Data repro com ltd Case Study

Data Repro Com Ltd enables sophisticated implementation of scanning, storage, and active file management solution, aided by information capture technology from Kodak Alaris

It’s tough enough to move from paper to digital and from legacy to modern integrated systems. Add in a physical move to a new office location – along with merging of records from another government agency – and the need to access paper documents and input new records during the transition and… well, you can see how quickly the difficulties multiply.

First steps in a huge transition

This is the scenario the provincial commission faced. They selected OpenText for their new Content Management System (CMS), and OpenText turned to their Information Outsourcing Partner, service bureau Data Repro Com Ltd (DRC) of Toronto, to execute the transition. The list of objectives was long and challenging, including:

• DRC pulling and inventorying the files, packing them in boxes, then moving the more than 4,500 boxes of critical records in under one month from an existing site.
• Digitizing of core (most needed) files for storage on a temporary secure file share. This needed to be done prior to the production release of their electronic document and records management system (EDRMS), which was based on their Content Server.
• At the same time, the commission needed to carry on daily operations, so fast access to records already moved was critical. Plus, new records had to be accepted each day.
• And to further complicate the implementation, there was the matter of a pending merge of documents from a new line of business (another provincial agency).

DRC began by relocating thousands of boxes from the agency to DRC’s secure storage facility, leveraging DRC’s 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 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 set-up a process for cataloging these,” said Barry Braun, DRC’s VP of Business Development.

Simultaneously, as many as 50-75 document requests were coming into the information and records management department daily. Users logged into DRC’s Datatrac file inventory management and request portal to search and ask for key files for return the next day, or on the same day for critical needs. Once requests were processed, the file inventory database was automatically updated to reflect who requested the file and where it was located. and if it existed in paper or digital format. Delivery receipts accompanied each set of returns in a tight chain-of-custody process. Each day, files were returned to the agency and also picked up for return to DRC for re-filing at DRC’s secure, dedicated file storage facility.

Technology from Kodak Alaris speeds the process

As part of stringent security controls, the commission required DRC to segregate the capture initiative. Here DRC took advantage of 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 colour 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 unlike some competing software, Capture Pro does not ‘ding’ us on volume (with click charges), so it helped keep costs down as we were dealing with massive document volumes.”

Finishing one stage and planning for the next

Over a 13-month timeframe – and while file retrieval, scanning and active file management were taking place – files were also being prepared for transport to the government records storage facility. DRC’s Datatrac file inventory management system will be the source of updated file management information. This will facilitate the orderly de-location of boxes and records from DRC to the government records center, and the migration of digital content to the EDRMS. DRC will generate the outgoing manifests and prepare upwards of 300 boxes per day for pick-up by government records personnel, and will provide for complete reconciliation reports at the end of the project.

With the project’s end in sight, 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.

Barry Braun said, “This is probably the most sophisticated implementation of an integrated scanning, storage, and active file management solution ever done by a service bureau.” And now, he and DRC are ready for the next steps and to keep helping this provincial agency stride forth boldly into the digital future.