The federal Department of Family and Community Services (FaCS) plans to switch from Tower's TRIM software and start managing its paper records with an Interwoven document management solution.

The move is part of FaCS' ongoing implementation of Interwoven's electronic document management system (EDMS) Worksite, announced in January and on schedule to be completed in November. The rollout covers around 2,000 users scattered around the department's 30-odd branches nationwide.

"We currently use TRIM to manage our paper records, but we're going to migrate all the data off the TRIM system and bring it into the Interwoven records manager module," the department's systems integration section manager, David Paull, told ZDNet Australia.

The department could also eventually move all of its paper-based records online, according to Paull.

"That may be a future project," he said, "ideally so we don't have to maintain paper records as well. There is the potential to head there."

Paull said the topic would be discussed in meetings to be held this week with Inform Systems, which supplied the Worksite solution.

FaCS did currently have a scanning system for ministerial correspondence, the manager said, but it wasn't used for wider document management.

If a solution to eliminate paper is agreed on, it is likely the department will seek to take advantage of scanning hardware built-in to the multi-function Fuji Xerox printers FaCS has used since they were rolled out within the organisation around a year ago.

"We have fax and scanning available in those devices, but we don't have them turned on," said Paull. "There is some integration there that can occur to make those devices work with an electronic document management system (EDMS)."

The department supported its EDMS conversion with a new Storage Area Network built by EMC, and is about to commission a second.

The solution replaced a complicated system of servers where staff working within the same division could see differing levels of access to the same document because of their disparate geographical locations.

"Having the ability to effectively have one access point for staff to all documents is a huge benefit for us," said Paull.

Other IT systems the department maintains include a complex Siebel-based grant management system which governs FaCS' relationships with its service providers like Centrelink.

You can keep the change
Paull said while the Worksite rollout had been received relatively well by FaCS' employees, he warned anyone thinking of conducting a similar implementation to carefully watch the change management process.

"Don't underestimate the cultural change issues. They're the single biggest issue that any rollout will face," he said.

"You're taking staff from a largely unmanaged and free-for-all situation with shared drives, and trying to put some control around that. And the users won't see the benefits on day one, they'll just see the pain on day one. It'll take some time before they start to realise the benefits and the strength of a good EDMS system."

Paull said FaCS realised it was important not to "sugarcoat the message too much" to its users.

"We managed their expectations up front so that they understand that it is going to be difficult, and they need to be prepared for that," he said.

The department rolled out Worksite to each of its branches in conjunction with staff training.

"We conduct branch presentations about what's going to happen, we provide quick reference cards and a training manual, and we train in reasonably small groups of 8-10," Paull said.

"It's a two hour training session during the week of implementation. While those staff are in training their documents are being migrated into iManage. They come back to their desks and their PCs have been activated with Interwoven."

He added that training was followed up for the next few days with on-the-spot help.

"We'll have staff available on the floor for any questions during that week, and we'll have a followup a fortnight after the implementation."

FaCS spends more money than any other government department -- more than AU$60 billion in 2002/03 -- with the funds being allocated to families, aged pension and income support payments.