Asset management software saves time and money at Blackpool council

Centralised system enables speedy access to property information

Blackpool council will create of centralised electronic record covering 6,000 council houses over the next three years, as it looks to deliver better services at lower costs.

The council has been using an asset management system from Concerto covering the 1,200 commercial properties - such as leisure centres, schools and council office - it oversees.

This system will be extended to cover all of its council houses by 2014.

Different council services have historically held different pieces of information about properties, Liz Gregory, senior asset management officer, Blackpool Council told Computing.

"Getting a single view of all that information was difficult and time consuming, making life difficult for council workers and anybody with a property query," she added.

Working with Concerto, Blackpool has been able to introduce an asset management system that can take relevant information from spreadsheets or databases and store it in a central asset management repository.

This makes it much easier for staff to find property details, such valuations or work carried out.

"We've shown that the system saves money and staff time," Gregory said.

For example, head teachers often get as little as two days' notice of an impending Ofsted inspection, during which time they may need to get hold of information about their buildings.

That used to mean them having to call multiple departments, said Gregory. "Now they've got everything they need in one place. Our head teachers love it."

The Concerto system also makes it much easier to track what information needs to be collected on assets, making it easier to cope with the volume of rules and regulations governing local councils' properties.

Over the next three years, Blackpool will be adding council house records to the system. It is also in discussion with Concerto over the development of a fire risk assessment module.

The costs of adding asset management modules can be substantial, according to Gregory. "But because we've worked alongside Concerto in developing these modules it can sell to other councils, we've been able to get it for less."