Each year merseyside police – along with 43 other police forces in england, wales and northern ireland – submits activity based costing (abc) data to the home office, enabling comparisons between police forces on resource deployment and its effectiveness at tackling crime.
The task of collecting data is very labour intensive as it demands analysing the activities of 2,500 Police Officers in 15-minute increments over a two-week period. Having established a “tried and tested” paper-based system for capturing data; Merseyside Police began to look for ways to streamline the process and reduce the administrative burden for all those involved. The use of web forms promised these efficiency gains and improved data accuracy.
“Web forms don’t require printing or scanning – so you save money on the cost of hardware as well as the reams of paper involved when working with paper forms. More importantly, they are instantly distributed and retrieved, which saved us a lot of time and effort.”
CATHERINE CRANE, INFORMATION MANAGEMENT & DISCLOSURE UNIT, MERSEYSIDE POLICE
THE NEED
Merseyside Police has been using Fusion software to automatically process hand-completed activity cards for seven years. However, the distribution of activity cards to six Divisions, training liaison officers, collecting the completed cards, scanning them, validating a proportion manually and finally analysing the results was proving an onerous task. When the Government decided that the activities of Community Support Officers (CSOs), Crime Scene Investigators (CSIs) and Specials should also be included, Merseyside Police turned to Formic Web Forms module to provide some relief.
Moving an already successful paper forms process to web forms in a single move presented a daunting challenge. Merseyside Police ran a three-month pilot with over 250 CSOs, CSIs and Specials to prove the process and smooth out any problem areas. The success of the pilot program provided the confidence to rollout across all six Divisions; Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley, St. Helens, Liverpool North and Liverpool South.
THE SOLUTION
The new Web Forms module enabled Merseyside’s existing activity card design to be instantly deployed to the web, where it could be completed by Police Officers returning to station at the end of their shift.
“Each activity entered is automatically cross-checked with other data on the form, for example, location and officer rank to ensure sensibility and validit Formic’s Web Forms module has validation built in, which makes it virtually impossible for a police officer to submit an invalid activity card. Suddenly, the liaison officers realised that a big chunk of their work was gone – something they clearly appreciated.”
CHRISTINE DYSON
Data from completed Web Forms arrives pre-validated at the Information Management & Disclosure Unit’s server, where it is analysed using the Formic DataView module before being transferred to a cost accounting system for Activity Based Costing (ABC).
THE RESULT
Despite some initial reservations of Police Officers to the new web-based technology, the unit soon achieved their target 90% return rate for each Division. One per cent of all data was dip sampled and verified against notebook evidence to ensure complete accuracy.
“Christine and Catherine will analyse the results and support their conclusions with, for example, crime data from Command and Control systems. These reports will be presented to Divisional Commanders with a series of recommendations. The results of these surveys will aid the decision of budget allocations for each force. Those that show cost effective usage of resource are likely to be looked upon favourably.”
CATHERINE CRANE
CUSTOMER DETAILS
Christine Dyson & Catherine Crane, Force Activity
Managers, Information Management & Disclosure
Unit, Merseyside Police
MAIN BENEFITS
• Web Forms in-built validation negates the need for a manual validation process stage
• Instant deployment to the web of existing activity card designs
• Users receive comprehensive prompts and feedback to encourage fast and accurate completion
• Full and robust validation increases data accuracy and reliability
• Simple data analysis prior to transfer to cost accounting system for Activity Based Costing
• No need for scanners, printers or reams of paper
PDF Download: Merseyside Police
“The real benefit of the Fusion system is that it provides an ‘all in one’ data capture system for ABC. It contains all you need to design, print, scan activity cards and validate the data. This year we successfully processed 98.6% of all cards issued, which is quite a remarkable feat.”
IAN FLEMING, PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT UNIT, HUMBERSIDE POLICE
With a payroll of over 3,000 police officers and civilians that together account for 82% of its £140M budget, Humberside Police was one of the first police forces to recognise the importance of Activity Analysis in understanding how effectively this resource is deployed to tackle crime.
Today, the Home Office has made the submission of Activity Based Costing (ABC) data a mandatory requirement, enabling valid comparisons on resource usage between police forces. As Activity Analysis provides the core data from which ABC is derived, the focus has now turned to the efficiency and accuracy of the data collection process.
THE NEED
Humberside Police began using Fusion software for Activity Analysis in 1996. Today the software is used to process over 10,000 activity cards from Divisions in Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Beverley and Hull.
The Performance Development Unit produces instruction booklets and trains Liaison Officers at each Division, who in turn train Sergeants in completing and checking activity cards. The activities of all multi-functional operational staff are sampled over a two week period, the minimum required by the National ABC model.
“The real benefit of the Fusion system is that it provides an “all in one” data capture system for ABC. It contains all you need to design, print, scan activity cards and validate the data. This year we successfully processed 98.6% of all cards issued, which is quite a remarkable feat” stated Ian.
Activity Based Costing (ABC) is now firmly embedded within Humberside Police culture. The data collected during Activity Analysis is merged with demand and performance statistics providing Chief Officers, Divisional Commanders and Headquarters Commanders with a comprehensive analysis that helps answer fundamental questions concerning efficiency and effectiveness.
THE SOLUTION
Ian reflects on Humberside’s long relationship with Formic “The biggest breakthrough for the police service was the collaboration with Formic in the design of the Formic v3 activity card. This design is the basis for all police forces that use OCR systems to complete their annual ABC exercise. The relationship between supplier and customer is symbiotic. Formic are receptive to customer experience and will consider making changes to their software, to the benefit of all users. We have seen the Activity Analysis software develop in this way to become a slick, user-friendly tool. Today, it even incorporates a built-in audit trail that tracks changes to data during processing – satisfying the stringent requirements of the Audit Commission. Fusion is the only software to do this.”
THE RESULT
Such has been the impact of Activity Analysis in Humberside Police that extra studies are undertaken throughout the year to test the difference made by organisational changes following Chief Officer and Divisional Commander insights.
“ABC is a recognised management tool that has enabled Humberside police officers to spend more time on front-line policing and less on unproductive tasks, such as paperwork. Our over-riding objective is to achieve higher detection rates and that has been made possible because senior commanders are now becoming very skilled resource managers.”
HAYLEY IBBERTSON, PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT UNIT, HUMBERSIDE POLICE
CUSTOMER DETAILS
Ian Fleming & Hayley Ibbertson
Performance Development Unit, Humberside Police
MAIN BENEFITS
• “All in one” data capture system for ABC
• Fast, accurate processing of activity cards
• Facilitates intimate understanding of police resource deployment
• Complies with Home Office ABC data requirements
• In-built audit trail satisfies Audit Commission’s stringent requirements
• Finds many other non-ABC applications
PDF DOWNLOAD: Humberside Police
“We provide a time critical service. For each incident we respond to we have to complete a Patient Report Form. Each day we generate on average 2,000 such forms. The ability for us to rapidly consolidate and analyse this information is key. Utilising the Fusion solution we can now capture and process this data in a timely manner. We are now able to monitor the performance levels of our paramedics, identify areas for skills development and provide overall improvement in our service.”
BRIAN MCNEILL, HEAD OF TRAINING AND QUALITY ASSURANCE, NORTHERN IRELAND AMBULANCE SERVICE
Every year paramedics and emergency technicians at the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service complete over 700,000 Patient Report Forms. The information gathered is used to generate reports, which in turn are used to measure the performance of the Ambulance Service. Using Fusion software, the data from these forms is scanned and processed electronically. Prior to this, however, the data had to be keyed manually by office staff. An incredibly time consuming task, this led to massive backlogs and as a result, any reports generated were out of date and of little value in measuring or improving the service.
THE NEED
To ensure the latest available information was being used in generating accurate and actionable reports, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service needed to automate its data capture from Patient Report Forms. Processing, reporting, storage and retrieval of these documents could also benefit from automation. Up to date and accurate reporting is critical for measuring clinical skills, the types of treatment and the level of individual crew competence. The information gathered can also play an important role in the need to audit drug usage in compliance with legislative standards.
Previously the data recorded on the Patient Report Form was manually input. This arrangement was proving unsatisfactory. Retrieving the information was labour intensive, poor quality and of limited use. In addition too much time was elapsing between the form being completed and when it was processed. It was proving very difficult to generate meaningful and timely reports.
“Also, as a consequence of the political situation in Northern Ireland, Patient Report Forms are often submitted as evidence in court cases. Our inability to access and retrieve forms easily from earlier incidents was becoming a serious issue.”
BRIAN MCNEILL ASSURING QUALITY OF SERVICE DELIVERY AND PATIENT CARE
THE SOLUTION
The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service selected the Fusion suite of software to automate its data capture and processing. They also engaged the Formic Professional Services team to create a customised form using the powerful yet intuitive integrated design module. The result is an easy to complete tickbox form with faster and more accurate information capture. If a Patient Report Form is required for evidence at court or other official purposes, the Formic FormStore module with its comprehensive search capability, combined with an optional disk jukebox, allows for safe, accurate and rapid data archiving and retrieval.
THE RESULT
With the Fusion solution in place, all data is assessed and quality assured to the highest standards. As a result, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service has been able to increase the effectiveness of its reporting to the Trust Board. Additionally, by tracking all clinical activity and using other measures to deliver improvements in patient care, the service also complies with the mandatory requirement to monitor the performance levels of paramedics. The results are then incorporated into the skills profiles to form the basis of a training and development plan.
“With the Fusion solution we comply with regulations that govern the monitoring of paramedic skills. This provides a mechanism for identifying areas for their further development and training. In Northern Ireland, we can now take part in national proposals to develop the skill set and expand the range of drugs administered by the ambulance crews. This has had a very positive impact on our staff and the level of service we provide.”
BRIAN MCNEILL
CUSTOMER DETAILS
Brian McNeill
Head of Training and Quality Assurance, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service
FUSION USER SINCE 2001
MAIN BENEFITS
• Improved quality and accuracy of information
• Enhanced usage and timeliness of reporting
• More focussed training and development for paramedics
• Elimination of manual data entry
• Improved patient care and overall service
• Ability to comply with various regulatory requirements
• Easy access and retrieval of stored images
• Monitoring of performance levels of paramedics
• Quickly identify variations in service and take remedial action
• Provide input to standards and procedures
PDF DOWNLOAD: Northern Ireland Ambulance Service
“Many types of pests, rodents for example, require up to three visits by our technicians. The technicians therefore need to be able to quickly access information about previous visits so they can arrange follow-up appointments without delay. Previously, this process was taking far too long, now with the Formic-Xerox solution the information is available instantly, so we can provide a more responsive and proactive service.”
TREVOR COURT, CUSTOMER SERVICES MANAGER,
Manchester City Council’s Environmental Health Department is an enforcement agency in food hygiene, health and safety and pollution. In addition, it is responsible for the pest control unit, which deals with infestations of ants, wasps, mice and other vermin.
The council’s pest control technicians generate hundreds of job sheets a day, the details of which have to be manually keyed into a database by office staff. With each form taking up to five minutes to input, the task created over seven man hours of work every day and resulted in a growing backlog in peak season.
THE NEED
To eliminate the backlog and help create effective and up-to-date reports, Manchester City Council identified a need to automate its forms processing. The information would be used to update the Geographical Information System, identify problem hotspots and lead to more effective resource planning.
The council also required instant access to previous job sheets, so that subsequent visits could be arranged without delay and response times improved.
“The backlog of paperwork was starting to impact our ability to respond to pest control demands. Keeping our records up-to-date was an uphill battle. Without up-to-date data, it’s virtually impossible to accurately pinpoint geographic hotspots or plan resources effectively.”
TREVOR COURT
THE SOLUTION
Manchester City Council chose an integrated solution comprising multi-function scanning, faxing, printing and copying devices from Xerox, combined with software and services from UK data capture specialist, Formic. The networked Xerox Document Centres are used to scan new job sheets at the end of each day, while Formic’s Fusion software automatically reads and processes the data before feeding it into a bespoke Microsoft Access database and Geographical Information System, from which various analysis reports can be generated.
In addition, Formic’s Fusion software is being used to design a new, improved job sheet for collecting customer visit information. Each time a customer visit is scheduled, a unique two-sided job sheet will be printed out. The form will include the customer’s details and individual reference number, assessment and treatment information from any previous visits, a unique job reference number, and job details specific to that visit with tickboxes relevant to the particular types of pest problem reported by the customer.
“The two companies, Formic and Xerox were able to offer me a complete solution that does exactly what I want. Plus, as they are working together, as a single vendor, it alleviates the service issues one encounters when dealing with several separate suppliers.”
TREVOR COURT
THE RESULT
The goal of the pest control unit is for more than 90% of forms to be automatically processed on the day they are completed. Those requiring manual corrections will be edited the following morning; virtually eliminating the backlog and freeing up administrative staff to work on more immediate tasks. The new system ensures that analysis reports now contain the latest, up-to-date and accurate information.
The department can, for example, monitor the performance levels of individual officers, the types of services requested and pinpoint areas receiving most visits. This allows the council to plan their resources more effectively and identify problem hotspots and their underlying causes. Job sheets from previous visits are now instantly accessible and follow-up appointments can be arranged without delay. The result is a pro-active department, managing demand and providing a more responsive service to customers.
“The system will also help in assessing the potential risks from rodent poisons. Rodenticide data collected by technicians will be automatically printed on follow-up job sheets, minimising the amount of reassessment work necessary and helping the Council to investigate any poison-related accidents or complaints that may occur. We are very excited to be pioneering this new system. It will not only help us to enhance staff efficiency and customer service, but will also improve the way important data is documented.”
DAVE OLDBURY, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
GROUP MANAGER, MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL
Manchester City Council plans to extend use of the combined Formic-Xerox solution to other areas within pest control service, as well as implementing in other departments.
CUSTOMER DETAILS
Trevor Court, Customer Services Manager,
Manchester City Council
MAIN BENEFITS
• Up-to-date and accurate analysis reports
• Pro-active and responsive customer service
• Reduction in manual data entry
• Reassignment of staff to more immediate tasks
• Elimination of forms backlog
• Improved monitoring of performance levels
• More effective resource planning
• Less duplication of effort on repeat visits
• Ability to identify problem hot spots and underlying causes
• More effective investigation of poison-related accidents
PDF DOWNLOAD: Manchester City Council
“Formic has provided a simple and reliable solution to data processing. The modular and scaleable nature of the Fusion software means that we can build on our system incrementally as and when our requirements grow. This in turn has allowed us to expand and evolve the range of tailored services we can offer across the business and to external clients.”
IAN MOSS, TECHNICAL SUPPORT MANAGER
QUALITY ASSURANCE, BRITISH GAS SERVICES
In 1996 British Gas Services introduced a business improvement process that since has continually been evolved to meet the changing needs and requirements of the organisation. The process is designed to provide timely and relevant management information on technical and business issues from individual service engineer level right through to the Board. It comprises an essential element of the overall business objective to secure and grow market share and long-term profitability; whilst demonstrating a safe system of work to the various regulatory authorities.
THE NEED
British Gas needed a simple and accurate method for processing data to support the business improvement process. Since generation of timely and accurate management reports was a key element to the success of the initiative, they required a system that would allow them to virtually automate the end-to end process, keeping turnaround time to a minimum. Another criteria was that any solution implemented would not impact their manpower budgets.
THE SOLUTION
Whilst British Gas reviewed several alternatives in their selection of a data processing solution, Fusion presented the strongest business case. Other options considered involved significant capital expenditure as well as in some cases increases in manpower. British Gas introduced the Fusion solution to the business to provide a cost-effective and accurate method for capturing and processing data with minimum manual intervention, with no cost increases.
Quality assessments are carried out at customer premises utilising a form created with the Fusion design module. The data is then scanned into a national database from which monthly management information reports are generated. The reports include individual service engineer profiles with data tracking their performance against various criteria on a monthly and year to data basis. Local and area reports provide operational management with accurate and timely information that enables British Gas to monitor actual performance levels against national monthly and annual targets. The results are then used to implement improvement programmes across the business and expand the scope of services provided.
THE RESULT
A Fusion user since 1996, British Gas recently upgraded to the latest version of the software and found the new capabilities have added greater flexibility in form design and data processing. The intuitive yet simple design module has reduced the time to create new forms and a combination of new capture and process features have further reduced already minimal levels of manual data entry and provide near 100% data accuracy levels. The ongoing development of the Formic solution is enabling British Gas to move forward with new applications and to continue to provide an even better level of service to its end users.
“With the continued introduction of enhanced features and capabilities to the Fusion software, we have been able to evolve and move forward with new applications in-line with these developments and provide an even better service to our customers.”
IAN MOSS
CUSTOMER DETAILS
Ian Moss
Technical Support Manager, Quality Assurance,
British Gas Services
MAIN BENEFITS
• Ability to expand system as needs grow
• Timely and accurate management reports
• Greater flexibility in forms design and data processing
• Evolve applications as new software features are introduced
• Ability to offer a wide range of services
• Monitor performance levels of service engineers
• Efficient and reliable data processing solution
PDF DOWNLOAD: British Gas
“Once configured, the Fusion software has proven to be extremely robust.”
COLIN MORRIS, IS DIRECTOR
LEX DEFENCE WHITE
Lex Defence White Fleet supply continuous hire vehicles to the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Lex Defence continually collect and analyse feedback from military units throughout the United Kingdom in order to monitor the performance of the fleet and improve their level of service to the MOD.
THE NEED
Every month Lex Defence needs to capture vehicle utilisation data from a wide community area. In addition, Lex Defence endeavour to monitor their performance standards through an annual customer satisfaction survey. This survey needed to be effortless to complete, yet capture as much qualitative information as possible.
THE SOLUTION
Formic designed a data capture card that systematically collects vital vehicle utilisation data. Thousands of these cards are sent to MOD addresses throughout the UK. Once completed, the Fusion solution scans the cards, validates and transforms the information into electronic data. This is then uploaded onto a vehicle management control system and merged with existing records. Furthermore, Fusion solutions have enabled Lex Defence to obtain feedback on customer satisfaction levels through the capture and analysis of results from their annual survey.
“To achieve the same result without increasing our headcount would have meant wide distribution of electronic systems at a huge cost.”
COLIN MORRIS
MONITORING AND PRIORITISING
FLEET UTILISATION
THE RESULT
By utilising the Fusion solution, Lex Defence is now able to identify low or high vehicle utilisation at over a thousand addresses within the MOD. This allows them to manage and prioritise usage of the fleet efficiently and cost effectively throughout the UK.
Furthermore, Lex Defence now has a tool to monitor their customer satisfaction levels and respond accordingly.
CUSTOMER DETAILS
Colin Morris, IS Director
Lex Defence White Fleet
FUSION USER SINCE 2001
MAIN BENEFITS
• Ability to monitor performance standards
• Exceptional cost savings
• Improved customer service
• More timely data
• More accurate data
Published Article: Health Business Magazine October 2010
John Morley, CEO at Formic explores the challenges and benefits of clinical audit and revalidation following the measures outlined in the Government’s Whitepaper: Liberating the NHS.
John Morley is CEO at Formic – the leading developer of data capture solutions for the NHS, helping to efficiently collect, manage and analyse data for clinical audit and revalidation. Customers range from physicians and administration personnel through to Clinical Governance Departments working on some of an NHS Trust’s most complex auditing projects.
The company has 20 years’ of experience and its software is in daily use by more than 300 NHS Trusts, Primary Care Trusts, Mental Health Trusts, Strategic Health Authorities and private healthcare organisations across the UK.
ACCURATE, EFFICIENT AND COST EFFECTIVE DATA CAPTURE
Formic recognises the importance of the changes outlined in the Government’s White Paper, Equity and Excellence: Liberation the NHS and their experience has led them to believe that accurate, efficient and cost-effective information capture, management and sharing will soon play a critical role as an enabling factor for many of the changes outlined.
John Morley, CEO, Formic, explains: “This whitepaper outlines radical changes which will need to take place within NHS Trusts. Patients will become at the heart of everything that a Trust will do and there will be much more emphasis on research and analysis to help increase productivity and efficiency within the Service. At the same time the NHS is asked to improve its efficiency with the goal of reducing management costs by 45% over the next four years.
CLINICAL AUDIT HAS ENORMOUS POTENTIAL
Compared to other sectors, healthcare is in its infancy in putting the customer first. Accurate information is pivotal to better care, better outcomes and reduced costs. Clinical audit has a key role to play in achieving this as it extends its application to include patient feedback as part of the process that systematically reviews outcomes of care against explicit criteria and the implementation of change.
Achieving unprecedented gains in efficiency, combined with the Government’s Whitepaper directive to demonstrate a “relentless focus on clinical outcomes … with results that really matter” will drive a requirement for Trusts to automate their data capture and, with the removal of PCT’s and many middle management, place accountability of this in the hands of the Clinician.
The new measures that will empower patients to rate hospitals and clinical departments, according to the quality of care they receive, will also require hospitals to be open about mistakes and inform patients if anything goes wrong.
DATA FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND CLINICALLY USEFUL
Complete data capture will be at the point of care, information will be clear and more importantly, medically accurate, helping to meet the rigor of clinical audit and revalidation, both of which will help inform decisions on quality improvement and promote patient involvement. This will motivate a shift in recognition that the data needed for accountability will be the same data that is clinically useful.
Information generated by patients themselves will also be critical to the process and by the Government’s own admission; it is not something that the NHS has been historically good at. More wide spread use of “effective tools” like Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs), patient experience data, and real time feedback will be expanded to support clinicians across a much wider range of treatments and conditions, and it will extend PROMs across the NHS wherever practicable.
The Whitepaper suggests that more PROMs will be developed for other surgical and non-surgical procedures. In the future they will be designed for routine use as part of day-to-day patient care, and ultimately it will be possible to evaluate the pathway of care for each patient, from start to finish from GP surgery or A&E, through to post-operative and at-home care.
The challenge with these programmes is that significantly more information will needed to be collected at a time when the NHS is targeted at reducing the administrative resources that would typically be responsible for capturing and processing this information.
The implication for NHS Trusts is that they will need to innovate in the way that they do this, moving away from the outdated and longwinded methods currently being used and applying up-to-date solutions and systems to what has historically been labour intensive activities.
Clinical audit departments and the like will see a dramatic increase in both the volume and breadth of support they are expected to provide without receiving a corresponding increase in resources. Given the scope of these requirements Trusts will likely seek to identify an overall approach for the electronic capture and processing of outcome and clinical audit data.
Already at Formic we are seeing an increasing demand amongst our existing NHS customers to move from traditional paper based information capture systems to our electronic solutions that utilise modern devices such as touch screens, patient kiosks, clinical assistant PCs, Personal Digital Assistants, Smartphones and the web. These enable the whole process of information capture to be more efficient and accessible by clinicians and patients alike.
Formic’s range of solutions already provide many NHS organisations with these capabilities. As well as facilitating the capture of information on the front line in real time, they also provide tools to assist with consolidation, analysis and reporting, leading to much faster feedback to clinicians, trust management and patients. With the accompanying reduction in manual effort, professional staff are able to focus on using the information to drive improvement in clinical outcomes.
As the Whitepaper admits “too often the patients are expected to fit around the services, rather than the services around the patient.” Getting the right, proven solutions in place will help towards achieving a patient-led, accessible service that will go a long way in helping the NHS deliver the productivity and efficiency to which it aspires.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit: www.formic.co.uk
Tel: 0870 197 5608
Email: sales@formic.co.uk
Just thought that I’d drop you a line to say a big thank you for the help that I received from Formic last week. Your technician definitely knew his subject – he was clear and concise, explaining everything as we went along and exceeded his remit in helping me out. Once again, well done and thank you.
Formic Fusion supplies high speed data reports to Health Professionals from School Health. Profiling to outside agencies, such as Age Concern. The system has been in constant use for 3 years; saving time, cost and improving overall efficiency. We are looking forward to implementing on-line surveys in the future.
The real benefit of the Fusion system is that it provides an “all in one” datacapture system for ABC. It contains all you need to design, print, scan activity cards and validate the data. This year we successfully processed 98.6% of all cards issued, which is quite a remarkable feat.
Ian Fleming, Performance Development Unit, Humberside Police
