Consistent Indexing Forum
The Consistent Indexing Forum was set up in August 2005 as part of our commitment to delivering Deep Indexing and Manual Coding of the highest quality. If an Analyst comes across something new, say a novel polymer or physical process that is not covered by our existing guidelines, he or she can send the details to the Forum. After general discussions within the department, ideas and suggestions on how to deal with the indexing or coding are passed to a core team of Senior Analysts and training staff. The core team makes the final decisions and then formulates and writes new guidelines. The guidelines are circulated and everyone is provided with an agreed approach to tackling similar patents. We can also revisit existing guidelines with a view to updating them to reflect advances in technology.
Involving Analysts at all levels of experience has helped to encourage an ongoing learning ethos that ensures that everyone stays well informed about emerging technologies. Getting everyone talking about indexing and coding utilises the department's collective knowledge and can make for lively debate and real teamwork.
In addition to the benefits outlined already the Forum also provides a process for recognising the limitations of the current code structure, and it helps us to propose new codes during our coding reviews.
Since its formation the Forum has provided an excellent platform for Analysts to discuss and clarify indexing and coding issues. It had been extremely beneficial, as it has helped us to ensure consistency with obvious benefits to the quality of the product. We will be sharing some of the guidelines via this web site.