Document Management Guide

Whatever happened to the concept of the paperless office? If you were around when computers were first being rolled out into the general business environment, the so-called paperless office was supposed to have been one of the major benefits. No need to print documents any more, just store them on your hard disk and retrieve them whenever needed. Not only that, but in addition, there was the supposed saving of all of those trees – the brave, new paperless, greener world. Unfortunately, it never quite got off the ground.

If anything, we generate more paperwork today than ever before, simply because, with the aid of these same computers that were supposed to free us off from reams and reams of documents, it is so easy to do so. If you’ve got loads and loads of storage space, your archiving problem will not be as severe as it is for those who do not have that space. But even if you do have the space, surely you can use it far more productively than for just storing old dead paperwork? Space is a valuable commodity and the premiums have never been higher than they are today.

It is for precisely these reasons that a new service industry, geared for remote document storage, was born. From the early days of simply providing off-site safe storage, the service mix has expanded dramatically, and the services that are provided by the specialist document management providers today include things like:
Safe storage Easy referencing Fast document retrieval Scanning technology Digital archiving Safe destruction Information protection Guaranteed confidentialitySecurity is often one of the main concerns that many companies have when they consider using an outside supplier for their document storage. Some types of information, be it personal or financial, can be considered to be highly sensitive, and people become very concerned about this either getting out into the public domain, or falling into the wrong hands, and being misused.

However, client confidentiality is one of the prime services that the specialist document management solutions providers promote. This is particularly important when it comes down to the destruction of documentation too. The larger the company, the bigger the problem. But companies don’t come much larger than the NHS or the High Street Banks, both of whom have enormous amounts of paperwork and records, all of which is sensitive and highly confidential. It is therefore comforting to know that these organizations handle their document storage and destruction problems by outsourcing to one of the UK’s national specialist service providers.

As well as using up valuable space, archiving documents on your own work premises also represents a fire hazard. Your business insurance people, and the health and safety guys will want to see appropriate safety procedures (bespoke sprinkler systems etc.) in place. These can be quite expensive not only to install and commission, but to keep regularly serviced too. In addition to this, any sizable volume of stored documentation is likely to increase your insurance premiums.

You can get rid of all of these problems by outsourcing your documentation storage and destruction needs to a document management services specialist. You can even have all of your records scanned and laid to disks for you to keep in secure storage on your own premises. The advanced scanning and referencing technology used provides vastly reduced storage and lighting fast information retrieval. The benefits of outsourcing clearly speak for themselves!

By: Charlotte J Wilson

About the Author:

The nuclear industry is experiencing enormous opportunities in the UK with new nuclear power stations being planned and continued decommissioning of older plants. Since the 1960′s, regulatory compliance, computerization, and supply chain management have undergone radical changes. These changes have given rise to many challenges that need to be overcome to bring about harmony between actual infrastructure and the laws mandated by regulatory authorities.

One of the biggest challenges the nuclear industry faces today is its need to improve documentation. The nuclear industry, like many others, still relies on paper as the medium of recording critical information about nuclear plants and projects undertaken. Information about a plant may include the configuration details, operation, standard operating procedures for response to emergencies, and maintenance records. Whilst dealing with this complex information, the nuclear industry is striving to achieve the standards of documentation to deal with health, safety, and environmental issues. The only way to achieve a standard of documentation is by making available the right information, to the right people, at the right time, ensuring the right decisions are made.

Documentation Challenges in the Nuclear Industry

• Duplication of documents

• Improving visibility of information

• Ensuring the security of critical information

• Reducing the overhead costs of printing, reproducing and distributing paper documents

• Document traceability years after the completion of a project

• Increased chaos and inconsistencies due to a mix of home-grown solutions

• Lack of integration between various departmental solutions within the same organization

• Poor efficiency and accuracy of procedures

• Stricter regulatory requirements and slow approval process

Using a document management system to deal with documentation needs is the route few companies in the nuclear industry have taken. The trend to delay implementing a documention standard is changing and with growing regulatory requirements, increasing numbers of companies are beginning to use technological solutions to manage their documents more efficiently. When choosing an electronic document management system, one must ensure that it not only manages documents of all types but that it also makes it easier for the user to understand the relationship between various documents. With users from numerous departments and teams, a document management system must offer a user-friendly interface that easily presents information based on user’s roles and requirements.

Poor knowledge about why and how to use of a document control system might fail the purpose of deploying one. Before choosing a system for your organization, you must determine the areas / departments that will benefit from the use of this technology.

In the nuclear industry, document management may be required in the following areas:

• Training – INPO has defined a set of integrated training processes that need to be followed for operation and support of existing and new nuclear facilities. INPO’s method of proposed training needs are analyzed, a training program is then developed, implemented, and then evaluated to ensure professional development.

• Regulatory Compliance – Effective compliance is the core of all activities in a highly regulated industry such as the nuclear industry. The life cycle of a nuclear facility relies on strict governance that ensures the compliance and licensing commitments are being met. Lack of compliance can heavily burden the company with penalty costs, regulatory oversight, and customer concerns. In the process of managing compliance, companies may have to ensure information regarding human, material, and data resources is stored and managed efficiently. Increased visibility of critical information may increase safety, reduce risks, and guarantee compliance throughout the organization. Moreover, a tighter control of processes & complete audit cycle will reduce the risk of findings that lead to negative inspection outcomes during a regulatory audit.

• Project Management – Managing a nuclear project requires a great deal of security, control, and effective document management. The project may use various designs, images, project management software, and process mapping tools that would need to be incorporated in one single system to facilitate ease of use by key personnel. Managing documents throughout a project’s life cycle is also termed as information management. Information may vary with the age and type of project being managed. For relatively newer projects, information may be produced as often as every day, wheras, older projects require archiving of information and periodic retrieval of older documents.

• Performance Improvement – The requirement and implementation of performance improvement initiatives across the nuclear industry has resulted in better safety and productivity. The performance improvement model, as per INPO, incorporates three critical branches; performance monitoring, implementing solutions, and analyzing, identifying, and planning solutions. These objectives can be met through benchmarking, self assessment, observations, action planning, effectiveness review, reporting, management review, and task assignment. With changing technology and the adoption of electronic workflow and document management methods, the challenge in many organizations is that each of these systems work in silos and don’t integrate with each other.

• Knowledge Management – Throughout the nuclear project/facility lifecycle, information is created by knowledgeable workers, lessons are learned, and best practices are created. For the survival and growth of the nuclear industry it is critical to store and pass on the information in various stages of a project’s lifecycle. With the vast knowledge and human experience in the nuclear industry environment, there is a need for a method that will easily organize and capture the information.

Is an Electronic Document Management System the Solution to These Challenges?

With the use of an electronic document management system, the pressures of maintaining volumes of records and managing information can be overcome. There are many different schools of thought when it comes to deploying an electronic system for document control, with each one having its own ideologies.

Even though a paper-based system is antiquated and cumbersome to manage, it has certain value in some organizations where either the number of documents to be handled is small or the team doesn’t wish to move to an electronic method of documentation (which is unlikely in a growing and forward-thinking organization). The electronic document control system will provide long term savings on cost and time. These savings can be achieved by:

• Faster and better flow of information

• Quick approval processes

• Greater visibility of information throughout the team

• Automatic revision control so that the team sees and reviews only the LIVE version

• Controlled access to documents to only key personnel

• Competitive advantage with efficient processes

• Faster return on investment

With the electronic documentation system, there is the assurance that none of the processes go unnoticed and/or unsigned as everyone is given access to review and propose changes to critical documents.

Conclusion

The growth of the nuclear sector will also grow the need to manage information efficiently. Since most of the information in the nuclear industry is stored in documents and stacked on shelves, stakeholders always face issues such as slow response time or delayed document retrieval which may directly affect the success of time critical projects. It is evident the electronic document control system offers far more benefits than the old style paper-based system. Before making a decision on the direction your company wants to take, however, it is critical to identify and set documentation goals for the organization and assess all the alternatives available so that you find the perfect match for your needs.

By: Kanupriya Bhatli

About the Author: