entered the system and where it's stored. When an attorney or police official needs a piece of evidence, the item is scanned again and the system records when and to whom the evidence was released. "Every time they get a new piece of evidence, they're printing out a new label," McDonald says. "There's renewable business."
Like the U.S. Attorney's Office, many of Data Support's customers discover the distributorship and its offering while surfing the internet. The distributorship's web site, www.barcodebook.com, includes a bar code tutorial, an FAQ page about bar codes, advice for end users looking to cost-justify bar code warehouse management systems to their companies' principals, downloadable equipment spec sheets, an electronic form clients can fill out and submit to receive further information, and more.
Streamlining a Customer's Operations
By the summer of 2001, Jeffrey Futoran was at his wit's end. Futoran, who has served Eveready Insurance Company for 21ˇ2 years, including one year in his current role as corporate secretary, was frustrated with the firm's inefficient claims file-tracking process. "It was organized chaos," Futoran says. "How do you track approximately 100,000 claims files as they circulate around a 15,000-square-foot office?"
Previously, file clerks located files and delivered them to approximately 20 claims examiners and legal personnel that handle claims. Each clerk was responsible for knowing the location of files in a specific claim-number series. "They walked around the office each day and mentally took inventory of where their files were," Futoran says. "There was no official tracking database, so you had one person who knew where a file was."
When employees aren't using files, the files are stored in cabinets in numerical order based on their claim numbers, Futoran says. Previously, a file could be stored in one of up to seven file cabinets that hold files in the same claim-number series if it wasn't placed in numerical order or was filed in the wrong drawer. "You'd have to search each file cabinet to find the file you were looking for," Futoran says. Additional problems arose when another insurance company employee was using a file. "You would have no way of knowing who was using it," Futoran says. "You literally could search for a file for several days."
Eveready Insurance Company also wanted to improve its process of recording the receipt of time-sensitive legal and claims documents sent via certified mail. More than 60 pieces of certified mail, including medical bills from providers, summonses and complaints from attorneys, and arbitration hearing notices, are received each day. "Approximately 95 percent of all mail that's received has its own individual time deadline," Futoran says. Medical bills and summonses and complaints must be processed in 30 calendar days. Other documents must be processed more quickly. For example, uninsured/underinsured motorist arbitration demands must be reviewed in no more than 20 calendar days in order for the insurance company to have the option to dispute the demands. "If you miss these deadlines, sometimes there are dire consequences," Futoran says.
Previously, when certified mail arrived, an employee inputted the certified mail number for each piece into a Microsoft® Access database. The database also allowed the employee to record a general description--such as "bill from provider"--of the type of mail received and the number of the claim file it belonged to. The database was used for verification when questions arose about the receipt of documents.
Looking for better solutions to Eveready Insurance Company's inefficient claims file tracking and certified mail receipt processes, Futoran logged on to the internet and found Data Support. After visiting the client to assess its needs, Data Support provided turnkey bar code tracking systems. The systems included BACKTRACK®, asset and inventory tracking software from TEKLYNX® International, a Milwaukee-based developer of automatic identification and data collection products, including software for label design, host connectivity and data collection. Data Support also provided three Metrologic™ laser bar code scanners, three Unitech portable data collection terminals with accessories, a Datamax® E-4203 Class™ label printer, printer ribbons and 10,000 preprinted labels with Code 128 bar codes.
Implementation of the systems was delayed due to the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Eveready Insurance Company is located only three blocks from and overlooks the former site of the World Trade Center. Following the terrorist attack, the company's office was shut down for a week, and half of its phone lines were out of service for approximately a month. Installation of the company's server, which needed to be operational before BACKTRACK could be installed, also was delayed. The bar code tracking systems were implemented in January 2002.
After that, the 10,000 preprinted bar coded labels were applied to the jackets of each existing claims file. Employees scanned each bar code and assigned the files initial dummy locations. The distributorship later provided Eveready Insurance Company with 10,000 durable polyester labels that the insurance company now prints itself. When an employee opens a new claims file, he or she applies a bar coded label to the file jacket. The employee scans the bar code and assigns the file to a specific location.
File clerks use the portable data collection terminals to take physical file inventory on a semi weekly basis. As they scan each file in their assigned area, time-stamped data is collected showing where files currently are stored. The clerks then use a computer docking station to upload the data into BACKTRACK. A claims examiner or legal employee then can open BACKTRACK, input a claim file number, and instantly view details about a file's current location and when it last was scanned. They also can run an audit trail report showing the file's office movement since it was opened.
Using a bar code scanner, a company employee now records the receipt of incoming certified mail by scanning the U.S. Postal Service bar code on each item. The information instantly is stored in BACKTRACK. The employee then uses drop-down database menus to record detailed descriptions of the types of mail received. For example, for medical bills, an employee can use the menus to record the provider's name, dates of service and date the bill was received. The database also allows Eveready Insurance Company to run reports to ensure all time-sensitive requests have been answered. "It's a more versatile reporting tool than our Access database was," Futoran says. After each piece of mail is logged in, it's distributed to the claims examiner working on that specific file.
Providing Results
Data Support is a hero in the eyes of Eveready Insurance Company. "Within the last three years, our company has doubled its business volume but not the number of personnel," Futoran says. "We look to technology to solve our problems....I wish I could calculate the number of hours we've saved looking for files. It's incalculable. BACKTRACK has helped us immensely."
"Data Support really knows its product," Futoran says. "It really went out of its way to make sure we were happy and that the implementation process was a success."
Kara S. Carpenter is assistant managing editor of Print Solutions. Email her your comments at kcarpenter@DMIA.org.
Sidebars
Tossing Your Hat Into the Bar Code Systems Market?
If you're thinking of adding bar code systems to your product mix, here are some points to keep in mind:
1. Find a niche. "Don't try to be all things to all people because you'll spread yourself too thin," says Tom McDonald, president of Data Support Inc., a 16-year-old distributorship in Nanuet, N.Y. "Look at your current client base and find a specific bar code application you can provide them." McDonald suggests distributorships then partner with companies that can support their efforts.
2. Consider implementation time. "The most common misconception about bar code systems is the amount of time it takes to implement a system," McDonald says. "One of the products you're selling is your time." For complex systems, Data Support has contracts with clients to provide them with detailed systems requirements specifications which determine the implementation time required. The distributorship spends several days at clients' locations analyzing their needs, then spends a few additional days compiling the specifications. Data Support is paid for the time it takes to compile the specifications.
3. Be aware of common technical problems. When implementing bar code systems, the most common problem is that the software is incompatible with the end user's computer system, McDonald says. "You may have a great bar code system, but it's worthless to the client if it doesn't work with their system," he says. Communication is the key to successful implementation, McDonald says.
Spotlight on a Good Bar Code System Application
As you walk through customers' facilities, are you passing up potential bar code system applications? Here are some tips to help you determine whether a company should consider the technology:
1. Look for inventory management problems. Bar code systems can benefit companies that spend a great deal of money storing too much inventory, constantly run out of inventoried items or spend a great deal of time tracking down items, says Tom McDonald, president of Data Support Inc., a 16-year-old distributorship in Nanuet, N.Y. "You can offer them a bar code solution that will solve the immediate problem and pay for itself within six months to a year," he says.
2. Identify inefficient asset management practices. For example, Data Support implemented a bar code equipment tracking system for New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department. Bar coded labels were applied to equipment such as handheld radios and computers, allowing the department to more effectively manage the equipment. "Now if one department is asking for more radios, they can see if another department has too many," McDonald says. "Rather than buying new ones, they can just move their resources around."
3. Find ways to eliminate wasted employee time. At many firms, a document or file can pass through the hands of multiple employees before reaching the end of its lifecycle. As a result, there's great potential that a vital document or file may be misplaced. "You may have someone who spends two or three hours looking for a specific file," McDonald says. "The cost of that is enormous. The company's production goes way down, and its ability to serve customers suffers." A bar code system would allow employees to effectively track where documents are at specific times.
