ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Carmarthenshire is a big rural area. Every time there was a council maintenance job, our tradespeople would have to pick up the paperwork and the equipment from the stores, go and do the job, and then come back to log it.

In July, we gave them portable, handheld, iPAQ computers, so now we can send the job electronically to the tradespeople and they can do it, log it and claim payment through the iPAQ without coming back. I expect the £50,000 costs of the first year to be recouped just in savings on diesel.

There used to be a time delay between finishing a job and closing it in the office. If the tradesperson wasn't coming in to collect new jobs until the next day, sometimes it was claimed outside the priority time limit. There were several manual systems for entering information – the delivery notes booked in and out for the stores, the claiming and payment system – but with the iPAQ all that has stopped.

We've also closed our depots and entered into partnership with builders' merchant Travis Perkins and local suppliers. We use them as "virtual" stores, and our staff don't have to return to the office for any reason.

We've been working with 20-30 iPAQs and we've just ordered 40 more. And next month, we're going to launch an online catalogue system for our suppliers, so staff can order parts through the iPAQ.

We're working with Opportunity Wales, a local funding group, to help our smaller suppliers get online. As the council, we felt it was our duty to help local businesses.