GSI BEI Case Study

INDUSTRY:

Architecture

COMPANY:
BEI Associates, Inc.
Detroit, MI

BEI is an architectural firm that routinely has over 100 projects in progress at a time. It also has in storage hundreds of completed projects, including the paper drawings for each. BEI was looking for ways to improve the organization and storage of its active and archived files, and maintain file integrity to meet ISO9000 requirements.

BEI was storing its archival project drawings in two locations, one on-site and one off-site. On-site storage was costly and consumed valuable floor space and the cost of retrieving off-site documents was high.

Integrity and availability were the major problems with how BEI was storing current projects. When a new issue was released, drawings were plotted, reviewed, signed and sent to Document Control for printing, distribution and maintenance. If documents were misfiled or never returned, time was wasted trying to locate them.
Because file integrity was being compromised in the process, BEI was unable to meet ISO 9000 requirements.

THE CHALLENGE:
BEI recognized the need to organize both the active and inactive drawings, provide quick reference access to them, ensure ISO 9000 compliance and reclaim their valuable floor space.

THE APPROACH:
Graphic Sciences personnel met with BEI representatives from both the Information Technologies and Document Control departments and developed electronic storage solutions that addressed both current and completed project drawings.
The solution for storing current projects needed to focus on daily access, file integrity and storage in a single location, which is an ISO9000 requirement. A secure web site was determined to be the best solution.
Completed projects with archived records would require only limited access, making a scan and CD storage solution ideal.

THE SOLUTION:
The final solution had three parts. For archived projects stored on site, GSI took the files by project and organized the drawings by issue date and discipline. Then GSI scanned and indexed the drawings and created CDs. Over 16,000 drawings from 200 projects were archived on 20 CDs with approximately 800 drawings per CD. An Excel spread sheet was created listing the projects and showing which CD held the drawings for each. Duplicate CDs were created and stored off-site for disaster recovery.

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For archived projects that were stored off-site, paper drawings are retrieved when requested and sent to GSI for scanning and indexing. Then project file will not be returned to off-site storage but will be added to the electronic archive.

To handle current projects, a secure BEI web site replaced the physical file cabinets where Document Control stored the drawings. A simple folder structure was created to store these electronic files, using project number, name, issue name and date and including drawing number.TIFF. In the new process, when an issue is scheduled for release, it is plotted, reviewed and signed, then sent to GSI. GSI scans the documents, indexes them and posts them to the BEI web site. Once that is complete, BEI Document Control verifies that the posted information is correct and, when an active project is completed, the project files are downloaded from the web site and stored on a CD.

THE BENEFITS:
As a result of the GSI solution, BEI has realized multiple benefits. First, they reduced access time and cost by utilizing CDs to store the archived files. They implemented disaster recovery using the CDs and storing them off-site. Authorized personnel working on current projects were provided with quick 24/7 access to the current project files via a secured web site that also ensures file integrity. In addition, BEI clients now have easy access to the drawings they need. This solution also facilitated ISO 9000 compliance. BEI gained back storage space and was eventually able to sublease the space, creating revenue for the company. Last, productivity was improved by reducing the number of phone calls between Document Control and the BEI contractors. Improved access time, easy access, ISO 9000 compliance, increased revenues and productivity improvements all add up to a winning GSI solution for BEI.

About Graphic Sciences, Inc.
Graphic Sciences is your partner in document and information management. For more than a quarter of a century, GSI has helped organizations maximize efficiently by taking control of the information they depend on to run their operations.

4208 Normandy Court
Royal Oak, Michigan, 48703
248.549.6600
800.397.6620
Fax 248.549.2760
www.scanittoday.com

Architectural Drawings Gain Quick, Secure and Easy Access Along with ISO 9000 Compliance
INDUSTRY: Architecture COMPANY: BEI Associates, Inc. Detroit, MI BEI is an architectural firm that routinely has over 100 projects in progress at a time. It also has in storage hundreds of completed projects, including the paper drawings for each. BEI was looking for ways to improve the organization and storage of its active and archived files, and maintain file integrity to meet ISO9000 requirements. BEI was storing its archival project drawings in two locations, one on-site and one off-site. On-site storage was costly and consumed valuable floor space and the cost of retrieving off-site documents was high.	Integrity and availability were the major problems with how BEI was storing current projects. When a new issue was released, drawings were plotted, reviewed, signed and sent to Document Control for printing, distribution and maintenance. If documents were misfiled or never returned, time was wasted trying to locate them. Because file integrity was being compromised in the process, BEI was unable to meet ISO 9000 requirements. THE CHALLENGE: BEI recognized the need to organize both the active and inactive drawings, provide quick reference access to them, ensure ISO 9000 compliance and reclaim their valuable floor space.

THE APPROACH: Graphic Sciences personnel met with BEI representatives from both the Information Technologies and Document Control departments and developed electronic storage solutions that addressed both current and completed project drawings. The solution for storing current projects needed to focus on daily access, file integrity and storage in a single location, which is an ISO9000 requirement. A secure web site was determined to be the best solution. Completed projects with archived records would require only limited access, making a scan and CD storage solution ideal.	THE SOLUTION: The final solution had three parts. For archived projects stored on site, GSI took the files by project and organized the drawings by issue date and discipline. Then GSI scanned and indexed the drawings and created CDs. Over 16,000 drawings from 200 projects were archived on 20 CDs with approximately 800 drawings per CD. An Excel spread sheet was created listing the projects and showing which CD held the drawings for each. Duplicate CDs were created and stored off-site for disaster recovery.
<next page>
For archived projects that were stored off-site, paper drawings are retrieved when requested and sent to GSI for scanning and indexing. Then project file will not be returned to off-site storage but will be added to the electronic archive. To handle current projects, a secure BEI web site replaced the physical file cabinets where Document Control stored the drawings. A simple folder structure was created to store these electronic files, using project number, name, issue name and date and including drawing number.TIFF. In the new process, when an issue is scheduled for release, it is plotted, reviewed and signed, then sent to GSI. GSI scans the documents, indexes them and posts them to the BEI web site. Once that is complete, BEI Document Control verifies that the posted information is correct and, when an active project is completed, the project files are downloaded from the web site and stored on a CD.	THE BENEFITS: As a result of the GSI solution, BEI has realized multiple benefits. First, they reduced access time and cost by utilizing CDs to store the archived files. They implemented disaster recovery using the CDs and storing them off-site. Authorized personnel working on current projects were provided with quick 24/7 access to the current project files via a secured web site that also ensures file integrity. In addition, BEI clients now have easy access to the drawings they need. This solution also facilitated ISO 9000 compliance. BEI gained back storage space and was eventually able to sublease the space, creating revenue for the company. Last, productivity was improved by reducing the number of phone calls between Document Control and the BEI contractors. Improved access time, easy access, ISO 9000 compliance, increased revenues and productivity improvements all add up to a winning GSI solution for BEI. About Graphic Sciences, Inc. Graphic Sciences is your partner in document and information management. For more than a quarter of a century, GSI has helped organizations maximize efficiently by taking control of the information they depend on to run their operations. 4208 Normandy Court Royal Oak, Michigan, 48703 248.549.6600 800.397.6620 Fax 248.549.2760 www.scanittoday.com