Agenda item

Scott Cardwell, Assistant Director of Development and Dave Stimpson, Head of Property Services presented a report which updated Members of progress in the Stores management review regarding the long standing concerns relating to North Bridge Stores operational activities The review was instigated following audit work carried out by Internal Audit in 2019 and their involvement in the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) stocktaking in 2020.

This management review was implemented in May 2021.The review has identified the key issues that were driving the shortfalls and a plan was now being executed to correct the issues and operate Stores using the correct operating processes by the end of December 2021, with a further review period to assess wider service area impacts to take place up to the end of March 2022. The review would also look at the interactions of other service areas and processes that were involved with the entire Stores process, either as a customer or a stakeholder.

The Assistant Director of Development and Head of Property Services outlined the key developments in relation to progress made since the last update provided to the Committee in July, in particular, with regard to early completion of the stocktake of the stores in mid-September and the departure of the Stores Supervisor. It was noted that following a comprehensive stock take of the Stores and interventions now put in place, the Council was in a much better position and it was expected further improvements would being made with regard to variances. An officer had been seconded into the Stores Supervisor post. Positive changes had been made which also involved reconfiguring the stores. Since the Committee’s last meeting, the Transformation Board had met on 3 occasions to assess the progress being made with positive feedback received from stakeholders who sat on the Board. It was anticipated that during December the standard operating procedures and physical reorganisation of the stores would be put in place as well as a stock take and staff ICT training with completion of the supply chain contracts next year.

In response to a question from the Chair, it was reported that whilst there had been a change in management at the stores, this had not negatively impacted on the delivery of the review and the operation of the stores function. The stores had continued to operate and had been resilient in resolving ongoing issues and managing day to day work and the review of the stores. It was noted that during the last 6 weeks there had been significant improvements to the day to day operations of the stores which was more streamlined and operating effectively. Within the last 3 weeks the physical reconfiguration of the stores had changed. Staff were being more proactive in terms of the day to day management of stores activities in relation to the creation of goods in and goods out, preparation of goods in advance of collection and prompting customers and stakeholders regarding goods ready for collection. Work had also started to define the roles and responsibilities of staff and the supporting activities of the stores

In response to a further question from the Chair querying as to the reasons why it taken a long time to revisit the stock take from March, it was reported that Officers had used that time to better understand what the shortcomings of the previous stock take were and to address these in preparation for the next stock take. Further stocktakes would be carried out in order to show progress made. This would also allow time for improvements to be made to some of the internal processes to ensure that stocktaking was effective.

The North Bridge Stores had been a long standing issue and an area of concern at previous Audit Committee meetings, where assurances had been given by Officers that the improvements required would be implemented, however, those improvements had not been delivered. The Committee therefore had reservations as to whether the actions set out in the Project Plan would come to fruition and sought Officers assurance that the actions would be implemented. The Head of Internal Audit advised that he was encouraged by the progress and changes made and there had been marked improvements at the stores, with feedback received from the Strategy and Performance Improvement Manager who has supported the Assistant Director of Development in managing the project and had seen evidence of the recent changes reported by Officers today. He informed Members that there was an improving picture being presented and that the Internal Audit team would continue to monitor progress and would report back at the Committee’s meeting in January.

The Assistant Director of Development provided further assurance that there was  now a commitment from senior management to that of the past to ensure that the review was followed through and that regular meetings were taking place with the Director of Economy and Environment to monitor progress. A new governance structure had been established with key stakeholders which was both inclusive and responsive to any issues that may arise. The Committee looked forward to seeing the report in January 2022 and hoped to see an efficient functioning facility that fully supported all of the key Council services.

In order to gain an in-depth understanding of the scale of the operation at the stores, a Member asked about the annual turnover of the Stores. The Head of Property Services advised that he did not have the figures to hand, however gave an undertaking to circulate the information to Members following the meeting. He explained the operational activities at the stores and advised that the North Bridge stores site comprised of a collection of buildings and external storage that held different products and was used for different purposes. A review of the configuration the stores was to be conducted as well as how the stores site works operationally.

Reference was made regarding product variances being attributed to poor stock control and items being stored incorrectly at the stores facility. A Member asked whether Officers had details regarding the monetary value of the variances from the last two stock takes. The Head of Property Services did not have this information but committed to providing the information. In terms of improving management control of variances and bringing them back up to an expected standard, it was felt that it would be beneficial to identify the areas where variances occurred and then track them over time. Members spoke of the frustrations of customers when items were not in stock and how variances had a major impact on stores depending what the items were and the customers experiencing delays in collecting ordered items.

It was noted that feedback received from stakeholders and customers using the stores had indicated that the stores was not operating how they would want it to be. Members asked what plans were in place to stress test and assess the operational performance and effectiveness of the stores. Also, in order to gain a true picture of whether the stores service was working effectively to hear feedback from customers and stakeholders to seek their views. A Member spoke of how it would be advantageous for the Council to capture information at a low level regarding the stakeholders and customers ordering the products and their expectation for the stores to deliver and communicate with them in relation to reasons why products had not arrived on time. He asked whether Officers had considered capturing information In terms of gauging the customer experience, opinions and perceptions of its stakeholders and customers in terms of what’s happening on the ground, the quality of service provided and shortfalls in the service. It was felt that this would be beneficial for both the Council and its customers in terms of what expectations were from both sides. The Head of Property advised that this was to be addressed through the Stakeholders management meetings and the standard operating procedures, where officers were liaising with staff to understand the day to day activities of the stores. The Head of Property advised that he was attending those meetings and seeing the outcomes which were now being embedded. It was also noted that prior to the stores review, meetings had taking place with individual stakeholders. Going forward Officers acknowledged Members comments that as part of the review would look to build in the process of having separate meetings with stakeholders so they are able to speak to the stores team with regard to any issues they may have and to better understand the user experience at every level. It was noted that the Council were to develop a suite of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) over the next few months to provide both a baseline and for best practice purposes. Once the operating procedures were confirmed and meaningful KPIs established, it was anticipated that performance would be reviewed and it was hoped to see a reduced pattern of problems and errors going forward.

Officers in attendance responded to further questions from Members.  In response to a further question from the Vice-Chair whether the Council had considered commissioning external consultants to provide advice in terms of the operation of the stores and in terms of a set of standards and best practice, it was stated that the Council firstly wanted to get the stores fully functioning so that it was working effectively and ensure that improvements were being made to the service. The next stage of the process was to look at the stores function and then compare it with others, for example, Councils partners, CIFPA network etc to look at best practice.

To conclude, reference was made to the recent Pulse survey carried out by Internal Audit and it was suggested that a similar survey be undertaken with the stakeholders and customers of the stores, and that the questions could be specifically tailored to gauge whether the stores function was working effectively and to ascertain whether improvements have been made to the stores service.

RESOLVED that

(1)       the update on the progress report on the North Bridge Stores Transformation Project be noted and the outlined approach be supported; and

(2)       information in relation to the annual turnover of the Stores be circulated to Members.