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October 08, 2002

ISO certification assistance

Ocean International Suppliers, Inc, an international supplier of super alloys has recently implemented an electronic document management solution provided by DocuVantage to streamline operations in a highly competitive international environment and to obtain their ISO 9002 certification, opening doors to supply the worlds leaders in the oil and gas industries.

DocuVantage was contacted by Ocean International Suppliers, Inc (Lakeland, FL) mid-summer of this year to assist them with the overwhelming documentation requirements that surrounds the energy industry.

Ocean supplies super alloys such as super duplex stainless steel and titanium in sheet, plate, or tube form or as finished parts such as pipefittings, flanges and valves. Their products are used in the construction and maintenance of oil rigs and chemical plants worldwide. The many grades of alloys require stringent verification processes and each item is manufactured with its own specification sheet that must be retained, traceable and included with every shipment.

Delivering to producers of oil and gas in the U.K., Scandinavia and Canada among other countries, Ocean International was at a disadvantage not being ISO certified. ISO, a series of quality standards set by the International Organization for Standardization, is the most widely used quality management system in the world. ISO requires strict management of documentation. Using DocuVantage’s system, Ocean International has overcome the challenges of managing their product and service documentation – previously administered manually - and their final audit for ISO certification is scheduled over Christmas.

When asked what other benefits they have received in implementing the system, Anne Bokneberg, president of Ocean International says: “DocuVantage’s Workflow product allowed us to identify redundant processes in our daily operations and to free up time for more productive tasks than handling paper all day. Our goal is to maximize output from each employee and with an EDMS solution; we have significantly improved performance without adding people to our overhead, keeping us lean, mean and competitive,” she smiles.

Another benefit, Bokneberg notes, is the secure storage of documents. Weather in Florida poses a large threat to businesses in this region and with electronic imaging, offsite storage means a company can safeguard irreplaceable documents – the lack of which could put a company out of business…especially applicable to Ocean International Suppliers, Inc who is committed by ISO regulations and the general demand for document accessibility in their industry. “When you are dealing with billion dollar-oil rigs or chemical plants, it is critical to locate documentation in seconds…” says Bokneberg.

Ocean International Suppliers, Inc operate on a Windows 2000 platform and have implemented the Optix® software for their rapid deployment, Optix® Workflow; a GUI-based route editor, Optix® Web; secure browser-based access, plus Optix® Text Search. Furthermore, DocuVantage has worked closely with Ocean in integrating the EDMS and Workflow into Ocean’s already-existing intranet application that handles quoting and sales, plus employee tasking.

“Polk County is moving into the hi-tech arena with large strides,” says Jana Wiggins, president of DocuVantage. “Assisting Ocean International – who by the way, was awarded International Company of the Year by the Central Florida Development Council – further sharpening their competitive edge, has been a pleasure and it is great to see Polk County on the map in the hi-tech energy industry.”

October 8, 2002 | Comments (0)
Posted by DocuVantage

October 03, 2002

Disaster Prevention

Recent Disasters Re-emphasize Recovery Planning -
Tropical Storm Allison causes losses of $2Billion.

A sight that will stay in our minds forever: thousands upon thousands of documents raining from the sky as the World Trade Center towers fell 9/11. As a result of the unimaginable damage, corporate America is now examining the way the protect documents and information – especially documents that are vital to the survival of the organization.

As our last hectic weeks of hurricane season approach, we see yet again the importance of having a disaster recovery plan in place; tropical Storm Allison being the most recent example in the southern United States. Property losses are estimated in the $2 billion range for Allison alone.

Statistics show that many businesses directly affected by a disaster do not recover – some never open their doors to business again, or those who try often fail within a few years.

Although disaster events can never be predicted; organizations with comprehensive records and information management systems in place will have the best odds in recovery and staying in business.

According to a standard developed by ARMA International, an organization should start preparing by identifying documents vital to operations. Once these are identified, the value of safeguarding them must be weighed against the cost of reconstructing them.

Documents should be identified, classified and the media they are stored in should be documented. A loss and protection plan for each should be established and routines put in place for recovery and restoration.

Conducting routine backups and storing them and the most vital documents in a secure location – either offsite or an element-resistant location within the company’s building is the first step in any disaster plan. Having documents in electronic format; easy to duplicate, easy to protect is – needless to say – a lifesaving precaution for any business.
One year after the terrorist attacks in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania, the Insurance Information Institute estimates that the total insurance loss from September 11 will ultimately be about $40.2 billion; the biggest insured catastrophe ever, and the most complex. Says Gordon Stewart, president of the Insurance Information Institute; “This recovery process will take years.”

The estimate of $40.2 billion in insured losses includes:
$11 billion (27 percent) in claims for business interruption;
$10 billion (25 percent) in liability claims;
$6 billion (15 percent) in property claims for damage to property, including vehicles, other than World Trade Center buildings One and Two;
$3.5 billion (9 percent) in property claims for WTC buildings One and Two;
$3.5 billion (9 percent) for aviation liability;
$2.7 billion (7 percent) in life insurance claims;
$2 billion (5 percent) for workers compensation claims;
$1 billion (2 percent) in claims for event cancellation and
$500 million (1 percent) in hull claims for the loss of the four commercial aircraft.

October 3, 2002 | Comments (0)
Posted by DocuVantage