Products : Case Studies : Information Services Team at BNFL

Information is BNFL's lifeblood

It will come as no surprise that information is a valuable — and valued — commodity within the various offices and sites that make up BNFL, one of the world's leading nuclear energy services companies.

In an industry where safety is paramount, information is regarded as BNFL's lifeblood and it is the job of the company's IRS team, based at four offices across the north of England, to provide the information needs of thousands of professionals company-wide.

Within IRS a team of 11 Information Service professionals ply their trade, supplying a wide range of resources to BNFL colleagues worldwide. One of that team is Michelle Byron, one of two Information Service Team Leaders at BNFL. Michelle is responsible for three BNFL sites (Springfields, Sellafield and Berkeley), while her colleague Diane Reeves looks after Risley, on the outskirts of Warrington.

Information Services is highly regarded at BNFL

The role of the Information Services team is highly regarded within the company, a view that was reinforced three years ago in 1998 following an audit of the business's information usage, which concluded that all requests for business critical information had to go through the IRS department.

Since then, the growth of the Internet at desktop level has dramatically increased across BNFL's numerous sites in the UK and further afield. But the Information Services team has safeguarded its position as the supplier of choice to users seeking detailed, complex, scientific and business information to help them do their jobs.

In an average month, the Information Services team handles 230 queries from across the company concerning all manner of topics. The prevailing theme, unsurprisingly, are the nuclear and energy industries, which account for one third of all queries lodged with the IRS Information Officers.

Acknowledging the critical role of specialists

The 1998 audit was critical, as Michelle Byron explains: "It was important because it acknowledged the role of specialists, and of information specialists in particular."

"In the majority of cases it is not cost effective for people to access the information systems direct as they do not use them on a regular basis. That's where the Information Service team comes in — we know the systems and how to get the best results."

Dialog's role

One of BNFL's key information service providers is Dialog, which is relied on for answering approximately 60% of the 230 queries placed each month and 90% of the profiles generated. IRS has been a long-standing user of Dialog's products and services over many years and is one of the largest Dialog customers in the UK.

The relationship is built on the breadth and depth of Dialog's vast databases covering a wide range of topics and subjects close to BNFL's heart such as the nuclear and energy industries, technology and patents.

The IRS department also has access to a number of other external specialist databases, which provide more detailed information in the chemical and business areas, as well as access to an inhouse database, which contains details of BNFL documents.

Types of queries

Queries vary widely from month to month, from user to user and from one BNFL site to another. A typical breakdown is as follows:

The Risley site tends to be the most demanding, generating 100 profiles and 94 queries a month, followed by Sellafield (66 and 52 respectively), Springfields (32 and 47) and Berkeley (2 and 37).

As the above figures suggest, the Information Services team is methodical in tracking and monitoring the service they provide and the demands placed on them.

The emphasis on the department is on accountability and providing a value for money service. A typical query is turned around within 48 hours of it being placed with the Information Service team. And, as with many information departments, the majority of BNFL's Information Services users are 'regulars' — or return — customers.

"A search compilation can be a complex process — it takes a great deal of skill and time," says Michelle Byron. "There's such an enormous variety to the queries we get — from the very general to the more complex. From a professional point of view, the more problematic ones are more interesting. And some are one-offs, such as one we dealt with from someone wanting to know how much manure is produced in the UK each year!"

Increasing specialism

She concludes: "There is an increasing emphasis on specialism within BNFL, which is good news for the Information Services team. With the help of suppliers such as Dialog, we aim to become even better placed to meet the expectations of our users and provide them with a world-class service.

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