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General Code Helps Maryland Environmental Service Tame the Paper Tiger
Annapolis, MD, April 21, 2004 - When the Maryland Environmental Service (MES) team started working on a plan to relocate MES headquarters, they faced a number of challenges related to their documents. What were they going to do with all the accumulated documents in the basement, and how could they keep future documents from adding to the mountain of paper they are required to manage and store? They determined they needed a new way of managing documents, and ultimately discovered a process that saves MES both time and money.
Doing more with less has become a universal mandate for governments and businesses. Increased workloads, reduced budgets and a growing demand for instant access to information have created challenges for those tasked with managing years of accumulated documents. It’s easy to see the magnitude of the situation when you consider that a typical office spends $25,000 to fill a four-drawer file cabinet and then $2,000 annually just to maintain it*.
Working with General Code, the MES team implemented an electronic document management system that improves customer report turnaround time by an astounding 70 percent, provides easier access to information, and reduces the amount of paper and documents that needs to be issued, copied, retrieved, distributed, and stored. According to statistics, one BANKERS BOX® of CDs can hold the equivalent of 4,000 BANKERS BOXES® of paper*. That one example makes it easy to understand how digital storage can make such a huge difference in space saved and the creation of faster access to information.
In light of the extensive information (including permits and lab reports) that MES needs to store and then quickly retrieve, the team realized they were looking at a major undertaking. To reach their goals, the MES team engaged in a significant workflow analysis and process study to determine the right document management system.
“We get hundreds of samples from the contract labs each week. Just one report required tremendous amounts of manpower, paper, copies, filing, retrieval, and storing,” said David Greene, Administrator, Environmental Monitoring and Reporting at MES. “We measured our paper consumption in boxes – not in reams.” Typical turnaround time for a report took anywhere from several days to a few weeks.
To answer these challenges MES needed to streamline their work processes to reduce labor, turnaround time, storage and supply costs,” says Pamela Fuller, paralegal with the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, who oversaw the initiative with the MES team. They realized they needed a pilot program for a whole new document management system.
To identify the best solution from numerous vendors, the MES team first evaluated proposals on certain preset technical specifications, before the team even considered price. Right from the start, General Code’s system incorporated technical features that MES thought were superior to the competitors. “When we added the fact that General Code’s proposal was also the most economical, the decision was simple,” says Fuller.
In December 2003, Maryland Environmental Service officially partnered with General Code to implement the document management system using LaserFiche® software to create a digital repository that enables information sharing and simplifies access to important files.
Greene’s department has quickly seen the benefits of the new system. “We used to copy each lab report three times and fax it to multiple locations, sort, staple and then file the original in the overflowing filing cabinets. We have dramatically reduced the amount of time and paper consumed in generating these reports. I think the best attribute of the new system is that I can retrieve a permit or lab report instantly. Before, I used to have to locate the hard copy in a shared filing cabinet. Sometimes I’d have to track down the document because other group members were working with the same hot topic file folder.”
MES now scans its lab reports and permits, e-mails the information to the field, files documents electronically, and sends the original to its customer. “Turnaround time for reports can now be handled in the same day that the results come in from the lab. That’s a big change because it used to take as long as several weeks,” says Jay Janney, Environmental Specialist at MES.
What about the heap of papers in the basement? While MES has determined that it’s not economical to implement the system with their older retained documents, the quantity of documents that need to be stored will be greatly lessened as MES deploys the LaserFiche system throughout their organization. Documents will be retained electronically for the required ten years and won’t add to the existing paper files. As each year passes, fewer documents will need to be retained in hard copy, and document storage space will shrink. Janney says, “We’re basically paperless in-house.” And it’s clear that MES’s paper tiger is beginning to be tamed.
MES also enjoys other benefits from their new relationship with General Code and LaserFiche, including security controls built to federal security standards. Digital documents are also better protected from fire and flood.
Greene says, “It’s been seamless to the customer.” Janney agrees. “Customers call and actually reference a specific line on page such-and-such, and before, I had to get up and go to the file and pull it. I can now read it online and follow along with customers, point-by-point. It’s a huge time savings.”
Overall, the MES team rates the General Code document management solution a success. “The user training was easy and very straightforward. We absolutely love it. It’s much more efficient and a lot less labor intensive.” says Greene.
About Maryland Environmental Service
The Maryland Environmental Service, an agency of the State of Maryland, operates and manages water and wastewater treatment systems, manages solid and hazardous wastes projects and operates the state’s environmental dredging facilities. The service’s client base includes state, county and municipal governments, and private sector companies.
www.menv.com
About General Code
General Code is a leading provider of LaserFiche® software solutions and codification services, serving more than 2,000 communities across the United States and Canada. More than 700 customers in New York State, General Code began serving municipal governments in 1962. Headquarters located in Rochester, New York, with a staff of 75.
www.generalcode.com
* Data courtesy of Techinfocenter.com, Compulink, & Moss Adams 2000
