I have just been given the task of converting our offices to 'paperless' via better printing, process etc.

 

Has anyone here either worked in a paperless office or better still worked on a project to implement a paperless office?

take away all the printers :thumbup:

You could just put everything on memory sticks and hard drives for meetings or for. Storage purposes, and hard drives etc can be quickly opened up once plugged into a pc.

Go to Lexmark's web site. They have some case studies on paperless offices and processes.

 

I think Orange have paperless offices. They scann everything that comes in the post (including newspapers and magazines) and they are sent via emails and links into a Document Management System.

 

Good luck on getting to a paperless office, we are finishing a project to review our printing and have ended up replacing all 1100+ printers (we only have 1500 staff !) and are projected to be producing a lot more than the current 18 million papges of print a year. We are a law firm though.

Oh dear, good luck with that one. Implement a EDM and then watch your workers continue to print the files along with printing hard copies! My last company had one and to say it failed would be an understatement! Is this to gain an ISO accreditation?

Oh dear, good luck with that one. Implement a EDM and then watch your workers continue to print the files along with printing hard copies! My last company had one and to say it failed would be an understatement! Is this to gain an ISO accreditation?

 

That sounds very negative.....

 

....but from my own experience it's sadly true! Most companies still have dinosaurs working there (I know - I'm one; and a very senior and influential one at that); and we (sorry, I mean they) still like to rely on paper records as a back up!

 

Coupled with the fact that many companies may have tried and failed; so all of your incoming post still comes in paper format. Plus in the consturction industry, several large contractors (Carillion, Balfour Beatty et al) still send out their JCT contracts on paper for approval and signature. The former's often run into 100s of pages per project; now I'm not wasting any employee's time in separating and scanning those documents!!!

 

IMO the paperless office can only work once every other business has adopted it.

 

Richard:blink:

I implemented an email system years ago..... Managers were reluctant to use it until I introduced a new footer which stated

 

'No response will be taken as assent to any request herein'

 

Soon got them using it !

We went paperless about 5 years ago. Initiated when our accountant moved to Spain!

 

If I were to think about it, at least for us; 85% of the paper we generate are for Invoices, payment confirmations etc.

 

-All bills get scanned in on a daily basis ( only takes a minute ).

 

-All invoices go out via Adobe .pdf files

 

-All customers/suppliers Accounts depts were notified that they will receive all accounts info via .pdf docs. This is something you can do with each, as and when it comes up.

 

-All employees were encouraged to print less! Don't just print for the sake of being able to have something in front of you to look at. ( you could implement a target on paper usage you'd like to achieve in the 1st quarter?? like 30% reduction? You could look at the frequency you buy paper and use that as a target time line?

 

- you could this at the bottom of all your emails...

We're not quite paperless but we're getting there. Apart from letters and certificates out to counsellors it's not very often we print anthing else.

 

We started using sharepoint the other year and that seems to have moved things forward although journals still have alot of proofing that's done by hand

Go to Lexmark's web site. They have some case studies on paperless offices and processes.

 

I think Orange have paperless offices. They scann everything that comes in the post (including newspapers and magazines) and they are sent via emails and links into a Document Management System.

 

Good luck on getting to a paperless office, we are finishing a project to review our printing and have ended up replacing all 1100+ printers (we only have 1500 staff !) and are projected to be producing a lot more than the current 18 million papges of print a year. We are a law firm though.

 

not a chance if you are a law firm we said we were going paperless 15 years ago and we produce more now than we did then...the lawyers will never give up their originals we go through 80 boxes of a4 a week just in the manchester office alone but we are the worlds largest law firm

i suppose it's quite a challenge to go 100% paperless, but at least you can start with the easy stuff like adding 'do you really need to print this email?' signatures at the bottom of emails, or cut the stationery budget slightly, etc.

not a chance if you are a law firm we said we were going paperless 15 years ago and we produce more now than we did then...the lawyers will never give up their originals we go through 80 boxes of a4 a week just in the manchester office alone but we are the worlds largest law firm

 

Tooley - So you work for Clifford Chance ? I work for Herbert Smith.

 

Law firms are the worst people to look at print reduction as they are very old school (we have partners who have never turned their PC on and have their PA's print their emial, ther write their replies and the PA types and sends it !).

 

Without buy in from the top you will not get anywhere. It needs to be seen that they are actively following what is being recommended not just saying everyone else should do it (that's what happens in most law firms).

 

Certainly small steps would be a good idea as trying to get everyone to stop printing everything all at once will not go down well.

DLA Piper m8.......not magic circle but biggest firm worldwide

 

doesnt your place have a massive faxroom if memory serves so any fax that comes in goes direct via e-mail

Well, is this the new Civvi buzz word!!! Paperless!!?? The Army are going more tecno...computers etc...but then they make you do a paper copy to back everything up. Fookin mad i say!!!

DLA Piper m8.......not magic circle but biggest firm worldwide

 

doesnt your place have a massive faxroom if memory serves so any fax that comes in goes direct via e-mail

 

We had a fax room until 4 years ago and made all but one redundant. We now have RightFax that puts any fax from your DDI direct into email. Is great but in the 4 years I have had it, I can count the faxes on one hand !