From signposting to health & safety: how Milton Park built what3words into its business
From logistics giants to animal rescue charities, thousands of organisations in the UK use what3words every day. Widely adopted by emergency services, the technology has also been quickly embraced by public authorities, utilities providers, and property managers. Councils and companies such as Thames Water, UK Power Networks, and Skanska use it to plan, build and maintain critical infrastructure. Milton Park, home to 250 companies and 9,000 employees, uses what3words to help people, goods and services find precise locations.
In December 2020, Milton Park, a business, science and technology park in Oxfordshire, launched a new brand identity with innovation at its core. As part of the revamp, it made what3words its standard for communicating location. From signposting entrances to incident reporting, what3words addresses help make Milton Park a more efficient, less frustrating and safer environment for businesses, employees and visitors.
Using what3words to identify entrances and key locations
Companies on the premises
Milton Park’s online directory lists every company’s what3words address to help visitors, couriers and workers arrive at the right location. what3words addresses are also being displayed everywhere, from stationery to billboards and signs.
Amenities
The park’s Innovation Centre stands proud at ///scores.honey.ambitions , with the 3 words clearly displayed on a billboard, to let people know they’ve arrived at the right place. The Hive Café features a 3 metre long neon sign of its what3words address: ///feasted.cloud.honeybees
A fleet of bikes and e-bikes available for hire on-site are housed in bike shelters and hubs, all of which have a what3words address listed on the park’s website.
In 2021, as part of a partnership with Thames Travel, Milton Park displayed what3words locations at bus stops and on buses going to and from Milton Park so passengers can find the exact pick-up and drop-off locations easily.
Events and venues
The park holds events year-round, attended by employees and members of the public. From Christmas markets to pilates classes in the park, every event is announced with a what3words address so it’s easy to find.
Improving internal operations with precise location information
Infrastructure maintenance and asset management
The business park, which extends across 302 acres, with over 2,700 trees, 80,000 sqm of grass and five lagoons, requires regular maintenance. Contractors, tree surgeons, landscapers and gardeners are given what3words addresses to know exactly where to go.
Incident reporting
People are encouraged to use what3words to report incorrect bicycle parking, fly tipping and damage to public furniture more accurately, helping the on-the-ground maintenance and security teams deal with issues faster.
Health & safety
The Milton Park community is encouraged to download the what3words app and be prepared to use it in case they need to call emergency services.
Raising awareness about what3words
Milton Park is using what3words as a fun way to engage its community, while raising awareness about the technology and its benefits. To celebrate the arrival of spring, it released a riddle which would reveal a what3words address once solved. For Halloween, players worked out missing words from what3words addresses in Milton Park to win a bottle of rum.
Most recently, Milton Park took a deep dive into the 135,800 what3words squares that make up the site and highlighted some of the squares that encapsulate the innovative and life-changing work its companies do.
Ushering in the future of transportation
The Park is pioneering sustainable travel by launching the UK’s first fully electric, autonomous bus service . Of course, what3words addresses are being used to indicate and signpost new bus stop locations, making every journey even more efficient.
Find out more about using what3words to help visitors find your business, event or venue , or for infrastructure and asset management .
