Sedgemoor District Council chooses TRIM Context
Sedgemoor District Council advances information availability with TOWER Software
Electronic document and records management (EDRM) software, TRIM Context is selected to store and manage the authority’s estimated 7.5 million documents centrally
27th February 2006 - Wokingham, Berkshire - Sedgemoor District Council has installed EDRM software from TOWER Software to dramatically improve the availability of information to citizens as well as across the authority. The TRIM Context solution is currently in use by 50 users at the authority, but will eventually be rolled out to all 800 and encompass an estimated 7.5 million documents in line with the LA’s Transformation Programme. The project will be worth £400,000 over the next five years we.
Craig Wilkins, IT Transformation Manager at Sedgemoor District Council explains, “The EDRM initiative has been driven by the usual regulatory and compliance considerations, but is also expected to deliver significant benefits in terms of cost savings and operational efficiency. To date, the ‘availability of information’ around the authority has been the most impressive advantage. The ability to get the right information, to the right people at the right time is having a very positive impact on service delivery to citizens.”
“We have replaced some paper-based systems,” continued Wilkins. “Our goal is to integrate all systems with the EDRM system to centralise the storage and management of all documents within the authority, and remove any legacy DMS systems. Early initiatives have included scanning Planning documents at source, storing National Land Information Services (NLIS) documents, scanning Benefits Case archive documents and allocating the appropriate local government classification within the EDRM system.”
Tony Sumpster, Managing Director at TOWER Software EMEA added, “TRIM Context is already deployed within the authority’s Democratic Services to manage and store all versions of files such as reports, agendas and minutes. These documents have also been made available to citizens online via the TRIM Context web services component. The TRIM Context Web Service has also been used to display scanned planning documents that are currently stored as .tif images but will soon be standardised in PDF.”
Sedgemoor is at the leading edge of some of the bigger local government projects. For example, it is being used to test some initiatives like Government Connect with its CRM vendor, Northgate. TRIM Context will act as a hub for the authority’s cohesive set of systems, and tightly integrate with them all. This will encompass for example CRM, web content management, document scanning, the finance system, council tax, benefits and housing systems - to name but a few.
TOWER Software was selected by Sedgemoor District Council for its credentials in delivering cost effective EDRM solutions in the public sector. Roll-out of the system is being coupled with a business process engineering initiative and is expected to be complete by 2010.
About Sedgemoor District Council
Sedgemoor lies within the heartland of rural Somerset. The district has three main towns; Bridgwater, the administrative centre - a small market town with a strong historical industrial past, now in the first steps of regeneration; Burnham-on-Sea - a Victorian coastal resort which has a large summertime influx of 50,000 holiday-makers to permanent caravan sites and holiday parks and Cheddar - home of the world famous cheese and spectacular Cheddar Gorge.
Geographically, Sedgemoor has an area of 56,478 hectares. There are 54 parishes, containing a mixture of small towns and rural villages. The landscape includes seaside resorts, gently rolling hills, wetlands - Somerset Levels, rising to the steep limestone escarpment of Cheddar Gorge. Demographically, the population is 104,500 and there are approximately 45,000 households. The electorate is approximately 83,000. The non-white ethnic population forms only 0.49% of the total. The main centres of population are Bridgwater -38,000; Burnham on Sea and Highbridge - 18,500; Cheddar - 5,000. Economically, 78% of Somerset's industry is agriculture but there are thriving business parks along the M5 corridor within Sedgemoor. The area has good rail and motorway links with the South West and London.
Sedgemoor District Council works in a traditional two-tier system with Somerset County Council. It supports two main offices, four sub-offices, three tourist information centres and a museum. Sedgemoor is one of only a handful of local authorities that is also a Port Authority, therefore employing a harbour master. The Council is one of the largest employers in the district, providing employment for approximately 800 people. The mission statement of the Council is "Working together we will make Sedgemoor a safer, cleaner, more pleasant and vibrant district in which to live, work, invest or visit.
For further information contact:
Natalie Sutton
Proud Public Relations
Tel: +44(0)7768 026197 / +44(0)1276 679570
natalie@proudpr.com
or
Mehreen Qayum
Tower Software Marketing
Tel: +44(0)118 977 7510
mehreen.qayum@towersoft.co.uk
