Contents

{

Introduct ion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

How to Use this Guide . . . . . . . . . . .1

Assessing Your Current Equipment and Processes ...................2

Who ls Going to lmplement Your Program? ...........3

When Should You Begin?

How to Use the System Planning Questionnaire.........

How to Develop a Transitional Digital Strategy... ....................5

1: Defining System Problems

Where Are Your Assets and Problems Located?

ldentifying Critical System Resources

Other Criteria to Consider

Step 3: Prioritizing Areas of lmprovement

Points to Consider when Choosing a New System

Step 4: Developing a Phased Approach to lmplementation

Benefits of an Incremental Approach

An Incremental, Three-Phase Deployment Approach ..............................9

5ummary

Glossary of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

THE COMPLETE

Archive

IntroductionIf you are responsible for the Document Control and Production function of yourbusiness, you are probably in survival mode. As the requirements of your jobbecome more difficult, stacks of paper continue to grow ever higher around you.

You know you need to do something but perhaps you are unsure as to what to door how to do it. Perhaps you have heard about becoming "digitally enabled" andabout migrating your manual processes to computer-based operations. If so, wethink this guide will help you get started.

Our experience tells us that you must define where you are today and where you wantto be tomorrow * and then create a logical path to get there.

How to Use this GuidePLP Digital Systems designed this guide to help you manage the transition of yourdepartment from labor-intensive, manual processes to automated digital processes.

By following the step-by-step procedures in this guide, you will learn to:

e determine the capabilities of your currently installed equipment

. define the system you need

' devise a plan to make the transition from your old system to your new system,with minimum disruption to your day-to-day workflow

Read on to learn more about the tools and perspectives that will help you plan foryour survival.

Assessing Your Current Equipment and Processes

Chances are your current document control and production processes have supportedoperations well thus far. However, the tools and equipment that support them maybe obsolete. In order to remain competitive, management may recommend thatyou update your current paper-based systems and tools to be more cost-effectiveand efficient.

Typical limitations of traditional document control and production systemsinclude:

. Excessive time required to process requests, access drawings, copy drawings,and maintain (touch-up, update, re-file, etc.) the manual documentcontrol system

. Increased risk of working drawings being out-of-date or the wrong revision,due to cumbersome update requirements of manually maintained vaultsand the time required to request and receive a hard copy drawing

. Dissatisfied customers who must accept longer turn-around times dueto increased maintenance on the current system

Manual Document Control & Reprographics Systems Today

2

Who ls Going to lmplement Your Program?

Evaluate who on your team has the capability, time and talent to help you develop and

implement your plan. Determine what third-party tools you already have and how well

they are working.

"Evaluate who on your team has the capability,time and talent to help you develop andimplement your plan."

Based on staffing levels, set realistic expectations regarding what to digitize and when

the transition to digital will occur. Set up a preliminary schedule for the transition and

discuss it with your staff.

Consider the value of independent consultants and software providers. They can help

your transition to digital using an orderly, phased approach. The market has a variety

of resources, such as PLP Digital Systems, available to help.

"There's an old saylng that the best timeto invest...is todav. "

When Should You Begin?There's an old saying that the best time to invest in real estate is today. We believe

the same holds true for digitally enabling your document control and reprographics

department. Begin planning and implementing your new system today. Changes you

rnake today can pay off sooner than you think.

Your System Tod.ayThis questionnaire is designedquestions, you can decide if aenvironment.

to help you begin planning now. By answering theseDQRS is right for the needs of your current business

System Planning Questionnaire1. Determine what bottlenecks, inconveniences, or problems you currently experience at work.

(Please rank, from 1 to 10, all that apply. "1" being most important. Use each number only once.)_ Turnaround time_ SeMce reliability_ Cost of sending work outside_ Excess steps in the work process

_ Equipment downtime_ Labor costs_ Difficulty locating original drawings_ Lack of proper revision control

_ Other (Please specify) I am not experiencing any problems.

2.

3.

5.

6.

What CAD applications do you use? (AutoCAD, MicroStation), Other

What equipment (Printers? Scanners?) do you currently use to reproduce your engineering

What is the annual per-square-foot cost of this floor space?

drawings? Brands? Models?

4. How many square feet of floor space does your company devote to document storage?

Is your current document/drawing review process performed by various people? Briefly describethis process and the people involved in each review cycle.

How would you like to improve the review process?

7. Briefly describe your current process for filing, retrieving, copying & distributing drawings/documents.

How would you like to improve the process of filing retrieving, copying & distributingdocuments?

9. Do you lose time and money because of lost or missing documents? tr YES tr NO

lf you answered YES, estimate the loss per year.

10. Are you planning to automate your printroom?

11. Describe your ulflmate printroom system for document control and production:

T

How to Develo a Transitional D ital StrNow that you have completed the System Planning Questionnaire, you should have agood idea of your current workflow, workload, system bottlenecks, and budget. A phasedapproach to implementation allows you to invest in increments and provides you-withflexibility to customize your system to meet growing business needs. you will useyour answers to the questionnaire to complete step 1 of your Digital Strategy:Defining System Problems.

Step 1: Defining System Problems

Your existing document control and distribution processes are probabty paper-basedand manual. Typical processes include acceptance, tracking, indexing, control, anddistribution of released documents. By "released" we mean documents that havebeen finalized by their authors and approved for production use by internal processes.

Step 2: ldentifying Critical System ResourcesRefer to your answers on the System Planning Questionnaire and the chart on the nextpage to map out your current departmental resources.

5

How to Develo Transitional ital Strat

Use the chart below to list all the hardware and software you cunently have in your

department. Try to determine the pros and cons of each piece of equipment, and if

you would like to replace any existing equipment. Explain why you need to keep or

replace each piece.

Iu) lOI

I

a) l

t r1- \ lXI

' r l l

Equipment Model Pros Cons Keep or replace why?Xerox 8855 keep a workhorse

Contex overused need 2 more

fast

KIP 1ow'price

Other Criteria to Consider

Determine who your most vocal users are. They are your best indicator of on-going

performance issues.

Determine the geographic spread of your customer base, and if you are having

problems with remote users. Determine if you need to purchase or lease additional

equipment to meet their needs. Add this equipment to the list above'

6

How to Develo a Transitional D

Step 3: Prioritizing Areas of lmprovementMake a list of all the processes you perform in your department, such as acceptingnew documents, tracking, indexing, control, copying, and distribution of releaseddocuments. Next, determine which processes you would like to automate first.(Usually these are the processes that cause bottlenecks in production.) Refer toyour answer to Question 4 of the system planning Questionnaire to help youprioritize areas you most want to improve. Remember to keep your budgei in mindwhen planning improvements.

Points to Consider When Choosing a New SystemThe following list of features and benefits is based on an analysis of the mostcommonly asked for features requested by PLP customers. We listened to them-designing these features into our new PLP DCRS solution. This list was recentlypublished in the February, 1999 issue of Modern Reprographics magazine:

Businesses wanting to be successful global competitors of the 21st Century shouldseriously consider purchasing an integrated system with an open archite.i.rre,allowing you to leverage your existing investment in capital equipment.

Your new digital system should be:

' Easy to use, yet complete-packed full of powerfuI integrated features designedto make it easy for you to take complete control of your documents throughouttheir entire life cycle-right from your desktop.

' Flexible-allowing you to create new digital documents as well as integrateyour legacy paper documents easily into a single, secure digital vault.

' Device and format independent-able to support a wide variety of documentscanning and printing systems and data formats.

' Accessible from remote sites-for document viewing, downloading and printingby customers...anytime, anywhere.

' AP|-equipped-for integration with existing systems, applications, and intoyour workflow.

' Configurable-adaptable for specific business environments without customization.o EasY to administer-yet completely secure; allowing only fully authorized users

access to proprietary company information.

' Able to provide complete reporting and accounting capabilities-for billing,tracking pdnter time, and other vital proiect information.

o Able to help you search for and retrieve-documents easily.

ital Strat

f-

How to Develop a Transitional Digital Strategy

Step 4: Developing a Phased Approach to lmplementation

After thoroughty evaluating the needs of your business prior to implementing your

new DCRS system, you need to develop a detailed plan of how you will implement,

evaluate, and use the new equipment.

Companies such as PLP have experienced teams of system design engineers, techni-

cians, and programmers who help you define, plan, and successfully implement

both standard and custom solutions for document control and reprographics process

problems. Working with your staff, we help you develop a solution that's custom-

tailored to your specific needs. Our total support program assures you of completeproject coordination and timely, cost-effective implementation.

"Working with your staff, we help developa solution that's custom-tailored to yourspecific needs. "

Benefits of an Incremental Approach

A phased approach to implementation validates the required technology and,

in varying degrees, incorporates tasks previously identified' We have found

through experience that implementation reaps the most benefits to customers

when performed in three phases:

. Phase 1: Evaluation

o Phase 2:lnltial Implementation

. Phase 3: Final lmplementation

Do it yourself, or if you choose, we can help you:

. Fully test the impact of DCRS on your organization and business processes,prior to committing to full deployment of a new DCRS system

. Minimize disruption to your on-going business operations

. Minimize the cost, time, and staffing required for an initial implementation

8

An Incremental, Three-Phase

Phase 1: Evaluation

During this phase, we analyze your business requirements, budget, and other criteriaspecific to your business environment. Based on this information, we then provideyou with an initial implementation plan. This plan recommends the products,systems, assistance, and implementation metrics that are appropriate for your business.

Phase 2: Initial lmplementation

During this phase, we implement a "proof-of-concept" DCRS by delivering usable andscalable versions of various DCRS components. This phase tests the assumptions in theinitial implementation plan, trains your staff, and tests and validates the technologiesthat will later become a production-ready DCRS.

Phase 3: Final lmplementation

During this phase, we transition your "proof-of-concept" DCRS into a full-scale,production-ready DCRS. Then we train your staff again and test the system some more.

"...\ ,/e analyze your business requirements,budget, and other criteria specific to yourbusiness environment. . .then provide youwith an initial implementation plan."

5ummaryWhen you use the charts in this guide to assess your current document controlprocesses and departmental resources, you get a clear picture of how your currentsystem works, what pieces of equipment you need to replace, and what tasks youwant your new system to perform.

Based on this information, PLP can help you prioritize the areas you want to improve,and help you develop a phased approach to implementation designed to suit yourspecific needs and budget. We can help you:

. Fully test the impact of new technologies on your internal processesprior to committing to full deployment of a new DCRS system

. Reduce disruption to your on-going business operations

o Minimize the cost, time and staffing required for implementation

. Save time, save money and eliminate the risks involved in making thetransition to a digital environment

For more information, call 1-800-444-7568 or visit our website at: www.plp.com

800-4+4-7, 6060 Easr Thomas Road ' scotsdale' * ut?'n*-/32r

(FAX)

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