DM May-Jun 2023

CASE STUDY: DWP Dm
inventory consisting of over 27 million
files. This process was a huge success
and completed in February 2023. Now,
as a part of a new three-year project and
fully out-sourced solution, Restore
Records Management is currently
transferring DWP's remaining inventory -
(over 13 million files) from their current
location at Heywood near Manchester,
to a secure facility.
TRUSTED THIRD PARTY
This is the first time DWP records will be
stored and managed by a third party. The
contract includes over 600 file retrievals
and returns per day, allowing the DWP to
access information on demand.
Secure destruction services are also being
provided in line with DWP's retention
policy, as part of an all-round solution
that is helping to reduce costs and
increase efficiency by ensuring files that
do not have to be kept are destroyed, and
those which are required most often are
easily accessible.
"This work extends and enhances our
existing relationship with the Department
for Work and Pensions," commented Nigel
Dews, Managing Director at Restore
Records Management. "Our flexible
approach and ability to find solutions was
key and it's an exciting project."
SETTING THE SCENE
The DWP's largest records management
site, near Manchester, housed over 27
million records and covered 28,000 sqm,
including nine storage facilities. The site
had been in use since the Second World
War and had been managed by several
different suppliers over that time.
In 2021, the DWP requested a full audit
and segregation of the holding in
preparation for a move away from the
site. It also needed to find a secure
facility to store and manage its
remaining records.
It was clear that a new approach was
required, one which offered a solution
tailored to the DWP's requirements and
which could be delivered within tight
timescales to vacate the site by the end of
February 2023.
Using their extensive experience of
handling large Government contracts,
Restore Records Management presented a
detailed project plan that showed how
they could handle all stages of the
contract - including validation,
segregation, retention, destruction, and
secure disposal: a full end-to-end solution.
Within days of the contract award,
Restore Records Management had
established a presence at Heywood
Stores, held staff briefings with all existing
personnel and introduced new IT systems.
The audit team was put together from
existing key onsite staff with many years
of experience of the DWP holding and
Restore Records Management staff with
experience of relocation projects.
Phase one of the project involved an
audit of 28.5 million files - including
1.2 million boxes and 1.8 million
barcodes. Every record needed to be
touched, validated, and assessed for
destruction, then either re-boxed or
sent for secure destruction.
Due to the volume of work and tight
time scales this required the Restore
Records Management team to create
bespoke software that was user-friendly
and would deliver efficient accurate
processes. The software enabled them to
check the status of all files and segregate
the holding by account. Every file had to
carry its own barcode which required
1.8million files to be barcoded as part of
the undertaking.
The audit tool, developed in-house, took
the decision making away from the user,
directing them by using colour-coded
prompts to move the record, whilst
creating document tracking and work
orders in the background. It took three
months to build and test and went live
within four months.
STARTING THE AUDIT
To hit the deadline Restore Records
Management had a team of 120 people
working around the clock. Day and night
shifts were used to hit the required
volumes and with limited processing areas
the desks were in use for up to 16 hours
per day across the shifts.
The audit began in April 2022 with 50%
of the destruction already identified and
more being added during the process.
The first pass destroyed almost 12 million
records and was completed by the end of
2022. A joint decision was then taken to
re-process 3.5 million records and destroy
a further 1.8 million to reach the goal of
13.5 million destroyed.
In total over 2,200 tonnes of confidential
waste was removed from site to be
securely processed by sister company
Restore Datashred.
Daily and weekly review meetings took
place to ensure volumes were being hit
on track to meet the deadline. The target
was 170,000 touches a day. The tool
created enabled Restore Records
Management to develop their own
reports which were used internally and to
feed progress back to DWP.
Whilst the audit was taking place, the
site was still open for business-as-usual
requests. Every record was fully tracked
throughout so that it could be picked if
required by the client. Over 300 records a
day were requested and 100% were
delivered within strict SLA rules.
THE BIG MOVE, AND BEYOND
During the second stage more than
270,000 boxes were moved into the new
facility. The ongoing contract now sees
over 600 file retrievals and returns per
day, allowing the DWP to access their
records on demand.
All boxes are now fully validated,
segregated, and consolidated to a smaller
footprint delivering further cost savings
for the DWP. A dedicated and experienced
team from Restore Records Management
has been supplied, focusing on delivery,
timescales and budget.
This is a good example of how a
'Relentlessly Resourceful' records
management partner brings value.
Restore Records Management created
bespoke technology and the team worked
around the clock to achieve optimum
results for the client.
In total, 28.5m files have been audited
and there have been 13.5m destructions:
a happy and positive ending for all,
delivering long-term cost savings and
optimisation of records for the DWP.
More info: www.restore.co.uk/records
www.document-manager.com
May/June 2023
@DMMagAndAwards
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