The Dark Side of Document Imaging: ‘The Hidden Cost of Capture’

Jerry Van Loozen, CDIA 23 years experience Filing Systems Record Centers Service Bureaus Document Imaging Records Management Current President - Atlanta Chapter of ARMA

The Walter H. Hopkins Company Serving Georgia and Alabama for 37 years Serving the Nation through Systec - Spacesaver High Density Storage - Smead Custom Filing Solutions - Active Workroom Furniture - Filetrail technology for barcode and RFID tracking - Smeadlink software for document imaging - Captiva solutions for document and data capture

ISO RIM Best Practice Standard

Your Experience in Document Imaging Have not tried yet Just getting started One year experience I figured it out

To Store vs. Scan Off-Site Storage.25/month/box + retrievals 12 x 15 x 10 archive box $3.00 per year $ /box includes prep, scan, index, write to cd and reassemble folder + cost for software investment, maintenance & support

Quick Estimate on Cost to Scan Add up number of file inches Get average number of folders per inch to get estimated number of folders Multiple number of inches by pages per inch 150 to 225 based on folder, paperclip and fastener thickness Take total number of folders and calculate cost to index based on.03 to.20 each – Cost varies based on number of fields, characters per field and process to get data Take number of documents and calculate by.08 to.10 per page – the cost goes down to.05 to.07 with quantities over 100k Add.25 per filing inch for shipping and handling of paper

The Cost of Capture Collect Documents Prep Documents Indexing Filing

High Labor Costs In most applications, capture is a small part of the initial capital investment…. But by far the largest ongoing expense Front-EndCapture Front-EndCapture Back-EndApplication Back-EndApplication

Ways to reduce cost Distributed vs centralized scanning Workflow – Batch Processing Automation

Centralized Scanning at a central site on a single LAN

Decentralized Scanning with the internet Same process but work can be done anywhere Internet provides reliable inexpensive network infrastructure Filing Server Internet ServerInternet Scan Recognition Index/ Validation QC

Cost Comparison Centralized scanning Assume 10 sites scanning 100 pages per day –10 packages per $10 each = $100 per day –Total shipping cost: $25,000 per year Additional operator cost at central site –1000 documents per day –2 hours of $10 per hour = $20 per day –Total scan/prep costs = $5000 Total cost = $30,000

Cost Comparison Distributed scanning –10 scanners + software at remote $2,500 each –Total hardware/software cost = $25,000 Internet access cost –$20 per month per site –Total access cost = $2,400 Total cost = $27,400 (first year) $2,400 (subsequent years)

Cost Comparison Total savings: –First year: $2,600 –Second year: $27,600 Non-monetary savings –Faster access to documents –Better security –Local personnel know the documents better

Capture Costs - Operator Assumptions: –Fully loaded operator cost is $23,000 per year $11.50 per hour $.19 per minute –250 working days per year In document and data capture, savings are measured in seconds, multiplied by thousands of documents

WorkFlow Batch processing increases productivity With a 40 ppm scanner: –Manual scanning = 10 ppm –Batch scanning = 30 ppm At 1,000 pages per day: –Manual scanning = 100 minutes –Batch scanning = 33 minutes Cost savings: –67 minutes x $.19 per minute = $12.73 per operator per day Total savings of $3,182 per year!

Automation Heads up Data Entry OCR & Barcodes Data integration COLD Esignatures

Indexing Cost Assumptions: –5 fields per document, 12 characters per field –Keying rate of 7,000 characters per hour –6.2 seconds per field

Field #1 – Faster Keying Properly designed ‘Heads Up Data Entry’ module can speed keying rate –Keying rate improves to 10,000 characters per hour –Keying rate is now 4.3 seconds per field At 1,000 pages per day: –Total time = 71 minutes –32 minutes saved for field #1 Cost savings: –32 minutes x $.19 per minute = $6.08 per day Total savings for field #1 of $1,520 per year!

Field #2 – Zonal OCR If OCR is performed on one index field: –Field only needs to be checked, not keyed –Time to check field = 2 seconds At 1,000 pages per day: –Total time = 33 minutes –70 minutes saved for field #2 Cost savings: –70 minutes x $.19 per minute = $13.30 per day Total savings for field #2 of $3,325 per year!

Field #3 - Barcodes If bar code is performed on one index field: –Bar codes are 99% accurate At 1000 pages per day: –1% error rate = 10 pages –Total time = 2 minutes to check/correct 10 pages –101 minutes saved for field #3 Cost savings: –101 minutes x $.19 minute = $19.19 per day Total savings for field #3 of $4,798 per year!

Field #4 & #5 - Data Integration Match unique data in document to data in host database and merge all relevant fields to document index table Eliminate keying cost and potential for error At 1,000 pages per day –Total time is 206 minutes per day Cost savings minutes at $.19 per minute = $39.14 per day Total savings of field # 4 & # 5 of $9,785.00

Cost Savings Summary Process Batch scanning Faster keying (field #1) OCR indexing (field #2) Bar code indexing (field #3) Integrated match and merge data ( field #4 & #5) Total savings X number of stations Annual Savings $3,182 $1,520 $3,325 $4,798 $9,785 $22,610

COLD (Computer Output to Laser Disk) Any data created in a computer should be archived directly to image vs. print to scan –Reports No more Green Bar Reports –Accounting Data Output to an Electronic Template

Electronic Signature Capture Signature Through Attached Pad Pasted Signatures are not Considered Legal –Credit Card Transactions –Insurance Applications –Insurance Claims –Loans –Many More

Walter H. Hopkins Company Business Organization Solutions™ For more information: Jerry Van Loozen, CDIA direct