Surrey Heath Council deploys Enterprise Document Management Solution (EDMS)

The EDMS solution which facilitates the management of all records from the desktop across all departments has been implemented by Winchester based Avanquest ProcessFlows, provider of cost saving business solutions for Local Government and private sector organisations.

The enterprise scale solution supports Surrey Heath's Corporate Strategy to improve document records management and make information more freely available throughout the whole organisation.

Business transformation on this scale allows Surrey Heath to deliver improved frontline services with less resource. Their timing is good following in the wake of Government announcements that councils will have their budgets cut by 1.165bn this year.

The pressure is on all local authorities to make savings. Introducing business process automation - which can take up the slack when staff numbers are cut means it can be business as usual.

Surrey Heath Council has been using an Avanquest ProcessFlows document management solution for over 10 years albeit in a very small way to start with as a simple look-up tool for archived documents. This has gradually evolved via integration with their Graphical Information System (GIS) to improve the processing of planning applications and multi departmental, electronic look-up capability into the enterprise Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) recently implemented.

Over the period, Surrey Heath has consistently improved the sharing of information across departments and deployed lean processes - 'piggybacking' departmental functions to reduce duplication and enabling Multi Function Devices (MFDs) to cut energy consumption. This experience of 'doing more with less' initiated by their CEO who had seen the benefits EDMS can bring to an organisation in a previous appointment has delivered significant cost savings without compromising the frontline services that stakeholders rely on.

The solution at Surrey Heath was developed by Avanquest ProcessFlows using an OnBase document management platform. The system delivers a scalable, modular business process improvement solution which has been designed to build on Surrey Heath's existing IT infrastructure.

James Rutter, GIS Manager at Surrey Heath, was responsible for the integration of the Graphical Information System to improve the processing of planning applications. He said, "OnBase is a line system that can handle all our day-to-day information assets. It provides us with a robust foundation which will not have to be discarded when our line-of-business applications are eventually upgraded, fitting our current and future strategy to maximise investments and build on the existing infrastructure in a modular way. It was the only solution that fitted our criteria for functionality, scalability and budget. It will give us the opportunity to look closely at how paper and information moves around the organisation and demonstrate good governance."