required to be used by all construction firms making deliveries across the Croydon Growth Zone, having proved a successful tool allowing firms to manage deliveries in real-time while supporting the borough’s environmental ideals.
Arriva Digital combines Mr Byrne and Mr McGurk’s 30 years of experience in the construction industry with tech expertise from co-founder Dan Pinnell.
The company has spent over a decade building bespoke software providing e-learning and e-solutions to over 65,000 learners - ranging from National Football Associations to Government Educational Bodies.
The group’s e-learning solutions are now used in over 140 countries.
Alex Pocklington and Noel Byrne at the FFA Awards earlier this yearTheir most recent award, which was presented late last month, at an event hosted by Radio 4’s Justin Webb, built on an earlier win at the International Future Fleet Awards in January.
Mr Byrne, whose parents moved to London from Dublin in search of work in the late 1950s, said: “We tailored our platform Origin to Destination to serve the London Borough in their £5bn Growth Zone.
“As a young lad growing up in council estates in the area, I would never have believed that one day my technology would be saving lives and lungs in those very same streets.”
He added: “For years we could see we had issues with congestion at our busy construction projects gates.
“Trucks being turned away at project gates puts more pressure on the driver who has no choice but to circle, adds risk to cyclists and pedestrians and results in pumping out further tonnes of Co2 into our already toxic city air.
“Every day we turn away around 20 per cent of trucks, which circle for an average of 10 miles before they return to site or abandon their delivery altogether.”
Arriva Digital's Origin to Destination platform serves the London Borough of CroydonAlex Pocklington, Principal Network Impact Assessment Engineer for the London Borough of Croydon, further explained the process.
“Across London, hundreds, possibly even thousands of trucks are turned away each day at their ramps or gates due to missed time slots and then circle the city, wasting miles, increasing the risk of collisions and adding to levels of congestion and emissions,” he said.
“With this App, we aim to drastically reduce this issue while supporting Croydon’s construction logistics, clean air, and environmental impact initiatives.
“We hope this project will eventually benefit the whole of London and beyond.”
Arriva Digital hope their award will encourage other local authorities and major construction projects to adopt their technology.
Mr Byrne added: “Arriva Digital will continue to work with the construction industry and local authorities to develop much-needed technology and bespoke apps. Our aim is to help make our industry and city safer, greener and cleaner.”
