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District of Warendorf introduces fully digitized building permit process with Image On Demand
Customer Success Stories
The district of Warendorf wanted to carry out the building permit process completely digitized (end- to-end) without having to wait for all the old files to be scanned. Iron Mountain® Image On Demand service ensures secure compliance throughout the collection,transportation, imaging, and destruction of paper files.
Industry
Government
Challenge
The district of Warendorf wanted to carry out the building permit process completely digitized (end- to-end) without having to wait for all the old files to be scanned.
Solution
Iron Mountain® Image On Demand service ensures secure compliance throughout the collection, transportation, imaging, and destruction of paper files.
Value
- Guaranteed TR-RESISCAN compliance
- More than 7.000 files digitized to date with approximately 93.000 more to come
- Significantly faster access to files and production of legal copies for courts, with fewer staff
- More efficient home working and cross-departmental collaboration
- Savings in storage space
Digital pilot project
The district of Warendorf is a model municipality in the pilot project ‘Digital building permit procedure’ in the German state of North Rhine- Westphalia. From the outset, it was the declared aim of the district of Warendorf to implement a fully digitized (end-to-end) building permit procedure. This means not only a digital building application, but also the digital processing of information, the digital exchange with the parties involved in a building permit procedure and the digital monitoring of the realization of the building project, including construction supervision.
“It was clear to us from the outset that a fully digital building permit process can only work if all property- related information is also available in digital form. Old paper files hinder and slow down a digital inspection process,” explained Dennis Walendi, Head of Building Administration at the district of Warendorf.
Pressure through overflowing archive
Access to the files is necessary for day-to-day work. This includes, in particular, researching the existing building stock as a basis for checking the permissibility of current building projects in the existing stock. Digital building records are also frequently requested by building owners, architects, lawyers, courts and authorities.
The files were stored in a basement archive, and staff had to fetch them from the basement and bring them back when needed. They also had to scan or photocopy files when they had to leave the office, for example to go to court.
“Our archive was in danger of overflowing, and we had to ensure that no new files were added,” recalled Walendi. “The basement had already been earmarked for the District Archives from 2025 and we needed to get the files out immediately, so we opted for Image On Demand.”
The files include everything from DIN A5 documents to DIN A0 plans. From old parchment plans with ink drawings, to A5 documents on thin carbon paper, to normal color plans on A3 to A0, everything is included.
For the type of Image On Demand we were tendering, comprehensive logistics and the associated experience are a mandatory prerequisite for the implementation of the order by a service provider. This, combined with a good price/performance ratio, were the decisive arguments in favor of Iron Mountain.
The right combination
After a rigorous tendering process, the district of Warendorf selected Iron Mountain® as its digital scanning partner. In addition to TR-RESISCAN certification, the service provider's performance was a key factor.
The approximately 100,000 files, containing more than 11 million pages, were logged by Iron Mountain, then packaged and transported to the scanning center in Radom (Poland). Only the files currently being processed and some very old historical documents were returned after scanning to Warendorf.
The QR codes for each file were provided by the district of Warendorf. This made it much easier to pack and collect the files for transport to Radom (Poland). Scanning the QR codes and the resulting simplified digital recording of the files by Iron Mountain makes it possible to know which file is in which box on which pallet and on which shelf.
"This is a prerequisite for providing scanned documents within 48 hours of a request," said Walendi. "Once the digital document is provided, the files are securely destroyed by Iron Mountain after four weeks unless we object."
Working on the move
Employees no longer have to go down to the basement to find the files they need. All they need to do is email a request, which is then collected and sent to Iron Mountain twice a week. Once the scan is returned and automatically imported into the document management system, the files are available within 48 hours of the request.
Almost half of the department’s staff now work from home or on the move. This is made possible by working with digital files. Access to files by third parties is also much faster and requires much less manpower. In particular, the creation of digital files and copies as part of file access, or the creation of scans or replacement files for the courts in legal proceedings, is significantly accelerated with fewer staff.
No more lost files
By storing old files in the audit-proof document management system, no more files can be lost. Once scanned, they are permanently and instantly available. Changes can be tracked at any time.
“Iron Mountain is very professionally organized,” concluded Walendi. “A scanning project of this size is unique for the district of Warendorf and especially for us as a specialized department. It was therefore particularly helpful to be ‘taken by the hand’ in regular discussions, especially at the beginning of the project. Now we are in the normal working phase and if something goes wrong, we always have a contact person who reacts immediately. I also liked the documentation of the implementation of the process. Nothing stands in the way of future collaboration.”
We anticipate a payback period of about 10 to 15 years through job savings in the registry, more efficient internal processes, and savings in basement space or the ability to use it for other purposes.
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