Amber Valley Borough Council has selected Comino’s Electronic Document Management and Workflow solution to help improve efficiency within its Benefits and Revenues Service. The applications will speed up administration processes by replacing paper-based systems with electronic files, helping to maintain high levels of customer service and increase staff morale.
The Comino solution will enable Derbyshire’s Amber Valley Borough Council staff to electronically file, access and manage all citizen information, including benefit claims. Including scanners and image processing software, the EDM application enables staff to scan all documents it receives from members of the public, and store them electronically. This removes the need for paper-based filing systems and its associated floor-space. The workflow element of the Comino system helps officers to manage activities and view their status at any point in time.
Kevin Stewart, Head of Benefits and Revenues at Amber Valley Borough Council, comments, “We are looking forward to moving to EDM and workflow systems because it will improve on our levels of customer service – we will be able to offer an instant, proactive service. It will also increase staff morale as it removes the possibility of 30 or 40 paper-files being kept on or around employees’ desks.”
“Comino has a proven track record in the Local Government sector and this expertise will help us to deliver measurable benefits to the citizens of the Amber Valley borough,” Kevin Stewart concludes.
Comino’s solution stores case files electronically for each citizen. Each file contains all the relevant queries and documentation relating to an individual. By using the full audit trail facility, which enables information tracking, staff can view all documents quickly and easily. Amendments will be made in real time, reducing the possibility of error. As the majority of enquiries will be handled at first point of contact, the Authority is aiming to improve response and turnaround times in processes within the Benefits and Revenues Service.
It is expected that the Comino solution will be fully implemented at Amber Valley Borough Council by August 2005.
About Amber Valley
Amber Valley Borough Council is a medium-sized Borough Council, serving a community of around 118,000. It employs around 1,000 people to provide direct delivery of typical Council services such as refuse collection, housing benefits and council tax.
In common with many local Authorities, Amber Valley Borough Council has changed its organisation and management structure during recent years. This change has been incremental accommodating the latest round of legislative, political and financial pressures, proactive as opposed to reactive.
The environment is one of uncertainty and rapid change. Considerable time and effort is spent monitoring the pressures, assessing the implications and deciding what action to take. The ever increasing pace of these pressures has forced Amber Valley into rethinking its role and, consequently, reshaping the organisation to meet changing needs and questioning the appropriateness of the traditional organisation structure.
For further information, please visit www.ambervalley.gov.uk