2.2 IT Procurement and Disposals |
Contents
1. Executive Summary
Due to new legislative requirements (WEEE - Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive) there is a need for a policy to describe to procedure for the disposal of computer equipment. The Procurement of IT equipment will also be included in this policy.
2. Procurement
The normal procedure as laid down in the Group Finance Policies and Procedures should be followed when purchasing IT equipment.
2.1 Hardware
A member of the IT department will always purchase the major IT components i.e. PC monitors and networking devices. If a computer peripheral is required by a remote location i.e. have no IT support on site then the purchase is to be discussed with the IT department to validate the need for the purchase prior to going through the authorisation process. A decision will then be made whether the purchase will be carried out by the IT department or by the individual requesting the purchase.
Where required the IT departments should make an amendment in the IT equipment database.
2.1.1 Movement of Hardware
Under no circumstances except by the permission on the IT Manager is IT equipment to be moved from the location it was originally placed by the IT department, some of the reasons are highlighted below
- PCs are configured to operate in specific places.
- License management needs to be considered as all the software will be illegal if not used within its host company. If it is moved the machine could contain unlicensed software
- Asset management on the finance side needs to be taken into consideration.
- Protection of the data locally stored on each PC.
- Some PCs are too old to be reused or not up to the job of carrying out the processes required in its new location and will be a high maintenance overhead especially if modern software is installed.
2.2 Software
When purchasing software the IT department will need to evaluate the software to ensure network compliance and that the software will work the way the purchaser wishes it to work on the network.
Where required, the IT department is to include the software in the Software database.
No software is to be installed on a PC/laptop without the permission of the IT Department.
3. IT Asset Disposal
3.1 General principle
The I.T. Department will seek to use an asset management service company or charity that has been authorised by the WEEE directive, demonstrating control of processes and procedures. I.T. Equipment will not be sold to members of Staff unless authorised by a senior Manager and a disclaimer will need to be signed by the recipient.
3.2 When and why will IT assets be disposed of
There are a number of circumstances that may cause us to decide that equipment is to be disposed of:
- It has been replaced by updated equipment and is of no further operational use to the Continuum Group (For example upgraded network infrastructure equipment).
- Servers or workstations that are no longer deemed fit for purpose or uneconomical to repair.
- Equipment that it is at a point in its useful life where it is deemed to uneconomical to extend 3rd party support warranties and that it is cheaper to replace the equipment (For example server or workstations).
3.3 Disposal of IT equipment from Homes and Schools
All I.T. equipment that has been authorised to be disposed should be returned to their respective IT Department accompanied by a completed asset disposal form. The item/s are not to be disposed of locally. The IT department will remove the item from the locally held IT equipment database and will prepare the unit/s for disposal
3.4 Removal of Continuum Group Identification
It is the responsibility of the I.T. Department to ensure that the items to be disposed of have had all systems configurations and data (For example network switch configurations and data on workstation hard drives) archived and removed before being sent to an asset management company. A simple deletion of the data is not sufficient, specific data wiping software that will shred the data and make it impossible to be recovered should be used.
3.5 Disposal
All documentation is to be completed including IT equipment databases, asset disposal forms. When the equipment has been handed over to the asset Management Company and ‘Duty of Care’ notice is to be issued by the company which is to be archived by the IT department. No equipment is to be handed over if a Duty of Care notice cannot be issued.
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