Leeds City Council's Department of Highways and Transportation employs some 500 staff based in six separate locations. The Department comprises five divisions; Transportation, Network Management, Design & Drainage, Support Services and Financial Services and has won awards for several of its schemes.

The Department has a strong commitment to its Quality Management System and certification to BS5750 and subsequently ISO9001 for the provision of technical and civil engineering services covering the areas of highways, drainage and laboratories was achieved in March 1994.

The benefits of having a Quality Management System have long been well understood and widely recognised. Following his appointment as Administration and Quality Assurance Manager in 1995, David Walker was concerned that the development of the Quality Management System was being hindered as it had become a bureaucratic monster generating a paper mountain and requiring a large amount of his time to sustain it.

Failure to keep the paper systems up to date and the inability to incorporate improvements quickly could have posed a potential risk to the Department's certification to ISO 9001. With a strong IT infrastructure available in the Department, David decided to research the possibility of delivering all controlled documentation electronically.

The Solution

The Department purchased EQMS from Qualsys to undertake the task of front-ending the existing Quality Management System. EQMS was installed on the Department’s computer network allowing all documentation (written in any Windows based application - in this case Microsoft Word) to be handled by the EQMS database and be delivered to all personnel who have access to a personal computer.

The Departmental Quality Manual is made up of 260 Procedures and Work Instructions, together with 300 associated Forms - 8 Lever Arch Files full of paper!

Conversion from paper format to the electronic delivery system was completed in two  weeks.

The ‘Navigator’ allows staff to easily navigate the Quality Management System and to access the documentation that they are looking for. The database allows the forms associated with a document to be shown on screen and selected directly. An added benefit is that the forms can be completed on screen.

Only David Walker as the Quality Manager has the authority to edit the master documentation with the ‘Document Manager’ module.

"There is still a facility within the Quality Management System for senior managers to issue controlled copies of documents to staff. But this is kept to a minimum. Staff can print documents from EQMS but these paper copies are uncontrolled – paper is effectively 'illegal'" says David.

The Benefits

• The time taken to process and implement requests for changes to the Quality Management System has reduced.

• Absolute confidence over document control has been achieved - staff always see the current issue of the document and the messaging facility in EQMS tells them if it has been updated and when.

• EQMS contains other useful information, for example the Departmental Telephone Directory, in a searchable form. The Departmental Health and Safety Manual will shortly be included and consideration is being given to adding the Departmental Staff Manual, an essential document that contains invaluable information valid to all staff. The inclusion of such documents promotes the use of the EQMS.

• The consumption of paper has reduced, which is line with the City Council’s Green Strategy. Prior to the introduction of EQMS, over 140 copies of each manual and any updates had been copied and distributed several times over the course of the year. The obvious environmental benefit also brings cost savings.

• David Walker is free to concentrate on developing the Quality Management System and other aspects of his job rather than drown in a sea of paper and bureaucracy.

"The electronic delivery of documentation has produced more than the expected benefits. The streamlining of the administrative system, linked with the purchase of EQMS has freed up roughly one day a week and it has allowed me as a Quality Manager to be far more productive. More importantly it has broadened the scope of the Quality approach and changed people's perception of the Quality Management System from being a necessary evil to an aid." (David Walker)

David can be contacted at david.walker@leeds.gov.uk.