Local Authority Simplifies Compliance Process With Paperless System

With up to 300 questions involved when carrying out a full audit of the food provision at each of the schools and social care establishments under Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s jurisdiction, it can be an onerous procedure proving compliance.

As well as wading through paper records and spreadsheets, the procedure usually involves a huge amount of duplication with data being recorded at each site having to then be re-inputted onto the main network.

In a bid to reduce the time taken to complete the full audits, which are carried out once a year, and the mini-audits conducted every six months, the local authority’s in-house catering team opted to take the paperless route.

With 98 schools, seven children’s centres and 40 social care establishments under its jurisdiction the team took on-board two hand-held devices that have been specifically designed to carry out quality auditing procedures.

Known as Saffron Inspect, the devices are hand-held pocket PC’s and allow users to easily record a checklist of data out on-site, eradicating the paper form-filling function.

Through wireless communications the data can then be transferred to the central management system on the main computer network at the press of a button, rather than having to re-input the data once back at the office.

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