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Improving the UK’s air quality: Delivering the digital infrastructure to support Clean Air Zones

The Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) is charged with delivering HM Government’s legal and policy commitments to improve air quality by reducing levels of NO2 pollution.  One of JAQU’s key priorities is to work in collaboration with Local Authorities to influence changes in motorist behaviour that will lead to reductions in transport related Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2).  The Clean Air Zone (CAZ) Framework permits Local Authorities to implement Charging Clean Air Zones as a measure for achieving this.  When entering a charging CAZ, a vehicle will be subject to a monetary charge if it does not meet certain EURO emissions standards.  The intent is that the introduction of Charging Clean Air Zones will drive changes in motorist behaviour – such as upgrading to a cleaner vehicle or using public transport – that will lead to reductions in NO2 pollution.

Informed Solutions was appointed by JAQU to deliver, support and continually improve the Central CAZ Service – a national digital service that provides the infrastructure necessary to implement Charging CAZs.  The specific challenges that the Central CAZ Service had to solve included:

 

  1. Using data captured via Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to determine whether a vehicle navigating a Charging CAZ is compliant with EURO emissions standards specified by the CAZ Framework.
  2. If a vehicle is not compliant, determining if it is liable to be charged and, if so, how much.
  3. Enabling any motorists, be they a private motorist or large fleet operation, to pay any charges that they are liable for.

The Central CAZ Service is a national digital infrastructure with exacting non-functional requirements for security, availability, elastic scalability and resilience.  The service needed to be delivered within demanding timescales to meet public ministerial commitments and so, following a detailed technology options assessment, Amazon Web Services (AWS) was chosen as the cloud service provider for the Central CAZ Service given its proven capability to satisfy these requirements.

PaaS and SaaS AWS offerings have been used wherever possible to accelerate and de-risk delivery, maximise technical quality and minimise administrative and maintenance overheads.  A serverless execution model is used to maximise the solutions’ ability to scale elastically in response to changing demand.  A loosely microservice-based architecture has been adopted so that it is possible to incrementally build, test and release the solution in an agile way.

Working together, Informed Solutions and JAQU continually to successfully support, maintain and continually improve the CAZ Service.  As a result, the first Clean Air Zones will launch in 2021 and the solution will play a vital role in improving the quality of the air we breathe.  Several services are already live, including the Vehicle Compliance Checker – a national GOV.UK service used by motorists to determine if they will be charged for driving into a CAZ.  

Explore jobs at Informed Solutions

Data Scientist

About UsInformed Solutions delivers digital data and technology solutions that help make the world a smarter, safer, greener, and healthier place.Founded in 1992, we are a successful, growing International digital transformation consultancy. We deliver multi-Queen’s Award for innovation winning platforms and services that support large-scale digital transformation. Our digital, data and technology solutions are used by globally recognised public and private sector brands operating in a variety of sectors including Civil Defence, Healthcare, Sustainable Environment and Land Asset Management, and Digital Democracy.Our purpose is to create economic and social value by helping to build a more inclusive, fair, and safe society through ethical use of technology and data and investing in digital skills.The multi-Queen’s Award-winning data and AI-powered platforms and services we develop support large-scale transformation of services that make a difference.  They are used by millions of people every day in a connected, converged world.The OpportunityMake a difference and advance your career by helping deliver some of the UK’s most important #tech4good projects.You’ll join a talented team of dynamic and driven professional problem solvers; creative thinkers and solutions builders who thrive on helping clients meet the most exciting digital transformation challenges.At a certified Great Place to Work® you’ll experience a dynamic and nurturing environment that rewards initiative and flexibility and enjoy a career path tailored to your own aspirations.CultureWe are proud to nurture a workplace culture that is diverse, inclusive, rewarding, and egalitarian.We strive to live up to our values of Innovation, Excellence, and Integrity by thinking about things differently, always doing our best, and acting in good faith at all times.We’re a team of passionate problem solvers. We take pride in helping our clients accelerate and de-risk digital business change so that we can collaborate and co-design world class digital services that solve complex business and safety critical problems, particularly where place, location or geography are important. Our workplace culture reflects how we go about our work, the type of work that we choose to do, and our commitment and contribution to the sustainable social, environmental, and economic development aims of the communities that we are part of.  We focus both on technical skills and equally importantly, on the cultural fit of prospective new colleagues. Our success relies on fostering an environment where creativity and collaboration produces great outcomes for our people, our clients, and our partners.Why We Work at InformedLearn more about life at Informed Solutions by going to Informed.com/Careers

Informed Solutions
Lead Developers

About UsInformed Solutions delivers digital data and technology solutions that help make the world a smarter, safer, greener, and healthier place.Founded in 1992, we are a successful, growing International digital transformation consultancy. We deliver multi-Queen’s Award for innovation winning platforms and services that support large-scale digital transformation. Our digital, data and technology solutions are used by globally recognised public and private sector brands operating in a variety of sectors including Civil Defence, Healthcare, Sustainable Environment and Land Asset Management, and Digital Democracy.Our purpose is to create economic and social value by helping to build a more inclusive, fair, and safe society through ethical use of technology and data and investing in digital skills.The multi-Queen’s Award-winning data and AI-powered platforms and services we develop support large-scale transformation of services that make a difference.  They are used by millions of people every day in a connected, converged world.The OpportunityMake a difference and advance your career by helping deliver some of the UK’s most important #tech4good projects.You’ll join a talented team of dynamic and driven professional problem solvers; creative thinkers and solutions builders who thrive on helping clients meet the most exciting digital transformation challenges.At a certified Great Place to Work® you’ll experience a dynamic and nurturing environment that rewards initiative and flexibility and enjoy a career path tailored to your own aspirations.CultureWe are proud to nurture a workplace culture that is diverse, inclusive, rewarding, and egalitarian.We strive to live up to our values of Innovation, Excellence, and Integrity by thinking about things differently, always doing our best, and acting in good faith at all times.We’re a team of passionate problem solvers. We take pride in helping our clients accelerate and de-risk digital business change so that we can collaborate and co-design world class digital services that solve complex business and safety critical problems, particularly where place, location or geography are important. Our workplace culture reflects how we go about our work, the type of work that we choose to do, and our commitment and contribution to the sustainable social, environmental, and economic development aims of the communities that we are part of.  We focus both on technical skills and equally importantly, on the cultural fit of prospective new colleagues. Our success relies on fostering an environment where creativity and collaboration produces great outcomes for our people, our clients, and our partners.Why We Work at InformedLearn more about life at Informed Solutions by going to Informed.com/Careers

Informed Solutions
Live Service Manager

About UsInformed Solutions delivers digital data and technology solutions that help make the world a smarter, safer, greener, and healthier place.Founded in 1992, we are a successful, growing International digital transformation consultancy. We deliver multi-Queen’s Award for innovation winning platforms and services that support large-scale digital transformation. Our digital, data and technology solutions are used by globally recognised public and private sector brands operating in a variety of sectors including Civil Defence, Healthcare, Sustainable Environment and Land Asset Management, and Digital Democracy.Our purpose is to create economic and social value by helping to build a more inclusive, fair, and safe society through ethical use of technology and data and investing in digital skills.The multi-Queen’s Award-winning data and AI-powered platforms and services we develop support large-scale transformation of services that make a difference.  They are used by millions of people every day in a connected, converged world.The OpportunityMake a difference and advance your career by helping deliver some of the UK’s most important #tech4good projects.You’ll join a talented team of dynamic and driven professional problem solvers; creative thinkers and solutions builders who thrive on helping clients meet the most exciting digital transformation challenges.At a certified Great Place to Work® you’ll experience a dynamic and nurturing environment that rewards initiative and flexibility and enjoy a career path tailored to your own aspirations.CultureWe are proud to nurture a workplace culture that is diverse, inclusive, rewarding, and egalitarian.We strive to live up to our values of Innovation, Excellence, and Integrity by thinking about things differently, always doing our best, and acting in good faith at all times.We’re a team of passionate problem solvers. We take pride in helping our clients accelerate and de-risk digital business change so that we can collaborate and co-design world class digital services that solve complex business and safety critical problems, particularly where place, location or geography are important. Our workplace culture reflects how we go about our work, the type of work that we choose to do, and our commitment and contribution to the sustainable social, environmental, and economic development aims of the communities that we are part of.  We focus both on technical skills and equally importantly, on the cultural fit of prospective new colleagues. Our success relies on fostering an environment where creativity and collaboration produces great outcomes for our people, our clients, and our partners.Why We Work at InformedLearn more about life at Informed Solutions by going to Informed.com/Careers

Informed Solutions

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