Talking green
We hear the word "green" used a lot these days but how many of us really try to implement it in our daily lives other than separating the glass from tin, from cardboard come refuse day?
The green office
The "green" office is an even more elusive holy grail and the biggest contributor to what has become the absolute antithesis of a "green" office is the vast amount of documentation that we all produce each and every day. Walk into any office regardless of size in any town across the country and its impossible not to see evidence of it everywhere. Very large producers of paperwork, (who would otherwise eventually run out of space to put people!) , send their archive paperwork to one of the many warehouse storage businesses who specialise in physical document storage...
Shifting the problem ? Sadly all that's happened here is the problem has been transported off-site but with the added knock on effect of creating an even bigger "less-green"! carbon footprint with the requirement for lorries and forklift trucks etc. This "out of sight out of mind" approach is certainly not a green or even efficient solution to storing mountains of paperwork. So what can be done to move towards the creation of a truly greener office ?
Whats the alternative There is an alternative and its been available for a number of years. Sadly however less than 10% of the business community choose to use it. Its generically known as "Document Management" and in the case of archiving involves nothing more complicated than electronically scanning archived, or even current, documents to an electronic form which are then stored on a PC or network. But the benefits don't stop there. We not only remove the need for filing cabinets, archive boxes, lever arch files and document storage warehousing but we are able to access all of our documents instantly on demand without getting up from our desks.
Bottom line benefits Now we're talking! Actually we're talking bottom line too as in a stroke we've increased productivity via a rapid call up of vital documents that would otherwise take us expensive chunks of time to physically access using conventional paper storage methods.
The Pro's and Cons of physical document storage 1.If stored off-site accesssing your archived documents is time consuming and inefficient. 2.Unless stored under ideal de-humidified conditions your documents can deteriorate over time. 3.Off-site storage is by definition subject to flood, fire, loss and/or potential id theft. 4.If stored on your own premises filing cabinets or archive boxes can very quickly absorb space that could be utilised for more productive purposes such as additional revenue earning staff. 5.Accessing files in a physical filing system is time consuming and inefficient. The National Office of Statistics estimate that as much as 50 hours per person, per annum are spent accessing document filing! 6.Documents can be mis-filed, misplaced or simply lost. 7.Current legislation directs us to keep certain documents for anything from 5 years to 100 years for documents such as wills and epa's 8.On the positive side, outsourced archive storage is relatively cheap. To store 250 typical archive boxes will currently cost about 50p per month, per box or £1500 per annum in total.
The Pro's and Cons of electronic document storage 1.Access to all documents is instant, literally the time it takes for the click of a mouse. 2.Removes the time wasting associated with leaving your desk and accessing the filing area, viewing files and refiling. 3.Multiple users can access the same documents at the same time. ideal for multi user referencing, conference calls or discussions. 4.Non reliance on conventional filing will free up valuable space and with London office rents hovering around £100 per sq feet this can make a massive difference to the bottom line. 5.Makes id theft, disgruntled employee theft or competitor document theft far easier to control via password access. 6.HMRC no longer require physical documents as proof and are happy to view and access scanned documents. 7.Removes the need for physical archive warehouse storage which increases the carbon footprint. 8.Archive files are collected, scanned to disc and returned or destroyed with destruction certification. This process frees up your own valuable labour resource. 9.With an electronic document management, solution keeping documents/back ups for statutory 5-100 year periods is a breeze. One 4 drawer filing cabinet typically equals one disc! 10.Confidential documents can be password protected with access strictly limited to a "need to know" basis.
10.On the less positive side, your own document management will require an initial investment although outsourcing archive scanning is relatively cost effective.
Is this for you ? If after reading this you are now considering moving towards a more efficient and "greener" office environment we would be happy to offer our impartial advice as independent industry experts. We don't charge for this and based on your needs will provide you with upto one hours FREE telephone consultation. Call us on 0845 873 8600 or email us from our webs.
DOCUMENT SCANNING - WHY YOU SHOULD OUTSOURCE. This topic raises its head virtually every day at Click2Scan headquarters. Customers will often wrestle with the economics of whether to hire or buy a scanner and factor in their own labour costs for an in-house solution before requesting a price for bureau scanning from us. Clearly where your own internal labour resource is not an issue it will in most cases be more cost effective to do it yourself. However it's not quite as simple as that as you also have to take into account the complexity of the scanning job i.e. Does it require indexing or complex preparation? Are the paper sizes compatible with a document feeder or will you have to flatbed scan which can increase the labour intensity ten fold? What do you do with the originals - archive again or destroy? How long do you legally have to keep documents before destroying? Any professional document management company should be able to answer all of these questions for you and indeed most are already answered on our website. So with an ever moving target comprising many variables is it possible to easily calculate the benefits of in-house scanning vs outsourcing. The short answer here is probably not, unless you have a penchant for spreadsheets and a keen understanding of document management in its many guises. ESTIMATED COST FOR OUTSOURCING DOCUMENT SCANNING. For a quick ball park guide we will assume that the majority of your archive comprises A4 documents, not stapled or clipped in anyway and therefore ready to scan. The price per sheet for bureau scanning (where we do the work for you) will be in the region of 4.2 - 5.5p per scan, dependant on quantity or put another way, an average a four drawer filing cabinet can be scanned for circa £375. This includes collection, secure storage whilst awaiting scanning, subsequent scanning, digital transfer (normally to disc) and final destruction of originals if appropriate (some documents you CANNOT legally destroy such as Wills or EPA's) The obvious benefits here are that the final product/service is being carried out by experienced professionals and operator error or loss of documents have been factored out. Your labour resource have not been tied up for chunky periods of salaried time when they could have been producing revenue elsewhere in your business. ESTIMATED COST FOR IN-HOUSE DOCUMENT SCANNING. This one is far more tricky and hinges quite heavily on whether, as previously mentioned, you have the resource, scanning hardware with the capability to handle the type and volume of documentation, software plus relevant knowledge to guarantee a satisfactory result. Generally speaking if you combine archive scanning with day-to day scanning of current documents an in-house facility will in the long run prove to be the better option. A starting point for a document management/scanning system could be as little as one small scanner and some basic training, say £1000 or so. This will cope with the average demands of a small business. Companies with heavy paper usage will require more sophisticated solutions and these can run into several thousand pounds as a total investment with added costs for support and training. SUMMARY. Taking all of the above into account its really a personal choice based around need vs available labour vs cost. If an electronic document management solution with all of its space and time saving benefits is part of your company's strategic forward thinking then an in-house solution will probably make more sense. One off demands for reduction in archive filing for example will probably be more suited to outsourcing. All companies will produce written quotations free of charge and our suggestion would be to get them to do exactly that and do the maths for you. The really good news is that document management really is within the grasp of even the smallest company and once you experience the facility to file and reference all of your documents without leaving your work station you will never want to return to the century old and time consuming tradition of treking off to the filing cabinets ever again!
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