CAS SEMINAR ON
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
Miami Beach, Florida
April 23, 1998
CAS Seminar 1998

IMAGING AND
DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT
An Imaging Case Study:
Issues & Answers
Presented by
Baron Gemmer
CAS Seminar 1998
Innovative Corporate Solutions, Inc.
175 Stafford Ave, Suite One
Wayne, PA 19087 (610) 688-0484

IMAGING ISSUES & ANSWERS
 Company Background
 System Information
 Issues
 Benefits
 Futures
CAS Seminar 1998

IMAGING ISSUES & ANSWERS
 Company Background
 System Information
 Issues
 Benefits
 Futures
CAS Seminar 1998

Company Background
The PMA Group
 Property & Casualty Insurance Company
 Home Office in Blue Bell, PA
 Primarily service Mid-Atlantic Region
 Approx. 900 Employees
 16,000 Policies / 76,000 Claims annually
Policy
CAS Seminar 1998

IMAGING ISSUES & ANSWERS
 Company Background
 System Information
 Issues
 Benefits
 Futures
CAS Seminar 1998

System Information
 Platform
• Mainframe-based: CICS, DB2, COBOL II
• Parts of IBM ImagePlus for MVS
• DOS, OS/2, & Windows 3.1 / 95 PC’s
• Dual monitor and single monitor workstations
CAS Seminar 1998

System Information
 Scope
• Departments: Claims, Underwriting, Risk
Control, A/R, A/P ...
• Workstations
– 1000 total in all locations
– 70 scanner and 70 printers
 Daily Activity
• 10,000 documents input (25,000 pp = 1Gb)
• 500,000 mainframe transactions
CAS Seminar 1998

System Information
 Storage
• 170 Gb on DASD (around 9 months)
• 920 Gb in 7 optical jukeboxes
(10.6 million documents)
• Contents:
Files Docs Pages
Claims - 513,000 9.1M 22.0M
Policies - 187,000 2.6M 7.9M
Overall - 759,000 12.4M 33.1M
CAS Seminar 1998

IMAGING ISSUES & ANSWERS
 Company Background
 System Information
 Issues
• Startup Phase
• Production Mode
 Benefits
 Futures
CAS Seminar 1998

Issues: Startup Phase
 System Type
• Departmental/Enterprise-wide
• Active (workflows, heads-down processing) vs. Archival
• Application-specific, integrated, generic
• Hardware platform
CAS Seminar 1998

Issues: Startup Phase
 Implementation
• Vendor vs. In-house
(hardware, software, integrator)
• Pilot project
• Re-engineer/Automate current process
• Backload/Go forward
CAS Seminar 1998

Issues: Startup Phase
 Obstacles
• Justification
• Image-paper boundaries
• Mixed image/paper environment
• Resistance from users
CAS Seminar 1998

Issues: Production Mode
 System
• Downtime/Response time/Availability
• Workstation installation/communications
• Security (Who/What/How)
• Backup and recovery
• Line-of-business integration
• Bells & Whistles
CAS Seminar 1998

Issues: Production Mode
 Physical Files
• Document retention/shredding
• Retained items
• Backloading: new business/old files
• Printing: outside requirements
 People
• Personnel
• Resistance - printing, favoring paper files
CAS Seminar 1998

IMAGING ISSUES & ANSWERS
 Company Background
 System Information
 Issues
 Benefits (Answers)
• $$$
• Productivity
• Customer Service
• Re-engineering
 Futures
CAS Seminar 1998

Benefits: $$$
 Records Storage: Purging/Rental
 File Room Space
 Supplies
 Reduced Travel Costs (e.g. audits)
 Personnel??
CAS Seminar 1998

Benefits: Productivity
 No lost files/out of files
 No filing: mail or returned files
 Improved file views
 Decreased callbacks
 Timely backlog monitoring
 Easier standards enforcement
 Reduced tasks (through integration)
CAS Seminar 1998

Benefits: Customer Service
 Better File Handling
• Files seen more often
• Documentation done immediately
• More efficient/faster than paper
 Improved File Documentation
• Legible
• More frequent, complete, and detailed
 Marketing Point
 Customer/Broker access to files
CAS Seminar 1998

Benefits: Re-engineering
 Geographic (user) independence
• Employees not ‘bound’ to office
– Customer site
– Home
– On the road (fax)
• ‘Centralized’ Processes
– Leverage supervision
– Enforce standards/performance
– Consolidate part-time functions
CAS Seminar 1998

Benefits: Re-engineering
 Physical (file/document) independence
• Simultaneous viewing of files
– Home Office, supervisor, technical staff, clerk, legal, customer
• Consolidated and instantaneous updates
• Efficient partnering relationships
CAS Seminar 1998

IMAGING ISSUES & ANSWERS
 Company Background
 System Information
 Issues
 Benefits
 Futures
CAS Seminar 1998

Futures
 Strengthen system integration


Supplement reporting capabilities
Expand “document” types
 Increase file portability
 Allow internet access
CAS Seminar 1998

IMAGING ISSUES & ANSWERS
Thank you!
Questions or Comments?
CAS Seminar 1998