Scanners have many different applications. When used as part of a
document management system, they can save time and money
In controlled situations, some indicators of the efficiency of a
document management system ( of which a scanner is an important
element ( have been measured and proven in certain business
situations. For instance, in a study undertaken by Price
Waterhouse, "several paralegals were asked to search through 10,000
documents by one author, written within one time frame, on one
topic. It took them 67 hours to find 15 documents. The same search,
using document management technology, found 20 documents in 4.5
seconds."
A different study conducted by Coopers & Lybrand discovered
that in the average office, 19 copies are made of each document. Of
these, 7.5 per cent are lost completely. The cost of labour for
filing is $20 and another $120 is spent on labour searching for the
misfiled documents. Finally, an additional $250 is spent on the
labour involved in recreating the missing documents. Judging from
these results, the case for imaging and document management
systems, based on increased efficiency, is strong. It might be
useful at this point to provide some definitions. In imaging, the
scanner digitises a paper document and the file is stored
electronically and managed by the software. A document imaging
scanner, unlike a desktop publishing scanner, is designed to
digitise documents at high speed and must include an automatic
document feeder (ADF). Document management software provides for
the centralised management and administration of large volumes of
documents. These documents can originate from any source, but are
stored electronically. Workflow systems provide for the automation
of routine work processes, by automatically routing imaged or
electronic data, and functions as a replacement for the manual
routing of paper. This is a higher level application, which is only
possible with a fully realised document management system.In the
modern office, information tends to take one of three forms:
paper-based data, mainframe or "host system" data and PC-generated
data. Of these three, the fastest growing today is probably the
information that is created on desktop PCs. However, paper has
always been with us and huge resources of data are now resident on
legacy systems like mainframes. Depending on the historic
development of your organisation, you will find that a large amount
of your data resides on a host such as an AS 400, VAX or a UNIX
mainframe. For some organisations however, 75 per cent or more of
their documents are paper-based. This estimate may sound
exaggerated at first, but if you look at the amount of paper on and
around your own desk, you may see that it isn't so hard to believe.
Regardless of your organisation's history or your current
technology, you will have valuable information on paper that hasn't
been generated or captured electronically.Seen from this
standpoint, one of the greatest benefits in document imaging and
document management systems is its ability to merge various sources
of information into one access interface. This is an important
consideration for the future of any modern organisation because it
opens up so many other possibilities. Organisations that embrace
imaging and document management systems almost invariably expand
the uses of the system and the access to information that it
provides. This may be in the form of a workflow system or it may
involve methods like Internet access to disseminate information
outside the organisation.With document management systems, it
becomes easier to control information more closely, and yet make it
more readily available to those who should have it. This is what we
refer to as "the document management evolution." In the near
future, the Internet/intranet/extranet information highway will
become the dominant means for information delivery and access. When
you convert paper-based information into online content, those
captured images become your organisation's "Information
Asset."Getting back to our central question then, how do you
determine whether document imaging and document management are for
you? In general terms, based on the evidence noted above, this is
an easy question to answer. If access to the information in your
document base directly correlates with your departmental
performance, and if your document base is getting larger, then you
have a case for document imaging.Beyond that general observation,
here are some of the specific benefits:Reduced paper consumption.
With online electronic documents, especially if controlled within a
workflow system, you can avoid the necessity of multi-part forms
for internal copies. You also avoid duplication of documents for
distribution, which is notoriously wasteful. Some organisations
find that their document management system is paid back in the
first year's savings on paper aloneReduced storage costs of paper
documents. This is also an easily quantifiable cost. Many
organisations discover a tremendous amount of usable square footage
which can lead to cost savings, expansion opportunities or just
better space utilisationElimination of misfiled documents and the
associated costs of regenerating those documents Location of
records quickly. Usually this time is measured in seconds, which
means you can provide information while the requester is still on
the phone. If your representative doesn't have to leave his or her
desk to locate a document, the efficiency improvement can be
enormousThe most critical element in any imaging and document
management system is the software. A document imaging specialist
can assist you in ensuring you get the right software, with the
right scanners, and that all the pieces fit to create a workable
solution specifically designed for your organisation.The sooner you
begin the process, the sooner you'll see the benefits of merging
your data in all its various forms into an efficient document
management system. Whether you look at it from the perspective of a
government-related organisation or private sector business, there's
no question ( imaging and document management really is the way of
the future.
Compiled by Paul Phillips( Fujitsu Europe
Limited, 1999