Mayo County Council is at the heart of local community and is a key provider of economic and social development in Mayo, Ireland. They represent the people while delivering vital local services which are central to the quality of life of everybody who lives in, works in and visits Mayo.
As a Council, Mayo serve a population of more than 130,000 which involves processing a huge amount of paperwork relating to planning applications; which go as far back as 1963.
These include drawings, photos, public notices, financial documents, annual reports and housing documentation.
In a challenging and heavily regulated environment, Mayo need to ensure that all documents are stored securely and can be easily accessible for compliance and audit purposes. Added to this, quick retrieval of information is needed by all staff.
With tighter regulations that came into place, the Council were required to keep building and regulation drawings to support planning applications.
This significantly increased their document storage requirements. As a result of this, the decision was made to look into a document management system to streamline business processes and eliminate costly paper storage options.
With planning and finance being the main departments at the Council, various regulators such as the Health and Safety Authority, Building Control Authority and the Town Planning Act 2017, meant Mayo required a digital solution that enabled them to safely store all their documentation in digital filing cabinets.
The use of paper was becoming problematic and staff were having difficulty accessing the information they required. Site visits involved staff taking files out with them posing a security risk, and left those back at the office with no access.
The Council also wanted the ability to display public notices online which shared information for local residents of what's going on in the local area.
DocTech worked with Mayo over two days, scoping and drawing up bespoke workflows to streamline their business processes before targets were set for the installation.
Mayo required all paper documents and emails across each department to be scanned, captured and stored in a centralised repository.
This gave staff access to up-to-date information from any location with an internet connection. Email notifications were set up to let selected staff know when a change had been made to a document that was linked to an active project.
DocuWare was implemented company wide and when first set up, Mayo securely stored 1.2 million documents into their system. At that time, around 1,000 documents per month were being processed and stored, giving staff immediate access to information such as property and tenant details, Environmental Impact Assessments, maps and architectural plans.
Mayo's objectives where clear from the start, and by integrating DocuWare with Outlook and their planning system I-Plan, they have achieved what they set out to do.
They can now easily see where a planning application is up to with a clear view of the file structure, creating a stronger and more transparent workflow.
They have significantly reduced data entry and manual processes while giving service users direct access to public information.
Document queries from the public can be handled simply, improving customer service. DocuWare also provides a clear audit trail of who has accessed what document and when - ensuring compliance measures are met.
Staff have secure access to documents, with mobile access for staff working remotely
A huge reduction in paper, print and storage costs
Improved sharing of information between staff and external parties
Service users can access information in real time
The ability to view high level documents such as maps and drawings
The initial investment has saved us a fortune in printing, scanning, printers, paper, stationary, postage and wasted time. Information can now be viewed on tablets outside the office so people are never held up by not having the information they need to do their work. It's been a huge saving for us and we are some much more effective. Staff use the system constantly and it is widely liked and appreciated.
