Decision ref
0051 2023/24
Decision date
24/11/2023
Portfolio
Regeneration & Planning
Wards
All wards
Title
Purchase of New Asset Data System (Concerto Integrated Software Solutions)
Summary
Award of Contract for a new Corporate Asset and Facilities Management (CAFM) data system to Concerto Integrated Software Solutions
Purpose
Following successful applications to Council's Assessment Project Board (APB) and the Strategic Asset Investment Group (SAIG), the purpose of this document is to secure approval to the award of contract to Concerto Integrated Software Solutions for the purchase and implementation of a new asset management data system solution.
Background
The Council’s estate currently comprises of circa 2000 operational and non-operational assets. It is not envisaged that the number of assets will increase substantially over the lifetime of the CAFM, but the system must be able to handle the volume of data expected for each asset. Operationally, approximately 6500 orders for reactive, cyclical and planned maintenance works as well as statutory compliance orders are placed with contractors on an annual basis.
The Property Service currently operate various systems that relate to Corporate and Commercial Asset Management, but these are not easily interlinked or reconciled, and the data is not consistent across the different systems and not always centrally held leading to increased resource and time demands when performance, condition, and finance reports are required to make strategic decisions on assets future.
Due to the loss of staff over the years in the former estates team, and the lack of investment in systems upkeep / upgrading, data has become dormant and out of date. As a result information required for annual insurance valuations has found to be incorrect and has required unplanned/unallocated resource from the surveying section being required to undertake validation inspections, at short notice and which jeopardises the deliver of the planned maintenance programs. This is further compounded by the lack of estates resource as the information obtained does not then get updated into the system and subsequently becomes a reoccurring issues / demand.
A full review of St Helen Council’s Property Services was undertaken by The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), report issued October 2021, which identified a number of keys issues in relation to the council’s asset and estates management.
The report commented separately on the following areas:
• Strategic Functions, Governance and Organisation of Property Related Services
• Estates Management & Data
• Project Management, Design and Construction
• Repairs and Maintenance
• Statutory Compliance
• Facilities Management (Soft Services)
Within the report various comments were made in relation to the data management elements of the service, these included:
“No case work management software is in place…”
“…no confidence in the accuracy of the property records held on the current Lotus Notes based system…”
“Contractors use their own software data management systems…meaning that inefficiency and risk is created where staff cannot readily get the information, they need to do their work.”
“Clarity on how the data management system tracks and manages asbestos is limited.”
“…the data system is limited, affecting multiple functions and areas of work across the service.”
“…data systems need improving to provide efficient and effective oversights and an ability to report…”
Currently data is fragmented in a number of sources, from formal and informal databases to paper records, some may be in personal storage space. Confidence in accuracy and completeness is low. The current systems are cumbersome to use and in main are unsupported software solutions.
With the findings of the CIPFA report and the review of the historical systems, a new single system for asset management became one of the key deliverables in the Property Services Transformation Program.
The vision is therefore to develop an integrated property data and asset management system, providing reliable information that is secure, easily accessible to users, supports strategic asset planning and helps drive operational efficiencies by transforming processes and team working within Property Services.
Conclusion
Concerto Integrated Software Solutions is wholly owned by Bellrock Group who are a leading provider of property and asset management services in the United Kingdom.
The software is an integral part of the Bellrock Group and is at the very core of Bellrock's own service delivery. The Concerto product suite, which has been developed over the last 15 years, is responsible for managing £1.5bn annual facilities spend across 500,000 locations.
Concerto is also purchased and trusted by other local councils who require an integrated software platform to manage services and property-related data in-house, existing clients of Concerto include local authorities such as: Liverpool City Council, Manchester City Council, Wigan Council, Halton Borough Council, Cheshire East Council, Wirral Council, Blackpool Council, Salford City Council, and Fylde Council.
In addition, The Association of Chief Estates Surveyors and Property Managers in the Public Sector (ACES) have recently set up an dedicated Concerto User Forum on their members site, due the increasing number of their 280 participating members opting for Concerto as their platform of choice.
Given the rising numbers of local authorities and providers within the NHS now opting for Concerto as their solution of choice provides reassurance that St Helens Council will benefit from the introduction of the system and move another step in ensuring we act as a responsible Council.
Risk Implications
The key risks relate to existing systems being ineffective and unsupported together with reliance on paper based information. Without accurate data input and access to records this makes informed decision making and capital investments a challenge with ineffective data analysis being available.
Measures to Redress Risk
The proposal to move to a Cloud based solution will allow Property Services to move away from existing unsupported systems and potential data failure. Cloud based solution will result in further efficiencies and less reliance on local data storage and improved access and analysis of property data.
Declarations Of Interest
None
Equality Impact Assessment
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More information
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