CASE STUDY FACTS:
CLIENT: Adams County District 50
DIGITECH SYSTEMS RESELLER: Rocky Mountain Microfilm and Imaging, Denver, CO
PROBLEM: Paper-based filing in human resources and finance made information difficult to locate and slowed employee productivity
SOLUTION: ImageSilo
RECOGNIZED BENEFIT:
“We have improved employee productivity and saved space without burdening our IT staff. We’ve become a model district in the region, and other districts frequently visit to see the ImageSilo system. If they really knew how much they’d save, they would do it; the system more than pays for itself.”
- Sandra McClure,
Director of Finance |
Adams County District 50, one of Colorado’s largest school districts, utilized a variety of records including electronic files, paper and microfilm in its various administrative departments. Since implementing ImageSilo in 2000, District 50 has consolidated all these files into a single on-demand Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system that makes needed information immediately available. Among other benefits, the District has improved employee productivity by 20%.
The Situation
Adams County District 50 is a large and busy school district in the Denver, Colorado metropolitan area. The District is home to 10,780 students and 1,500 employees. District 50 oversees twenty-six locations and manages a total budget of more than $93,000,000.
Finance and human resources generate more than 2,500 documents each month. The District’s existing paper-based system made documents hard to find, because each department used its own filing system and indexes to locate information. Employees typically spent as much as 30 minutes locating information needed to respond to customer service requests and audits. Additionally, documents were frequently lost or in-use, making them inaccessible.
Storage presented another headache. The increasing volume was stored in hallways and common spaces, and one entire office was occupied entirely by filing cabinets. Already struggling with limited space, the District was having trouble meeting employee needs.
At the end of each year, District 50 performed a records cleanup where documents were pulled, sorted, and prepared for transfer to microfilm. This process involved hiring a temporary employee who was on site for six weeks to sort documents and remove paper clips and staples. Transferring the information to microfilm took an additional week.
Looking at a landscape that was trending toward electronic records and increased information security, Sandra McClure, Director of Finance began looking for a system that would help the District to improve employee productivity through converting its existing processes to electronic records. She also knew she needed a system that would not require extensive IT resources.
The Solution
Rocky Mountain Microfilm and Imaging (RMMI) provided the initial implementation of ImageSilo in 2000 in the area of workman’s compensation and human resources. Accounts payable and finance were added in 2002. As an on-demand system, ImageSilo was implemented within just a few hours. More than twenty employees in human resources, finance, the warehouse and two auxiliary employees now have access to information. It has proven so easy to use that McClure says, “I don’t do any training on the ImageSilo system. I simply send them an email with their login information and ask them to let me know if they have any questions. We generally spend about five minutes together and then they’re off. New employees are productive their first day on the job!”
RMMI provides scanning services to convert paper documents into an electronic format and post them to ImageSilo. Files are picked up every Friday afternoon, and when District staff come to work Monday morning, everything is available in the system.
Recognized benefits
During implementation, the District consolidated the index values used to search for information, so employees enter one value to pull back all related documents. Flexible security settings allow administrators to protect sensitive information and restrict employees to seeing only what they need to perform their job functions. This consolidated records system is leading to cost savings, improved productivity and prestige.
ImageSilo has improved the District’s auditing experience and is saving them money. “We’ve saved the equivalent of half of a full-time employee from an auditing perspective alone,” says McClure, who no longer hires that temporary employee each year to prepare files for archiving. They also make better use of available office space. When finance and human resources were combined, the District offices inherited five filing cabinets and three new employees. They scanned the files into ImageSilo and cleaned out common space and the filing room making enough space for the new people.
Employees have recovered one full day of productivity each week, because information is now accessible in seconds. They simply pull documents from the on-demand ECM system right at their desktop computers. “It eliminates “water cooler” conversations in the file room and keeps employees focused on the task at hand,” said McClure. Plus, employees like resolving issues more quickly. “One employee joined the department from another district and wanted to order filing cabinets and files right away. Now she uses ImageSilo to get to anything she needs—even when working from home!”
Perhaps the biggest benefit for McClure has been the ability to maintain and configure the system within her own department. “Anytime we need to make changes, we can do it. The Technical department does not want to add systems to its already full plate, so ImageSilo helps them out as well as us.” An unlimited licensing structure allows the District to seamlessly add new users and the on-demand system automatically makes storage space available as needs grow. Roger Gudenkauf with RMMI said, “ImageSilo has been in place for seven years, and I first met the District’s IT Director last week during a meeting. Sandra has been able to implement, configure, and train on the system entirely within her organization.”
This ability to improve employee productivity and save space without burdening IT has made District 50 a model in the region. Other districts frequently visit to see the ImageSilo system. The Finance and HR departments are the envy of other District 50 departments as well. During the summer of 2007, the Student Records department will begin scanning records into the system, driven by a need to keep these records indefinitely and the limited access to microfilm equipment and expertise.
Thanks in part to these changes, the District received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for its comprehensive annual financial report—the highest recognition from government for school finance and accounting. The Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) International has also recognized the District’s efforts by awarding Adams County the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting Award.
About Rocky Mountain Microfilm and Imaging
Rocky Mountain Microfilm and Imaging Inc. (RMMI) is a full-service electronic document management firm. For nearly thirty years, RMMI has been dedicated to improving business efficiency, productivity, and cost-effectiveness. RMMI offers a wide range of products and services including electronic document management software, scanning, check imaging, and hardware for scanning and copying. Their pledge is to provide companies with a flexible solution that promises security, fast disaster recovery, and easy integration with their current systems.
To learn more about Rocky Mountain Microfilm and Imaging call 1-303-427-0625 or visit their website at www.rmm-i.com.
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