The concept of a paperless office has often been dismissed by its critics as a myth. A joke is often traded among techno-pessimists proclaiming that the surest way to create the ultimate paperless office is by investing in a state of the art paper shredder. The truth however is, that there continues to be a global decline in the reliance on paper for the processing and storage of information.
Statistics show that, “in 1999, 0.03% of the world’s information was stored on paper, and this dropped to 0.01% in 2002.” (Duncan G., 2003) This spells good news especially for those advocating for concerted action against climate change because ultimately it translates to a reduction in deforestation.
Before Automation
Example of a stock and order processing department
If we take the example of a stock and order processing department in any given business, we can analyse the use of various technologies through a series of workflow processes to understand the implications of this idea.
It is important to note that although the use of paper is destined to decline, its total demise is not yet assured, at least not in the near future. Therefore, in a our ideal paperless oriented business, customers’ orders, which arrive by traditional mail service or by fax, still need to be processed. Often the first step an office employee would need to take is scanning these orders into the system. Using OCR technology, the orders can then be converted into digital files and processed electronically.
A huge amount of paperwork is generated each day outside the office, in meetings and workshops, conference centres and at home. It goes without saying that for the modern knowledge-worker, a great deal of value–added creativity takes place away from the office environment. Developing wireless systems can alleviate the burden of shifting stacks of paper or keeping track of data while away from the office. If for instance the employee has exchanged business cards electronically through their mobile phone, while they were away from the office, they can now update their contact/address book on their PC. Bluetooth technology enables the transfer of such data wirelessly. The next stage involves the storage of all acquired and processed data, and CD-ROM provides the ideal platform. A CD jukebox for instance performs the function of the traditional bulkier filing cabinet perfectly.
Future plans to reduce the amount of paper clutter will eventually see the traditional mail ordering procedures phased out. We can envisage a new ordering system using audio-visual conferencing technology to create a virtual shop counter. Customers will come face to face with sales staff thus adding a personal touch to our service and further improving customer relations. Customers will also have the option of logging onto the company web-site and accessing the online database from where they can place their orders by E-mail.
Shop employees will need to browse the web quickly in search for shop resources and potential suppliers to update stock levels. All these functions need to be carried out simultaneously and thus require high bandwidth provision. ADSL broadband satisfies this requirement perfectly, providing a faster connection to the internet and access to diverse multimedia facilities while still maintaining a telephone connection.
The benefits of a paperless office are all too clear, “When all the knowledge we need can be had at the touch of a button, on some form of screen, why bother to put it on paper at all?” (Curran S. and Mitchell H., 1982)
Curran S. and Mitchell H. (1982) “Office automation”, Macmillan press, London, pp.112
Jomar Technologies, Inc. (Accessed in December 2009), Integrated Paperless Office & Automated Workflow Management; Case Study: Pennock Insurance, Inc., http://jomargreen.com/home/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=W9dRjfBknZw=&tabid=102&mid=433
