SYSTEM

Using Technology to Create a Paperless Office... Every organization must have some means of storing, processing and communicating information. All activities or information involves papers every day. Just imagine, if each of the employees uses the papers to write down the activities, reminder, sending the message and so on, the company should purchase a lot of papers for office purpose. This may cost to the company. Besides that, we should keep the papers that consist of important information properly. Therefore, the company should have a space for keeping them inside the filing cabinets. Sometimes, we face difficult to find them because of misplaced and so on. Therefore, we need a new system to keep them properly and thus reduce the papers use.

Nowadays, modern business decision making requires much more complex systems which may provide immediately accessible, up-to-date information drawn from a variety of business functions, and so on. Information technology has become a key element in providing company with a competitive edge over other competitors. Today, many companies use technology to overcome this situation. For example, all information such as post coming in to the company is scanned electronically and then routed through the computer system to the person responsible for that work. This technology may create a paperless at office and thus may support the green environment.

With the sophistication of modern hardware, software and Internet services, paperless offices are growing in popularity. Going paperless is a greener option than using reams of paper and may cut down on overhead expenses, but security and training issues can make it impractical to go paperless, depending on the size and needs of your company. Another avenue to consider is running your office with less paper, instead of attempting a completely paperless office, using the advantages of a paperless system while avoiding some of the disadvantages.

One of the insurance company that operate in UK, apply the paperless office system, and they call the new system as APACHE. APACHE means automated, policy, and claims, handling environment. This new system at that company would be critical to the smooth-running and efficiency of the business.

An APACHE project office, including a training centre, was set up to prepare for the new system. A model office was used to show how the system would operate in the everyday business environment. This gave staff an opportunity to view APACHE working before their training. Training for APACHE was in two parts: • Technical training - came first and included training on how to use a PC and mouse, as well as how to maximize use of the large screens needed for APACHE. • Applications training - took place approximately two months after technical training and involved teaching staff how to use the system itself. It was important to give them time to become familiar with the new technology before expecting them to work on a day-to-day basis with it. As users became familiar with the system, it was clear that there were many quantifiable benefits, such as improved efficiency and productivity. The system also freed staff from mundane administration tasks, allowing them to concentrate on more interesting aspects of work.