Background
Nottingham City Council needed to help its Funerals Department increase time, resource, data management and processing efficiencies. It looked internally to the success its Highways team had achieved with the Confirm asset management solution.
Confirm is an innovative, cost-effective solution, developed to assist local authorities value, manage and maintain their assets by automating and streamlining processes to maximize operational efficiencies, minimize costs and facilitate informed decision-making.
By extending the use of Confirm and adapting its functionality to suit the needs of its Funerals Department, the council can now offer a “click of the button” response to Freedom of Information requests. It has also increased processing efficiencies of its public health funerals with real-time tracking of funeral applications. As well, storing and archiving legal assets digitally will bring the department one closer to becoming a paper-free environment.
Business challenge
In accordance with section 46 of the Public Health Act, the City Council’s Cemeteries and Crematorium team is responsible for arranging Public Health funerals as well as responding to a growing number of Freedom of Information requests. This entails responding to customer enquiries, managing all documentation for each funeral application, undertaking site visits, performing genealogy searches to trace relatives of the deceased as well as keeping track and processing of all ongoing burial arrangements.
Much of this work was handled manually and heavily dependent on paper-based filing, handwritten notes and outdated spreadsheets. The system was extremely awkward, time-consuming and labor intensive.
Paula Richardson, Manager of Cemeteries, Section 46 Funerals and Memorials at Nottingham City Council, explains, “Over the last 18 months alone, the number of Public Health funerals has increased significantly, with the Department now handling nearly 200 a year. This, together with the ongoing rise of Freedom of Information requests was putting a considerable strain on our already stretched and limited resources.”
When Richardson joined the Department over 10 years ago, she inherited an outdated system based on handwritten reports and vast volumes of paper, all cross-referenced to each case via one master spreadsheet. She attempted to reform the system with some basic digital filing, but the process remained very piecemeal, with data, images and legal documents stored over multiple servers. It was also still heavily focused on spreadsheets that required constant updating and color-coded paper files stored in bulky cabinets that take up limited office space. It also meant that when Richardson wasn’t in the office, it was virtually impossible for anyone else to access the information required.
Continued Richardson, “I needed a simple but effective digital solution that would enable me to store and manage information in one system, that would give me instant access to real-time data so I could track each burial application and run progress reports as well as provide a ‘click of a button’ response to Freedom of Information requests.
“I knew if I could find such a solution, it would relieve the pressure on the department, streamline application processing, increase efficiencies, free up office space by eliminating our reliance on paper filing and ultimately, allow us to deliver a better all-round customer service.”
Richardson approached other local authorities for help, but it soon became apparent that most Funeral Departments in other Councils worked in a similar manual way. It wasn’t until Richardson started talking to a colleague that they realized the perfect solution was already up and running in the Council’s own Highways Department.
The solution
Nottingham City Council’s Highways Department has been successfully using Confirm for many years, automating its operations by increasing workflow efficiencies to deliver time, resource and budget savings. Using Confirm Enterprise and its graphical dashboard interface, the Highways team has a fully automated, simple and effective solution for logging enquiries, capturing site inspection data, scheduling crew workloads and prioritizing maintenance.
In addition, the fully functional multi-platform mobile capability of Confirm Connect facilitates remote communication with over 60 mobile crews deployed throughout the City of Nottingham. It schedules jobs and captures remote progress updates. This drives maximum efficiency by enabling its teams of gardeners and waste and inspection personnel to remain in the field working.
The benefits
Chas Black, Systems Support and Project Officer at Nottingham City Council, has overseen the day-to-day maintenance of Confirm since the digital asset management software was first installed back in 2003. Black was already familiar with the potential for Confirm to deliver efficiency benefits and could see this was a viable option for Richardson.
Together, they worked with Brightly’s Services Team (which was later acquired by Siemens), who configured the software to handle the receipt of funeral applications, digital inventory and asset storage, off-site search management and processing. The team also facilitated immediate access to all reference data, case analysis, planning and reporting.
Concludes Richardson, “The introduction of my bespoke Confirm digital asset management solution will transform the efficiency of my department and ease pressure on resources going forward. I am now confident I have an automated system that will speed up the processing of cases from initial application, through to final case closure and significantly reduce our dependence on paper-based filing.
“In addition, I will have access to real-time data at the touch of a button, so not only myself, but my colleagues can also respond quickly and efficiently to external customer information requests. And, to find the solution from within our own Council was hugely satisfying and rewarding.”
Chas Black has already identified other areas that can benefit from Confirm’s automation, efficiency and cost savings functionality. He is currently working to launch Confirm into the management of the City’s Bridges and Structures assets. In addition, Richardson’s colleagues in the Cemeteries and Crematorium team have been so impressed with its flexibility and functionality that they are also considering using Confirm to manage its cemetery plots.