Case Studies
Digital, Cloud and Innovation
Humber and North Yorkshire ICB implements new digital booking system with N3i
NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB is a statutory organisation accountable for NHS spend and performance for 1.7million people. The ICB is a core member of the Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership, alongside NHS providers, local councils, health and care providers and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations.
Objective
The ICB required an efficient digital solution for staff to book workspaces in different locations across the area. This agile method of working allows for collaboration with colleagues across the area.
A digital booking system that enhances agile working for ICB staff across Humber and North Yorkshire.Overview
Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (HNY ICB) is an increasingly agile organisation with staff working both at home and from various sites. Many of their buildings are now ‘hubs’ where staff from across Humber and North Yorkshire come together.Managing people, places, and resources effectively is one of the biggest challenges faced by any organisation. It became apparent when reviewing the use of their estate that they required some form of booking system to enable staff to plan their time effectively across ICB sites. N3i were contacted to identify and implement a booking system that would meet the following key requirements:- Ensure building spaces would be utilised in the best way possible and give staff the ability to self-manage desk and meeting room bookings simply and efficiently.
- Provide digital information around room bookings through an accessible system to minimise any administrative support required.
- Capture room utilisation data to help inform how to allocate rooms or use spaces more efficiently going forward.
- Deliver a cost effective, accessible solution within a short timescale.
The Challenges
A number of options were explored for delivering a self-managed booking system. Many of the options were able to deliver similar functionality but most had separate apps and were expensive to procure.
Whilst implementing the solution the main challenges included:
- Scope – Deciding and agreeing what would be bookable spaces.
- Configuration – including setting appropriate timings for bookings.
- Staff Education – granting access and using the system.
- Access – ICB staff work across several IT providers which made it difficult for some staff to access.
Asset Booker is a simple to use, cost effective and accessible system. N3i were invaluable throughout the process from the setting up to supporting with site issues, communications around site alerts for maintenance and supporting update requests. The project support was knowledgeable and quickly responded to queries and requests for help.
The Solution
The DigPacks Asset Booker was chosen as the ideal solution for the ICB’s requirements. The system was in the early stages of procurement across the national NHSmail SharePoint tenant, which meant that it was available for free, and integrated across all NHS IT providers through Microsoft Teams. As an early adopter of the system, N3i provided expert implementation and deployment support to the ICB.
Due to the Microsoft Teams integration staff do not require a separate app to use the asset booker. This reduces the administration requirements that more traditional methods have relied on. Staff can see and book space in real time and the system is accessible anywhere via desktop or mobile.
ICB administrators are able to update office plans and decide on functionality they want to use within the system which means we they can respond quickly to organisational change or staff feedback.
Impact
The introduction of a system which can be used across the entire Humber and North Yorkshire region supports the ICB’s estates strategy.
The ICB review of their Hub at Health House required a consolidation of staff from two floors into one. They were able to use the booking system to ensure they were able to accommodate staff effectively. It also provided a view of what space was being booked and by whom.
Further Information
- The DigPacks Solution – Asset-Booker – DigPacks Automation Services
- Facilities Booking App for Humber and North Yorkshire ICB – DigPacks Automation Services
- The implementation work gained national recognition which can be viewed here – Humber and North Yorkshire ICB Efficient Facility Management
