Council workers to use handhelds

Mobile technology will allow email to be reviewed on the move

Worcestershire County Council has installed a mobile worker management system to reduce costs and improve services.

The system, which includes more than 100 XDA handheld PCs, will be used primarily by senior staff in social services, says programme manager Gareth Hart.

‘A lot of them are often out of the office, and not necessarily contactable or up to date with the latest information,’ he said.

The handhelds, supplied by wireless messaging specialist Intellisync, will allow senior social workers to be contacted easily and for their electronic calendars to be maintained.

The system will be particularly useful for decisions requiring urgent attention, such as whether to take a child into care.

Hart says Worcestershire eventually wants to use the handheld PCs as part of a social services-specific system.

‘We are rolling out a new client system soon, and hope to develop its interface so that handhelds will be able to pull up important data wherever they are,’ he said.