The Department for Correctional Services has an important role in the criminal justice system in South Australia. This is reflected in the Department’s vision for, “A safer community by protecting the public and reducing re-offending”. Responsible for nine prisons and seventeen Community Correctional offices across the state, the department relies on its trustworthy partners to get through its day to day duties securely. Konica Minolta has been on the approved supplier list for the SA government since July 2012 and was awarded the contract for the Department for Correctional Services six months later.
“Out of the three vendors we approached at the time of tender Konica Minolta out shone the others in all areas. Their managers were professional and accommodating at all times. They listened to our requirements and helped build a solution that we needed. We are very happy with our solution and cannot imagine doing it any other way.”
Linda Neighbour, Manager - Records, Correctional Services, S.A.
The Department for Correctional Services have been using an expensive Microfiche system, a micro-reproduction of documents for storage, reading, and printing, which was proving extremely expensive and archaic to use.
As Linda Neighbour, Manager - Records, Correctional Services SA notes, “The production of Microfilm is expensive and very time consuming to use. We had numerous boxes of files that had not been archived and our current system was proving too labour intensive to continue using.” The Department subsequently started searching for an inexpensive, time efficient scanning solution that could effectively manage the abundance of highly sensitive documentation that needed to be scanned into its system.
The Department’s goal is to transition from a labour intensive paper based operation to a modern, technologically advanced, electronic document and records management system (EDRMS) that can scan and file records securely and efficiently. The scanning of the archive records is a first step towards this.
Konica Minolta recommended the department upgrade to a new bizhub C284 multifunction device and installed the latest i2 Scan solution, a professional batch scanning software solution which allows customers to watch folders import images directly into a batch, create fields on multiple pages within documents, export index data to other databases and more.
“This solution automatically creates a file name with specific search requirements and stores the files on a network drive, allowing the department to scan fi les faster while quickly checking for any scanning discrepancies,” commented Julianne Buckley, Account Manager, Konica Minolta.
The i2 Scan software automates the scanning, naming, indexing and storing of files using the latest i2 Scan Smart Seek technology, which can quickly locate any file based on predefined text and data for lightning fast search and retrieval.
The bizhub C284 has also been designed with usability in mind, for quick and easy operation that requires minimal training. This was one of the main benefits the team at the Department for Correctional Services recognised.
“We have confidence in the simplicity of the workflow and have already demonstrated and recommended this solution to another government area,” added Linda.
The i2scan solution has paid for itself within 12 months, improving the Department for Correctional Services efficiency and increasing the accessibility of information across all regional areas.
“Although we still have a back log of records I cannot imagine what state we would be in if we had not implemented this solution. The i2scan software is easy to configure and use which makes it easy to teach new staff how to use the system,” said Linda.
A recent time trial proved that work which previously would have taken 9 hours, took only 90 minutes.