The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) is implementing a new Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system. The new system will provide a standard, Department-wide approach to document management.

The ECM system will give DNREC staff an information platform to enhance their work day. It will allow central storage and retrieval of documents and information. The ECM will connect with the DNREC web site so those documents that are public are available to anyone, from anywhere, at any time, on any device.

The ECM system will reduce the need for FOIA requests since DNREC’s public documents will be easily found on the web. It will speed up information-sharing and collaboration among different parts of the agency. It will integrate with record retention policies and facilitate long-term document storage through the Delaware Public Archives.

Building on Past Success

Large-scale electronic document management began at DNREC in 1997 with the Site Investigation and Remediation Section. They scanned and electronically stored documents related to hazardous waste clean-up projects. This let potential property owners better research properties available for redevelopment and re-use.

In the years since, that section has scanned all its documents and manages them using a software tool called DocFinity. Programs in other parts of DNREC have adopted DocFinity as well. It now holds more than 10 million pages of information. But the different document repositories are not fully interconnected and integrated.

The new DNREC Enterprise Content Management system will use OnBase, an enterprise information platform for managing content, processes, and information. OnBase was selected by the State of Delaware as the solution of choice to address ECM needs.

The new OnBase system will replace DocFinity, over time, and will be put in place for all of DNREC.

A Series of Implementation Projects

The project to establish the new ECM system will include a series of related projects to organize, standardize and migrate data and documents to the new system. These projects will be undertaken under the guidance of a Department-level governing group. They are part of the Department’s ongoing effort to improve management, processes, and transparency.

They include:

• Updating and standardizing taxonomy and metadata for DNREC’s many different types of documents.
• Updating the retention schedules that govern the management and archiving of DNREC documents.
• Promulgating a DNREC policy on the protection of Personally Identifiable Information to protect the privacy of agency staff, applicants and others.
• Updating business rules to control the processing of documents as they make their way through the various programs and offices in DNREC.
• Migrating selected eGovernment applications to the OnBase system as part of a larger application assessment and update project with the Department of Technology and Information (DTI).
• Integrating OnBase and document management with DNREC staff desktop-level office software and processes.
• Training staff throughout the agency on creating, storing, finding and properly cataloging electronic documents.

Related Topics:  continuous improvement, document management, ecm, enterprise, process improvement