East Thames Group has deployed document scanning and workflow technology from Optical Record Systems and Civica to support its paper reduction programme.
The ongoing success of the East Thames Group, which includes East Homes with 13,000 homes and a further 1500 homes in development, meant that it needed new offices to accommodate its various corporate services teams. However, East Thames recognised that moving its entire archive of paper files and documents would be difficult. Stephen Clark, business services project manager, East Thames Group, said, “Taking paper files with us to the new head office was not an option and having committed ourselves to the ‘Paper-Light’ project, we needed to reduce the amount of paper being used within the corporate services departments.”
East Thames selected Optical Record Systems to scan and upload the document archive in conjunction with an electronic document management and workflow system from Civica. In order to be completed by January 2008, the scanning project was broken into four phases: finance; tenancy and property; development and asset management; and HR and care homes. Almost two million documents were prepared, scanned, indexed by ORS and uploaded into the document management system.
East Thames has now freed up over 800 sq ft of office space, achieved its ‘Paper-Light’ objectives and made document retrieval faster and easier.
