DA&I Geospatial Analytics 1

Data, Analytics & Insight - Geospatial Analytics

DBS Staff – Assessing Staff Gravity centre & Travel coverage In June 2015 an inquiry was made as the whether the analytics team could look into mapping home locations for all DBS staff in the Northwest. There are three DBS offices in the NW: Liverpool, Stockport and Blackpool. This information could then be used to make a decision on whether the relocation of any offices is feasible, and identifying potential locations. The one criteria being that; a relocation would mean that all personnel currently living within an hour commute of their relevant office, would be entitled to compensation if they are then situated more than an hour away after a move.

In order to give a range of solutions it was decided to calculate 3 different measures to aid in analysis:

Staff geographic centre of gravity

Staff driving time centre of gravity

Point of maximum coverage for all staff

Staff Geographic Centre of Gravity The geographic centre of gravity is the mean centre of all staff working at that location. It is done “as the crow flies” meaning driving routes are not taken into account. The output is a single point that can be used to show the idea location for the office in relation to its staff. If the point is close to the actual location of the office, it indicates it is well situated, and a move would cause significant disruption. If the centre of gravity is in a completely different location then a move may be worthwhile and beneficial. Staff Driving Time Centre of Gravity Exactly the same as the geographic centre of gravity however done using the road network, this can then factor in driving times rather than just distance. Is slightly more susceptible to outliers than the geographic centre. Again, can be used to indicate if a move is of any potential use. Point of Maximum Coverage for all Staff This is a tool that uses the road network (and therefore driving times) to calculate where the ideal point would be to include as many staff as possible within the stated time (1 hour). Rather than the two tools listed above which simply calculate the average distance/driving time for all staff, this calculates a point which will deliver the best solution possible within DBS guidelines. It is symbolised on the map with a purple “ink spot” showing the area that are within an hour of this point, as opposed to the green “ink spot” which shows areas that can be reached from the office at present. The totals for each can then be symbolised using pie-charts, comparing the current facility and the proposed one. They show the percentage of staff that live within an hours’ commute.

DBS Staff

3 Current Locations (Stockport, Liverpool & Blackpool)

Have to live within MOD guidelines (1 hour from office)

Staff home locations available to nearest postcode areas (e.g. SK23 9)

Map produced showing the laydown and analysis results for Liverpool DBS staff

Close ups of staff location & centres of gravity

Close ups of coverage analysis

DA&I Geospatial Analytics 2

This analysis was performed for each of the three offices, and finally for all staff in the Northwest combined. It was found that an office positioned between Stockport and Liverpool (around Warrington) would cover 95% of both Liverpool and Manchester’s staff, an improvement on the existing figure of 92% with two offices. The staff at Blackpool were found to just too far away however, with an office around the Blackpool area having to be kept to keep its staff within guidelines.