ROCHESTER, N.Y., June 12, 2017 – Moving from paper to digital and from legacy to modern integrated systems is difficult enough. Add in a physical move to a new office location, the merging of records from another government agency, and the need to access paper documents while inputting new records during the transition – and it’s easy to see how quickly the complexity could multiply.
This is the scenario one Canadian provincial commission faced, and the reason it sought an integrated ecosystem approach to deliver the right science, technology and partnerships to meet its document management needs. As a first step, the commission selected Toronto-based Data Repro Com Ltd. (DRC) as its information outsourcing partner to execute the transition to its new Content Management System (CMS).
DRC began by relocating approximately 5,000 boxes from the agency to its secure storage facility, leveraging its tight chain-of-custody procedures and interactive records inventory control system. DRC’s storage, scanning and active file management service was deployed, giving commission personnel a view of content and its status for all lines of business (LOB) stored. Similar to the agency’s internal records requisition system, DRC imported metadata from various LOB systems into a standardized database format. “Since our solution was going to be used to store new day-forward documents, we also setup a process for cataloging these records,” said Barry Braun, Vice President of Business Development, DRC.
At the same time, the agency needed to carry on daily operations, so fast access to records already moved was critical. Simultaneously, as many as 50–75 document requests were coming into the information and records management department each day and required a tight chain-of-custody process to ensure all files were properly processed, logged and refiled.
Technology from Kodak Alaris speeds the process
As part of stringent security controls, the commission required DRC to isolate the capture initiative. DRC leveraged the portability and speed of Kodak i4650 Scanners, creating a secure area and moving the versatile scanners into it. Initially, the agency asked for bi-tonal scanning with spot color, as they were concerned about large file sizes. DRC recommended full-color capture and used post-scanning compression to reduce file sizes to the black-and-white level, while providing near-photographic, 24-bit quality. “The ability of the i4650 Scanners to operate at full rated speed, with many imaging and enhancement features on, allowed us to maintain productivity and quality,” Braun said. Moving forward, DRC is now proposing that the agency purchase i4650 Scanners for their future in-house capture operations.
Kodak Capture Pro Software enabled scanning of bar codes, which helped DRC match and identify docs for comparison with paper records. “This aided greatly with locating data without documents or documents without data,” noted Braun. “And Capture Pro does not ‘ding’ us with click charges based on volume so it helped keep costs down as we were dealing with massive document volumes.”
A member of the commission’s team noted, “Every facet of this operation exceeded our quality expectations. The document storage and archive file management was the most seamless part.” And that included security, capture, access, transition, logistics, compliance, and other critical aspects.
“This is probably the most sophisticated implementation of an integrated scanning, storage, and active file management solution ever done by a service bureau,” remarked Braun.
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