Case Study

Local Government Board uses ViewWise® Deployment to Create Business Opportunity

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When a group of workers from the Board of Developmental Disabilities (DD) of Henry County, OH attended a technology meeting, they had no idea they would soon be doing business. The meeting was organized by the Commissioners of Henry County to demonstrate the advantages of going digital to multiple County departments. Making the presentation was a representative from Perry Corporation, a Computhink, Inc. value-added reseller (VAR), who demonstrated the value of the ViewWise Document Management Solution.

Cheryl Smith, Business Manager for the DD, was mildly intrigued by the prospect of electronic records keeping. After all, the DD has an extensive amount of registrants, each one with a file containing multiple documents. Maintaining those records electronically would certainly streamline the workflow, but there was no budget available for a new undertaking. Says Smith, “Then, an eye-opening proposal from the Perry representative changed everything.”

Apparently, Perry Corporation had done a previous installation that they thought might be appropriate for the DD to consider. The idea was to install ViewWise for going paperless internally and use the scanning infrastructure build-out required for that as the central component around which to operate a service bureau. This would create an opportunity for individuals with developmental disabilities to have jobs doing the scanning, it would enable the DD to go digital, and ultimately, the system would pay for itself. It seemed like the timing was right because the DD would have two initial clients as a result of the County-wide IT initiative. The County would agree to hire the DD to do some of their scanning, and a local school district would hire the DD to scan their school records. The situation seemed perfect to then DD Superintendent Jim King, especially the part about being able to hire individuals with developmental disabilities as workers, so he approved the installation.

The entire process, from decision to installation, took approximately three months (with the help of a local technology company called EK Computers). Much of that time was needed by Bruce Guyer, IT Administrator, to get the infrastructure upgraded so it could function effectively. For example, Guyer had to ensure they had the servers and the connectivity necessary to communicate with their clients. The local school district that wanted the DD to scan their records offered the use of their server. Bandwidth was another issue. "At first, the DD system was running on a standard internet connection which proved to be insufficient," says Guyer, "Once we connected to the County's fiber wireless network, we had the correct amount of bandwidth to operate the system."

Next, it was up to Melinda Camp, the DD's Supported Employment Department Manager to begin overseeing the scanning process. "Our scanners work for 6 hours a day," says Camp, "It's a great place to work."

ViewWise solves a problem while creating an opportunity.

Internally, DD had a great need for the functionality of ViewWise. DD was running out of room. They were storing files everywhere, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to locate information when needed. There were multiple files regarding the same individual in multiple departments. Their first goal was to consolidate multiple paper copies into to one main file, which would automatically eliminate a big problem. With one main file, any updates would be stored in a single location, and whoever accessed the file would have the most current version, while also having access to every action and change made during the file's lifespan.

As Business Manager, Smith actually got first dibs on the ViewWise system. All relevant fiscal information including payroll, invoices and related documents went in first. "It's nice to be able to locate information with a simple keyword search," says Smith.

The opportunity to create the service bureau around the scanning infrastructure is DD's shining jewel, because it provides a chance for individuals with developmental disabilities to have jobs. According to Melinda Camp, "Our Board of DD didn't have a workshop, but we did have adults who wanted to engage in meaningful work for meaningful paychecks." The service bureau enables DD to hire these individuals to scan in the backlog for DD as well as perform the scanning for customers of the service bureau.

Now, several government components work co-operatively to make this system a reality. The DD's service bureau works with the Henry County Commissioners as well as the local Napoleon, OH Board of Education. The DD rents space from Henry County Commissioners to house their business.

The service bureau has four scanning stations with approximately three individuals per scanning line. Two people handle document preparation by taking paper clips and staples out of documents. A third person scans the documents. There are two supervisors who oversee the project. The teams scan documents for their own internal DD use for the Napoleon, OH Board of Education, and for multiple government offices within Henry County.

Specific ViewWise features enhance its value

For internal purposes, ViewWise has helped streamline business processes, aided in much faster searching for documents within a file, and cut down on the need for paper storage. Additionally, there were specific features the DD required:

Security Parameters – The DD wanted to consolidate to one main file, and they wanted to restrict access based on current policies. ViewWise offers unique security abilities which allow the administrator to grant access at multiple levels – cabinet, drawer, folder, or document.
Ease of Use – The DD's existing staff has a wide variety of technical abilities and their workers have a wide variety of functional levels. All skill capabilities needed to be accommodated. Because ViewWise looks just like a Microsoft Office solution, the majority of end users felt very comfortable with it right away, and the rest didn't take long to enjoy its simplicity.
Version Revision Control – This had always been an issue for DD due to their having duplicate files for the same subject in different locations. End users wanted to make updates to documents and save them back to the original location as a new version. ViewWise made it possible for more than one person to view a document simultaneously, but only one person at a time can make changes. This ensures the information contained in any document is the most current.

Return on Investment (ROI)

"As a non-profit, we are governed by a different set of standards than a typical profit-making service bureau enterprise," says Smith. What she is referring to is a somewhat complex arrangement where the actual business is split into two distinctly different entities, one of which qualifies for Federal funds and one that doesn't. "We aren't looking for a big-time money making operation. We just want to eventually cover our costs," says Smith, "We found that our people really like to work, and we want to respond to their enthusiasm. Consequently, we are beginning to market our service beyond our two original clients."

The best return for the DD staff is watching the tremendous feeling of accomplishment experienced by the people they hire to do the scanning. "We are constantly rewarded with their burgeoning self-esteem," says Camp, "This has given them a direction and a purpose."

Conclusion

According to Guyer, once ViewWise is set up and running, it pretty much runs itself. "It doesn't require much maintenance on a day-to-day basis," he says, "There was one time we needed help early on, where Perry had to call Computhink directly. They were very responsive and solved the problem quickly and efficiently."

Smith and Camp agree that what is taking place at the Henry County DD is much more than just the launch of a service bureau. "When our people experience the self-satisfaction that comes from gainful employment, they win, we win, and society wins. ViewWise facilitates all of this positive achievement."