For Fisheries and Recreation Manager Phil Timings and Senior Recreation Advisor Karen Kingston, the goal was to find a system that offered professional-grade options without the rigid, "one-size-fits-all" constraints of traditional enterprise software.
They needed a digital solution that could prove legal compliance for Legionella testing one minute and track the maintenance of a footpath the next.
The team implemented Papertrail, a digital inspection and scheduling platform that prioritises flexibility. For Karen Kingston, the primary draw was the ability to create multiple, specific checklists for a single asset, and on varying frequencies.
This allowed the team to schedule different types of inspections based on types of items, honey pot areas of sites or specific safety requirements. To solve the problem of identifying identical assets in the field, they integrated NFC (Near Field Communication) and location tags.
This ensured that even if a picnic bench was moved or a way-marker was one of four in a single area, the staff could identify the specific asset, view its history, and log a defect with absolute certainty.
One of the most significant shifts for the department was moving from simple "Pass/Fail" checklists to granular data collection. Phil Timings highlighted the critical nature of their Legionella testing and boat inspections.
By using text-entry fields instead of checkboxes, staff now record the exact water temperatures required by law, creating a robust audit trail.
The success of the implementation at Wessex Water stems from the system’s ability to evolve alongside the user. As Phil Timings noted, the system provides the underlying structure but leaves enough freedom for the team to bespoke the application to a range of different contexts, from fisheries management to footpath obstruction checks.
This adaptability, combined with a customer service team that actively integrates user feedback into new features, has allowed Wessex Water to consolidate their processes. Instead of juggling multiple tools, they have a single, user-friendly interface that ensures their public sites remain safe, compliant, and well-maintained.
Wessex Water is a regional water and sewerage company serving around 2.9 million customers across the south west of England, including Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, most of Wiltshire and parts of Gloucestershire and Hampshire.
Headquartered in Bath, its teams maintain thousands of assets across a network of treatment works, pumping stations and operational sites, each subject to statutory inspection regimes including LOLER and PUWER.