Skip Ribbon Commands Skip to main content

Large U.S. Government Agency

U.S. Government Agency Tackles Paper Files with Enterprise Content Management

2-2-10_government-agency.pdf

Business Needs

Managing huge volumes of paper documents is always a challenge for government organizations. In Washington, D.C., one major agency has a department that helps constituents manage their business risks through market-based, tested risk-management solutions.
 
The agency serves an industry that is vital for the nation, yet it found itself struggling to keep up with mountains of paper. Many of its paper documents had exceeded their life cycle, but there was no systematic way of deleting old files. The agency reached a turning point when the organization's management realized that they needed a long-term technology solution that could help the agency better manage the sheer volume of paper documents that were creating obstacles to efficiently serving the customers in their targeted industry.
 
"We had a significant challenge with a large volume of paper records that are stored in file cabinets throughout offices in the agency," says the agency’s records manager. "It had become a real problem to manage, locate, and dispose of these paper records in a proper fashion."
 
The paper files created other problems as well. For example, it was time-consuming for agency employees to quickly locate files in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, which are frequently received by federal agencies.
 
The agency began evaluating technologies in search of a more comprehensive enterprise content management system.
“We needed a solution that would integrate with Microsoft SharePoint, which we had in place. It was the vehicle for electronic content and records management throughout our agency,” says the records manager.
 

Our Solution

The agency implemented a solution to manage its paper files as well as electronic files generated by Microsoft Office programs. The agency deployed several KnowledgeLake products for migrating stored paper files and converting new ones as they arrive onto the organization’s SharePoint-based intranet. The products include: 

  • KnowledgeLake Imaging for SharePoint, which lets users organize, store, access, and scan documents and data across the agency’s network;
  • KnowledgeLake Connect, which is used to upload electronic documents, including Microsoft Office documents, into SharePoint;
  • KnowledgeLake Capture, used for batch scanning high volumes of documents and applying meta data for indexing and search tasks;
  • KnowledgeLake Capture Server, which helps the agency put paper documents on SharePoint as fully text-searchable Adobe PDF files.

    • Each office in the agency has a scanning station where paper documents are scanned, automatically indexed, and processed through KnowledgeLake Capture Server. Additionally, each of the agency's division and branch offices has its own SharePoint site with KnowledgeLake-enabled tools for searching through libraries of documents that relate to departmental job roles. The agency established security policies for the SharePoint documents, including one that limits most users to searching and accessing documents and folders that only relate directly to their job responsibilities.
     

    Results + Benefits

    The agency addressed a number of key business issues by deploying a KnowledgeLake solution that integrates with SharePoint. There is better, faster access to information. By digitizing its paper files, the agency has reduced its need for physical storage space. The agency has also improved its document retention management capabilities with a more structured, streamlined workflow that covers the complete document life cycle.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    Faster Access to Documents

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    The agency has noted a significant drop in the time it takes employees to locate documents in the SharePoint-based system, a result of using KnowledgeLake tools to search for and view documents.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    "I'm able to find old documents in response to FOIA requests almost instantly, unlike the process I went through in the past," says the records manager. "Also, the indexing and search functions provided by KnowledgeLake make it much easier to perform ad hoc searches. With the KnowledgeLake solution, documents can be found and accessed quickly on our SharePoint system, then forwarded electronically instead of being copied or faxed. It delivers a major improvement in productivity.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    Reduced Need for Physical Storage

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    As part of the implementation, the records manager developed a comprehensive file plan. With assistance from the National Archives, file plans were written to be media neutral. This means that as file plans are approved, corresponding paper documents can be destroyed after being scanned and accepted into the electronic system. This helps the agency reduce the physical space, costs, and other overhead associated with maintaining paper documents.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    "Once the KnowledgeLake solution was in place, we were able to begin the process of removing file cabinets and reclaiming physical space for other purposes," says the agency’s records director.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    Improved Document Retention Management

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    The agency has implemented an effective solution for managing documents through their life cycles by using the indexing and metadata tagging capabilities of KnowledgeLake as well as SharePoint Information Management Policy feature.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    "We developed a way to calculate expiration dates based on certain document properties that are identified during the scanning and capture process," says the agency records manager. "All records are covered by a SharePoint information management policy. When the records expire, a disposition approval workflow is started and routed to agency records managers for completion of the process. It has proved to be an effective way of handling and properly disposing of large numbers of documents."
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    With the KnowledgeLake solution, documents can be found and accessed quickly on our SharePoint system, then forwarded electronically instead of being copied or faxed. It delivers a major improvement in productivity.”

    Records Manager
    Major Federal Agency

    Client Overview

    Website

    N/A

    Country/Region

    United States

    Industry

    Government

    Customer Profile

    Large U.S. Government Agency

    Partners

    KnowledgeLake
    888.898.0555
    www.knowledgelake.com

    Software + Services

  • Microsoft Office
  • Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
  • Office Business Applications

    • KnowledgeLake Solutions