Government agencies are one of the largest sources of paper and microfilm records in the country. They are responsible for maintaining a wide range of important documents, including business licenses, permits, financial documents, historical records, and more, all of which must be preserved for many years.
At one time, paper and microfilm were the gold standards of information storage, not just for the government but for the private sector as well. However, a lot has changed over the last few decades. As the cost of digital storage continues to drop, many agencies are making the switch from physical to digital recordkeeping.
However, agencies dealing with large volumes of accumulated paperwork often struggle with budget constraints, limited staff, and significant paper backlogs, all of which can make transitioning to a paperless system extremely difficult.
As a result, millions of documents end up in in records storage facilities and government offices across the country, collecting dust and wasting space.
In an effort to reduce costs, consolidate information, and improve public service, many state and local government offices are turning to professional document scanning companies like SecureScan to digitize their paper records.
Professional scanning services provide government agencies with access to proven processes developed through years of experience, helping them manage even the most extensive scanning projects with ease. By moving to electronic recordkeeping, government agencies can streamline day to day recordkeeping tasks, enhance data security, and reduce the cost of storing their records. There are of course other benefits, and we will discuss those next.
What Are the Benefits of Scanning Government Records?
Digitizing records helps government agencies operate more efficiently, improves the quality of services they are able to provide to the public, and makes it easier to keep up with demand. But that’s not all, below are 5 more reasons to digitize government records.
Centralize Information
Document scanning makes it possible to store all your important records in a single centralized filing system, regardless of their original format. Employees are then able to access and share important records as needed, without having to dig through filing cabinets or microfilm reels to do so. Storing information all in one place makes backup, security, and records management much simpler.
Enhance Productivity
During the indexing process, important identifiers are extracted from each scanned document and exposed as searchable metadata, making it possible to locate records with just a few keystrokes. This can drastically reduce the amount time spent employees spend manually sifting through documents, making document-centric tasks much more efficient. The result is faster turnaround times, better quality of service, and reduced labor.
Reduce Costs
Storing physical records demands significant space, which often comes at a high cost. Compared to digital storage, keeping records on paper or microfilm can become increasingly expensive, especially as the volume of documents grows.
The more records you need to store, the more substantial the potential savings can be, providing long term cost savings for government agencies looking to maximize their budgets.
Simplify Regulatory Compliance
Government agencies must adhere to the same data privacy rules and regulations that private sector businesses do, and then some. That is why it is incredibly important to ensure that sensitive data is handled with care at all times.
Managing records electronically allows government institutions to store documents securely in the cloud, which makes protecting sensitive information much easier. Time consuming tasks like document retention and destruction can be automated by software, simplifying the process of maintaining regulatory compliance and reducing the amount of effort involved.
Agencies can control which employees have access to which documents, ensuring that records are available only to individuals that require them. IT administrators can also monitor document usage across departments, adding an extra layer of visibility and accountability in record handling.
Preserve Important Records
Physical documents are susceptible to various threats that can lead to data loss, including natural disasters like fires or floods, deterioration over time, and even being misplaced by an employee. Digitizing documents preserves these records, allowing access to the data without handling the originals.
Storing files electronically also enables the creation of multiple copies without compromising security or significantly increasing storage costs, ensuring a backup is always available in case of data loss.
What Kinds of Government Records Can Be Digitized?
Government agencies handle a wide range of documents, and nearly all of them can benefit from digitization to improve efficiency, accessibility, and security. A few examples of government documents we scan often are:
Law Enforcement Records: Police departments and other law enforcement agencies manage critical records, such as incident reports, arrest files, and detention records. Digitizing law enforcement records enables fast retrieval, interdepartmental collaboration, and ensuring the secure, long-term preservation of sensitive information.
Employment and HR Records: Human resources departments in government offices also need to manage employment records, including personnel files, payroll, and benefits information. Scanning employee records and storing them digitally improves security, simplifies compliance with labor regulations, and makes data management more efficient.
Large Format Documents: Certain government documents, such as survey maps, engineering plans, and architectural drawings are bulky and difficult to store and retrieve. Digitizing large-format documents makes it easier to manage, access, and share them as needed.
Financial Records: Government agencies that maintain detailed financial records, including budgets, tax filings, audits, and expense reports. By digitizing financial records, agencies can improve data security, streamline financial reporting, and ensure quick access to important financial data.
Public Records: Digitizing records like birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, and other public records ensures they are preserved, secure, and easily accessible for years to come.
Real Estate and Land Records: Government offices responsible for property taxes, land surveys, and title deeds manage vast collections of real estate and land records. Digitization helps in organizing, retrieving, and sharing these records with the public and other departments.
Health Records: Many government-run healthcare facilities, including public hospitals and clinics, maintain health records that can be digitized to enhance patient care, streamline operations, and improve security.
Court Documents: Government courts handle an enormous amount of paperwork, from case files to legal proceedings and judgments. Digitizing court documents not only saves space but also improves access and efficiency for legal professionals and the public.
Permit and Licensing Records: Agencies responsible for issuing permits and licenses, such as building permits, environmental permits, and business licenses, can digitize these records for faster processing and easier compliance monitoring.
Microfiche and Microfilm: Many government agencies have stored critical information on microfiche and microfilm, including historical records, property records, and legal documents. The benefits of scanning microfiche for government agencies include improved accessibility, long-term preservation of fragile documents, and enhanced data security.
Digitizing records helps government agencies reduce costs, improve accessibility, and operate more efficiently, all while ensuring data security.
How Should Government Agencies Plan for a Document Scanning Project?
When the time comes to scan government records, proper planning is extremely important. Agencies need to take a structured and well-documented approach to scanning due to the presence of sensitive information typically found in government documents.
Below are the steps required to complete a document scanning project for a government agency:
1. Plan Before You Scan
Before the digitization process begins, it is crucial to develop a clear policy outlining which documents will be scanned, which fields will be indexed, and how changes to these systems will be communicated to employees. Creating a timeline for the project and assigning roles and responsibilities is also an important part of this step.
2. Legal and Compliance Review
Government offices are expected to adhere to strict regulations that protect the privacy and confidentiality of those they serve. Be sure to review applicable state and federal laws in advance, and develop procedures that follow data privacy best practices to ensure compliance with these laws.
In many cases, government agencies are allowed to change the original medium to facilitate storage as long as legal requirements and regulations are satisfied, but that’s not always the case. Be sure to review these requirements for each type of document you intend to digitize.
During the scanning process, the original document will be accurately reproduced, including signatures and other written and graphic images.
3. Conduct a Risk Assessment
Identifying potential risks that may be encountered during the process and developing effective mitigation strategies are central to the risk assessment phase. Constructing contingency plans for handling sensitive and classified information is also vital to prevent any unauthorized access or leaks of confidential information.
4. Budgeting and Resource Allocation
Allocating the necessary resources to complete the project, such as staff and funding, is essential at this stage. Estimating the cost of your scanning project ahead of time enables agencies to secure the needed budget and helps in monitoring expenditure as the project progresses.
5. Vendor Selection
If outsourcing is chosen as an option, a Request for Proposal (RFP) is developed, and vendors are selected based on their experience, cost, and compliance with standards. Contract negotiations must be clear, and legal and compliance requirements should be highlighted to avoid any discrepancies.
6. Document Preparation
Preparing an inventory of documents to be scanned is essential in this phase. Documents must be organized, categorized, and prepared for scanning by removing staples and repairing damaged pages to ensure smooth scanning processes.
7. Scanning Process
Quality control procedures are established to ensure the accuracy and quality of scans in this step. Adherence to established protocols is critical to capture all relevant information accurately, and a review of scanned documents is done to ensure clarity and completeness.
8. Data Extraction and Indexing
Relevant data is extracted from scanned documents using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. Indexing documents appropriately is essential to facilitate easy retrieval and efficient data management in the future.
9. Data Storage and Management
Ensuring that scanned documents are stored securely and in compliance with relevant regulations is crucial at this stage. Implementing access controls and encryption is paramount to protect sensitive information, along with developing a robust data management plan including backup and recovery procedures.
10. Quality Assurance and Validation
Conducting quality assurance checks ensures that all documents have been scanned accurately and completely. Validation of data against the original documents is performed to maintain data integrity and accuracy.
11. Document Disposal
Formulating and following a compliant document disposal policy is crucial. Secure destruction of original documents, if permissible, is performed after validation to ensure no unauthorized access to discarded information.
12. Monitoring and Evaluation
The progress of the project is continually monitored against the planned timeline, and adjustments are made as necessary. Evaluation against objectives and deliverables helps in identifying areas of improvement and success.
13. Training and Change Management
Providing adequate training to staff members on new processes and systems is crucial for the smooth adoption of new practices. Effective change management ensures that the transition to new systems is seamless and well-accepted.
14. Documentation and Reporting
All processes, procedures, and outcomes are thoroughly documented in this step. A final report is prepared and submitted to stakeholders, summarizing the achievements, challenges, and lessons learned throughout the project.
15. Continuous Improvement
After project completion, feedback and performance data are analyzed to identify areas for improvement. Refining processes and optimizing workflows based on the insights gained ensures that future document scanning projects are more efficient and effective.
Each step mentioned is critical and interconnected, ensuring the security, accuracy, and compliance of the document scanning project, thereby enabling government agencies to transition smoothly to digital workflows while maintaining the integrity of their records.
Know your retention requirements
Government offices are often legally required to store the original hard copies of documents for a period of time. Documents digitized during this period must be refiled correctly to ensure the original can be produced if and when it’s needed. In situations where the physical copy is no longer required after scanning, documents should be securely
shredded to further protect the confidentiality of data they contain.
Retention requirements also apply to electronic records, which often have different rules. However, with digital records, document retention can be easily automated, deleting old documents dynamically as they fall out of their retention period.
Understanding and planning for these variables is crucial for a successful scanning project.
Choose the right scanning provider
When it comes to choosing a document scanning provider for government records scanning projects, it’s important to find an experienced company that understands the special requirements of working with government offices and agencies.
Over the last two decades, SecureScan has had the opportunity to serve a variety of state and local government institutions, helping to re-imagine inefficient, outdated document management practices. With industry leading technology and a commitment to security, we help government agencies improve information security while modernizing antiquated record keeping practices. Get a free quote for your government scanning project or contact us get more information about our document scanning services.
