Physical Documents and Folders
How to Manage them
Easily, Accurately and Quickly
SageData is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Although many documents are now being stored electronically, there are still
situations where paper documents (Physical Documents and Folders) must be retained -
often records for personal, medical or legal use.
Traditional means are often time consuming (which means expensive), can be awkward to
use, and can be prone to problems when a document is misfiled.
Barcode and RFID technologies enable documents to be identified easily, quickly and
accurately, so enabling systems to be more responsive (files are located more quickly),
less error prone (files are less likely to get mis-filed), and require less training (the
UI - User Interface provides guidance).
This note explains how barcode and RFID technology can be applied to paper documents to
help manage them more efficiently.
Using RFID or barcodes
Most often, the things
we are asked about as subjects for tracking
are tangible goods - computers, furniture, vehicles, hospital equipment, medications,
museum artifacts, defense and police equipment, industrial machinery - the list is
long.
However, more often we have fielded enquiries around managing and tracking
paper-based assets - files, folders, invoices, hard-copy documentation and so on. For
these applications, Document Management Systems enable paper based products to be managed
easily and accurately.
In the digital age it seems that paper is not going away any time soon. Part of this is a
legacy issue - many files were started many years ago, part is a legal requirement - for
instance, maintaining actual records with actual signatures is important.
SageData Solutions has used our BassetPro product as a base, suitably configured for specialized file tracking, in several interesting projects. Some government departments maintain enormous archives of materials where files are stored but rarely retrieved. However, when a retrieval IS required, it often needs to be done quickly for an urgent referral. Other clients have a system of file review where paper-based files move rapidly around several desks in multiple offices - and tracking those can be a particular challenge. In this later case, RFID tags are a boon in that files may be tracked down even when they cannot be seen - for example they are under other files, in a briefcase or have fallen down behind a desk.
In our experience, every file and archive management situation is different. The requirements revolve around volume and velocity of material, storage methods, security concerns and end-goals of the user. This is where BassetPro, with its highly configurable interfaces and logic streams, comes into its own.
If you found this useful, you might also want to review:
- tracking documents with RFID
- an introduction to RFID
- mobile data
collectors
- consulting
services: barcodes and their applications
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