How to Plan, Resource and Manage a Large Scanning Project Introduction Most organisations have a physical document archive that has grown over many years. This can include filing cabinets, bookshelves, archive boxes or Compactus shelving that store a litany of different business documents. In recent years electronic document records management systems (EDRMS) have replaced physical document archives as the primary store of business documentation. As the vast majority of new documents are now ‘born digital’ the trend towards electronic document management will continue. Office managers & document controllers are now faced with a dilemma; how to make the new and old system work together? There is usually a clear business case to get at least some of these physical records imported into a document management system. The process of scanning physical records and preparing them for import is known as Digitisation. This white paper deals with the questions and issues that may arise when digitising a large quantity of documents. It details the basic steps required to plan, resource and produce a large archive scanning project. Not everything in this document is applicable to your scanning project, but this approach covers most of the issues an organisation is likely to face. 1. The business case for digitising Aged document archives aren’t always a high priority for many office managers and document control teams. Most office managers agree that physical archiving is not an ideal way for storing historical documents. If you’ve put off the decision to digitise it’s understandable. The decision can be delayed but ultimately a choice to either destroy, put in long term storage or digitise must eventually be made. Not all of these documents are important to the day to day requirements of the business. The argument for digitising the ones that are is very strong. By doing so you’ll automatically extend all the benefits of your electronic document management system to these documents. The business case for this is similar to that of installing an EDRMS. Reason 4: Maintaining Archive Integrity Physical archives deteriorate over time and loss of image can occur. Files can go missing and papers returned to the wrong location. This in turn can make the index less reliable. Digitising the archive preserves the integrity of the archive from the time it was scanned and stops the process of misfiling. Reason 5: Future Proofing Your organisation cannot predict what will happen in the future. Legal challenges may require evidence of original documentation. Critical design flaws in the future may require reference to original plans. As buildings are designed to last for more than 50 years, it’s unlikely your predecessor will be able to find those blueprints from 2002 in 2052 unless they’re in a searchable place. Here are some basic reasons why businesses choose to digitise their most important documents. Reason 1: Reducing Storage Costs Rent for Perth office space is at a premium. Costs associated with filing cabinets and shelving include the floor space they occupy. Reducing the number of these in your office can reclaim thousands of dollars. You can downsize, or use that space in a way where it can create revenue. Offsite storage can reduce the cost, especially for those in the CBD, but it can introduce its own unique problems and ongoing costs. Reason 2: Reducing Retrieval Costs A large part of the cost of your archive is the time it takes to retrieve documents from it, especially if it is stored off site. It takes considerably less time to retrieve an electronic document stored in your EDRMS. Reason 3: Surviving a Disaster In the event of a disaster or accident, physical archives are at risk of fire & water damage. Scanning your archive allows you to create multiple copies of these documents and store them in separate locations across the business. Business interruption is therefore reduced to a minimum. All office managers and senior document controllers will eventually be faced with the decision to either destroy, store or digitise parts of their ageing physical archives. One of the main purposes of this white paper is to give you a brief understanding of the decisions you may need to make when considering, planning for and implementing a large archive scanning project. 2. Creating an Project Outline Planning a scanning project is more complex than getting yourself a scanner and generating images. To run a successful project you must start by asking yourself why you need to scan. Having a strong and logical rationale behind your project is a must. We recommend that you take a phased approach to investigating the different parts of your project. Take a look at the suggested phases below. Each one contains questions that you will need to answer before you get started. 2. Risks to Business Processes • What will digitising do to existing business processes? • What are the risks in digitising certain types of records? • What level of risk is acceptable to each process? • What are the risks associated with disposing of hard copies both now and in the future? • If you are unfamiliar with risk assessments,it might be an idea to call in a consultant. Phase 1 - Get Clear on your Intent • What’s the intent behind your plan? • What are the desired outcomes of a successful scanning plan? • What potential pathways can you take to reach those objectives? • What sort of equipment or technology will you need and how will it be set up? • What sort of quality control processes are needed to ensure that the scanning project produces the desired outcomes. Phase 2 - Get Management Support Once you can articulate the ‘why’ of your project you must get management on side. If it doesn’t align with the business strategy your project may not even commence. Scanning projects end up affecting many different areas of a business, so without ensuring management support, you won’t get it off the ground. Phase 3 - Analyse the Risks Like all business projects a scanning project will introduce new risks to your business. You’ll need to identify these risks, assess and then resolve them. Risks may fall into one of two categories: 1. Legislative & Compliance Requirements • What if we need to litigate? Will the digital records hold up in court. • Are there any legislative requirements around storing Phase 4 - Technology Choices Digitising is a technology based activity so it goes without saying you’ll need to consider the technological requirements of your project. Consider: • • • • Hardware and software requirements Data storage requirements IT support staff requirements Budget Do you have everything you need in-house? Will you need extra money or resources? Do you have the management experience to be able to cover all parts of the project? If not, you’ll need to find a reliable source of information to help you with these questions. Phase 5 - Scanning Processes As part of any scanning project you’ll need to develop a detailed workflow for the entire process. This must cover everything from receipt of documents right through to disposal or long term storage. To see the detail you may require, we’ve provided an example of the Clockwork scanning process in figure 1 (overleaf). Phase 6 - Quality Control Quality control is an essential element of any scanning process. Without it the images produced may not be fit for their intended purpose. It’s not just about checking the quality of your images. Staff training, machine calibration and IT improvements must also be considered. Without quality control, your project can be quickly put into jeopardy. Figure 1- A Reliable Process Design for a Large Archive Scanning ProInitiate Digitising Investigation Digitising Flowchart A Reliable Process Design In Principle Executive Support? Start / Stop Document Process Decision Subprocess Clockwork Processes No Consider the following stages for planning your project (you may not need all of them.) Stop 1. Initiation 2. Fact Find 3. Scope 4. Objectives 5. Options 6. Requirements 7. Resourcing 8. Costings 9. Risks v Benefits 10. Timeline 11. Dependencies 12. Key Personel 13. Procedures 14. Operation 15. Quality Assurance 16. Reporting 17. Closeout Yes Fact Find & Define Scope & Objectives Assess Project Options Assess each option against the scope and objective & determine requirements, resourcing and costing for each. An example is shown below for the ‘Resourcing Option’. Business Process or Project? Investigate the required management resources to perform all functions on this path i.e. Can management: 1. Investigate, build and iterate processes 2. Control project quality through robust quality monitoring processes 3. Provide information technology support for build and operate 4. Enforce policy when project is live Centralised or Decentralised? On Demand or Batch? Assess Management Requirements Resourcing Options? In House Option Outsource Option Assess Providers Assess Skills & Staffing Requirement Request More Options Provider Quote Assess Enabling Technology Requirements Assess Capacity to Build Production & QA Process Assess Providers Projected Costings Assess Risk for Each Option Projected Costings Prepare a business case for favoured options & submit to executive Executive Decision Procure Enabling Technologies (Tender) Design Production Procedures Assemble Management Team Design Quality Monitoring Procedure Source & Train Staff Run Pilot Design Exceptions Processing Strategy Design Staff Training Procedures Iterate Procedures Select In House Option Terminate or Delay Project Select Outsource Option Existing process templates can speed up planning and prevent replicating work but these may need to be modified to meet your objectives. Stop Brief Clockwork & Set Timeline Review Proposed Production Procedures Review Proposed Quality Monitoring Procedures Run Pilot & Review Report Image processing is a specialist field and there are many advanced options for your to consider. If you are unfamiliar with the archive scanning options available you may wish to consult an expert. Run Continuous Scanning Iterate Procedures Run Continuous Scanning Image Processing Image Enhancement OCR Processing Metadata Processing Compression Quality Assurance Loop Quality Assurance Loop Quality Assurance and Monitoring Rebind, Box & Transport Source & Digital Files Image Processing Image Enhancement OCR Processing Metadata Processing Compression Quality Assurance and Monitoring File Processing / Import into EDRMS Rebind, Box & Transport Source & Digital Files Retention or Disposal Procedure Reporting to Client Stop 3. Scanning Processes in Depth Now that you understand the big picture the detail starts to become more important. We’ve listed some of the basic elements to consider when looking at scanning processes in more depth. Step 1: Pre-sorting Not everything in your archive is of value. Rather than scan every item, you may choose to presort the archive, selecting the important documents and discarding the rest. Pre-sorting can be a difficult and time consuming job that requires knowledge about what is and isn’t important. A skilled person is required to carry out this task. Step 2: Document Transport, Security and Retrieval If you’ve got multiple sites or offsite storage you should consider how to securely transport your documents. Once archiving boxes are being moved you’ll also need to know where they are at any point in time. On occasion you may need to retrieve a document from one of these boxes. Clockwork provides courier services to and from your business. This makes for secure, fast and easier retrieval of your documents. We can store all or part of your boxes on site, or arrange to collect and return boxes on completion at regular intervals. Step 3: Dis-assembly Instructions Your archive will contain loose sheets of paper, folded plans, bound items, booklets, albums and folders. Sometimes entire ring binders and even books with spines can be present in your archive boxes. You need to know up front how to deal with each item. For example if scanning a book, you can choose either to guillotine the spine & scan each loose page, or scan the book page by page if books must remain intact. The decision has implications for the cost and time frame of your project. When deciding, consider what will happen to the originals after scanning. This may help you to choose the most cost effective method. Step 4: Scanning Technology Requirements Different items in the archive will require differing technological equipment. Scanning including A3 sizes or smaller will require a small format scanning device. Anything larger than A3 will require a large format scanner. Irregular items or items with high relief may require a photographic service. You may also require specialist services for scanning photographic negatives, microfiche, magnetic tape and other obsolete physical & digital archiving technologies. This becomes especially important when your archive contains historic documents. Step 5: Error Checking & Recording Not every single page will be scanned correctly first time every time. Checking for errors (loss of information, missing pages, unreadable image) is one of the most critical processes in successful scanning. It takes special skill and attention to detail to find these errors and to ensure perfect results. You will need to determine how much time you wish to spend checking scans. Sometimes general content is sufficient. The odd crooked page may not be a major concern for your scanning project provided all information is captured. Other times perfection is imperative. We can offer different levels of service depending on your requirements. Whatever your requirement expect it to impact the cost. Even then exceptions do occur. Coordinating and recording what has already been scanned is essential to prevent duplications and exclusions in the archive scan database. Look for a system that has fail safe mechanisms to ensure the scanning has taken place. 3. Scanning Processes in Depth (continued) Step 6: Quality Considerations Depending on the reasons behind digitising your archive you may opt for different levels of image quality. For example if your archive is for legal purposes you may need to scan at the highest quality level that preserves all information, including colour, borders and notes such as Post It Notes™. Alternatively if your archive is for information only you may opt for a lower level of quality, for example black and white scanning that ignores information in the margins or handwritten notes. This choice should be made considering your current needs and the possible future needs of anyone who will use the archive. Step 7: File Processing Instructions Processing your data. Basic processing rules include: • Choose a file format eg; pdf, jpeg, tiff • Choose a file naming convention eg; drawing #, file #, title, contract # • Rotation of landscape images or keep documents in portrait orientation • Insert bookmarks eg; by index or tab, by section or sub-section • Colour or BW • OCR data for search capability • Add metadata There are many more settings to consider before you start. Step 8: Exceptions Archive boxes commonly contain older electronic formats like Zip discs, USB storage and CDs. You will need to provide the operator instructions on how to handle these. Some boxes can include damaged materials, imprinted materials or faded blueprints. You’ll need to know what to do with these items when it comes time to scan them. Step 9: Re-assembly The scanning process will strip every document so that it can fit through a scanning device. You’ll need to provide instructions on whether you want the document re-assembled. Choosing not to reassemble can save considerable time and cost. You can choose to reassemble as per the original or stack neatly clipped or wrapped without re-assembly. Step 10: Upload and Storage Methods Archive scanning generates significant volumes of data. You’ll need to know where this data will be stored, how it will get there. Clockwork can help with the process of uploading to a site like Aconex, Documentum, EMC or integrate with your custom document management system on request. It can also be stored on a Hard Drive or disc. Step 11: Treatment of the Originals Once your documents have gone through the entire process you’ll need to decide what to do with the originals. You can opt for secure destruction of all or part of the documentation. Clockwork can arrange this. Alternatively you may choose to retain the physical documents and store them accordingly. Of course the more thorough the scanning process the less likely it is you’ll need to retain these documents. 4. Resourcing You know the ‘why’, you’ve got management on board and now you know the ‘how’. What you need to answer now is ‘who’. Who’s best suited to operate this project? Option 1: Contract a scanning service This is the easiest & fastest method. Contracting a scanning service: • Requires no project management resources. • Offers the most experienced operators for fast and qualative execution. • Provides industrial rated scanning equipment which includes speciality services such as microfiche scanning and photography, fragile document scanning and document repair. • Facilitates continuous processing. • Offers documented processes for Quality Assurance. • Presents advanced processing options for you to consider. • Externalises management risk onto another party. This method is recommended if you have no management experience in this area, if the archive is too large, too complex or if a time line is presented where the business does not have the resources to complete by due date. It will eliminate the need to employ and train human resources and ensures smooth and continual operation of the project which will require minimum input from you. Typically organisations who don’t have dedicated document management teams will choose this option. Option 2: Use existing staff & premises Depending on the size of your project and the experience of your management team, you may have capacity within your organisation to run an archive scanning project. Building your own scanning team: • Requires project management resources to design, plan, execute and maintain essential project functions. • Allows you to recruit experienced operators sourced by your HR department. Requires dedicated office space. • Requires increased budget to purchase or rent specialist scanners. Note that you may still need to outsource particular documents that are too large or difficult to scan. • Can impact on the day to day workload of your document control team. • Presents advanced processing options for you to consider. This option is generally considered by large corporations with dedicated document control teams. It requires backing from HR and both internal and external training from scanning equipment providers. Scanning can be laborious which can make it difficult to retain staff who are not dedicated or specialised to scan and check with a high rate of accuracy. Document management staff are highly skilled, so deploying them to work in an archive scanning project may not be the most effective use of resources. Option 3: Using part time staff and renting or buying a dedicated scanning machine For small projects of low importance part time or casual staff are sometimes hired. This is the most hands on approach but also the slowest as part time staff don’t always have the speed or accuracy that of trained document controllers or reprographic staff. Choosing this method means: • Management is required to make all project decisions as temp staff may not have the authority or experience to make critical judgements. • You’ll need office space. • Basic scanning equipment required. • Quality Control can be difficult, especially if the staff regularly changes. This method is suggested for small projects where scan quality and QA is not as important. For larger projects resourcing this option may not the best value for money. 5. Procurement Should you choose to resource this project by contracting our scanning service, a quote for this will involve many variables. Below is a list of procurement tips for you to follow: Tip 1: Have enough information on hand We commonly get clients asking for a fixed price per box without knowing how many documents, type of documents or the state of the documents. Be prepared to invest some time so that you can provide counts for an average archive box. Include in your counts the percentage of A4, A3 and larger than A3 in those documents. Also the percentage of colour versus black and white should you wish the job be scanned in colour. The condition of the documents can be many and varied eg: old, matted, stapled, clean and folded. There can be receipts, invoices and journals. The list is endless. The more detailed the information provided the more accurate the quote is likely to be. Tip 2: Look for value and know what is included in the price Archive scanning projects are labour intensive and require constant management. A very low scanning quote can mean lax management which in turn can compromise the quality and integrity of the final product. Make sure you ask for a detailed and itemised list of what is included in the price. Low quotes may appear attractive, but once the project has been completed you can suddenly find that basic items have not been included and charges will in turn be passed on to you. Tip 3: Find a specialist Look for someone with experience and references who can provide case studies. No supplier can provide a reliable quote without requesting at least some basic information. Find a supplier who is prepared to visit and inspect your archive on site. If this is not possible send a sample to the supplier to quote or send photographs of your archive. 6. Clockwork’s Approach Clockwork has a systemised scanning process which can offer you good value for your scanning dollar. The process is designed to be reliable so that you are not left disappointed about the product you will receive or confused about the product you have paid for. The Clockwork process includes: • Interviews with the team who is commissioning the project and the end users to uncover what needs to be done. • Questionnaires to further clarify your basic requirements. • A site visit and document inspection • A project plan. • Customising all aspects of the project to suit your specific needs. • A scanning trial to provide a refined quote and timeframe and to validate procedures. • Clockwork has proven its archive scanning credentials on a number of large projects. We’ve listed a few case studies here. Verve Energy Scanning Project Muja Power Station Library: Clockwork scanned the entire library of documents for Verve Energy’s Muja Power Station located in Collie, Western Australia. This archive included books, manuals, handwritten documentation, typed and word processed documents, transparencies, blueprints, compact discs and more. Documents dated back to 1963. A finish date was set and Clockworks reliable team completed the project on time. Arccon Build & Construct Arccon contracted Clockwork to scan their entire building archive. Arccon had no fixed deadline for this project, so the plans were scanned at a slower rate than normal for a reduced price. The archive included blueprints, plans and specifications for all completed construction projects. Specific benefits of the ‘background scanning’ approach is a much lower cost. Arccon saved thousands of dollars compared to an on-demand scanning project. Crown Casino Crown Casino contracted Clockwork to scan thousands of plans from their plan archive. With up to date software a plan register was created categorizing the drawings by: title, author, location, description, discipline and latest revision. All Data was entered onto an easy to follow spreadsheet. This was done on a month by month basis with the return of scanned originals complete with hard drive and report. Our courier service picked up new plans weekly which maintained a consistent flow for the project. For more information about this whitepaper contact Gino Dilello Sales Manager RCR Tomlinson Engineering RCR Tomlinson amassed 15 years worth of printed plans in their engineering department in Welshpool for various engineering projects. Plans were stored onsite in a workshop and were at risk of being damaged. RCR contracted Clockwork to scan a minimum number of plans each month for an agreed value. The project continued on a month to month basis, allowing RCR to accurately budget the cost of their project as a service. (08) 9321 0877 [email protected]
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