Case Study - London Borough of Lambeth

Enhanced Housing Benefits Services for Lambeth

17/11/2001 14:00

The Housing Benefits Department at the London Borough of Lambeth is, like most London Boroughs, large, under severe pressure and growing all the time.

In April 2000, press reports claimed that a backlog of around 40,000 Housing Benefits Claims existed.  It was clear something had to be done.

Internally, claims could not be found, duplicate files were rife and the system was overloaded.  The manual method of file tracking had broken down and access to the filing system was available to all.  Staff morale was at an all time low.  In short, there was no central responsibility for the filing system and control of it's essential information and, considering the thousands of file movements made each day, action had to be taken.

Why Cave Tab?

A key factor in the decision making process was Cave Tab's ability to demonstrate that its system was both cost effective and, given the fact that they had worked with Lambeth before on similar projects, guaranteed to work.

Scoping Study

After initial examination of the Department, it became clear that a systematic approach was essential.  A Scoping Study was conducted, an action plan devised and detailed proposal submitted with the key objective of regaining control of the system in order to provide an efficient service to claims.

The Way Forward

Cave Tab and Lambeth jointly identified several key areas that needed addressing; creation of a single secure filing system with restricted access and dedicated file room staff, tight file control, elimination of misfiling and claim duplication, increased filing capacity and retraining of Housing Benefits staff.

Lambeth, working in partnership with Cave Tab, created a secure location for the system.  They then appointed a team for the management of what Cave Tab would provide.  In addition, extensive use was made of Cave Tab's Document Services Division to make sure execution of all recommendations was completed on time.

Key Benefits noted since implementation:

     • Savings in time, space and money
     • No misfiling
     • Duplicate claims eliminated
     • Fast access to key information
     • Accurate retrieval of information
     • Increased security
     • Reduced opportunity for fraud
     • Benefits paid on time correctly

Misfiling Eliminated

All existing storage was moved by Cave Tab to the secure area and re-deployed alongside new equipment.  New heavy-duty files were created from Lambeth's database and indexed with colour coded labels based on the address of the relevant property.  This successfully eliminated misfiling within the system itself.

Cave Tab transferred all documentation from approximately 80,000 old files into new and merged the Public and Private Sector systems into one.  The comparison of existing data and newly produced files enabled duplicate claim files to be identified, removed and investigated.

Moreover, all of this work was carried out on a live working system, with much assistance being given to staff during the implementation period.  "Down time" was kept to an absolute minimum through the excellent teamwork developed between Cave Tab's Document Services Team and Lambeth's Housing Benefits Staff.

Barcode Tracking

A major concern was the lack of fiel control.  This was easily addressed with the installation of file tracking software that uses barcode technology to track all file movements around the department.  The system automatically builds up file movement history, providing the Borough with an audit trail.  Lambeth also utilise the software's ability to produce monthly management reports on a variety of activities throughout the department.

Total Control

Some six months later and Lambeth's Benefit's Department is a different place.  The single secure system is working extremely well.  There is no moe misfiling, duplicate files are a thing of the past and access to records is fast and accurate.  A first time file pick rate that used to be around 30%, is now more than 90% and is still improving.  Claims are paid on time correctly, with far less opportunity for fraud.

 

News category: Physical Records Management


Go back