CASE
STUDIES
LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES REDUCES ENGINEERING COSTS
I N C R E A S E S C U S TO M E R S AT I S FA C T I O N
AND
P ro b l e m .
Lucent Technologies’ Network Systems Engineering Division creates and maintains hundreds of thousands
of engineering drawings for its large customer base of telecommunications service providers—drawings
that are used to plan the installation and configuration of telecommunications equipment. A group
responsible for accumulating the various documents that make up each customer order would have to
locate the drawings and associated papers, print them, distribute them to engineers for markup and
drafting, and then ship them to the customer. This process took an average of three days and required an
inordinate amount of floor space. For customers using aperture cards, Lucent personnel were also
responsible for producing and supplying the cards.
Resolution.
With customers requesting access to original CAD drawings and limited space for storing documents,
Lucent began searching for a digital solution that would improve the existing production process without
any disruption. After evaluating several options, the company chose Digital Paper’s™ Web-based
application that offered several advantages:
■ An online repository that holds released technical documents, replacing storage of paper copies and
microfilm aperture cards—and the related collection-management overhead;
■ A server-based approach to searching and viewing that requires no client plug-ins or Java downloads;
■ Streaming technology for efficient viewing;
■ Print-on-demand capabilities; and
■ The ability for engineers and customers to collaborate over the Web.
Benefits.
"WE
D I G I TA L PA P E R ’ S
SOLUTION BECAUSE IT’S COST
EFFECTIVE, CAN BE
I M P L E M E N T E D Q U I C K LY, WO R K S
CHOSE
WITH OUR EXISTING
PRODUCTS, REQUIRES NO
C L I E N T S O F T WA R E , A N D H A S
N O P E R - U S E R C O S T. "
— P RO J E C T M A N AG E R
With Digital Paper’s solution, the network engineering systems division has been able to streamline the
engineering process without disruption. Lucent and Digital Paper worked closely together for six months
to replicate existing business processes with extensions to the core Digital Paper technology, and to load
350,000 documents on servers in Chicago and St. Louis. Taking a two-phased approach, Lucent has
completed the first phase of replicating the existing process and eliminating the paper and aperture card
repositories. All historical films have been converted to images, Digital Paper’s solution has been
integrated with existing legacy systems, and the 300 engineers within the division have intranet access to
drawings. Now they can get a document in 10 minutes rather than having to wait two days to receive a
drawing from microfilm.
In the future, Lucent’s second phase, customers will have instant access to their drawings at any time, and
can print them in advance of the installation dates. Additionally, they can collaborate with the engineers
online during installation. Customers can use the Redlining feature to annotate drawings, and e-mail the
redlined versions to Lucent engineers. Lucent Technologies installation crews, additionally, will be able to
perform their work without relying on overnight mailings—they will have real-time access to drawings
and other documentation needed to complete an order. This will also enable collaboration between
engineers, installers, and the customer. Customers are now able to review drawings sooner, engineers are
able to turn changes around more quickly, and installers have instant access to drawings that they need.
S I M P LY
FA S T E R . ™
w w w. d i g i t a l p a p e r. c o m ■
s a l e s @ d i g i t a l p a p e r. c o m ■
(703) 740-1100 ■
© 2 0 0 0 D i g i t a l Pa p e r C o r p o r a t i o n
D i g i t a l Pa p e r ™ a n d S i m p l y Fa s t e r ™ a r e t ra d e m a r k s o f D i g i t a l Pa p e r C o r p o ra t i o n . A l l o t h e r b ra n d s a n d p r o d u c t n a m e s a r e t ra d e m a r k s
o r r eg i s t e r e d t ra d e m a r k s o f t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e ow n e r s .
S AV I N G S :
FEES ■
$50,000
IN MAINTENANCE
$200,000
I N F L O O R S PA C E
$90,000
IN LABOR
■
■
R e t u r n o n I nve s t m e n t : C u s t o m e r S a t i s f a c t i o n a n d $ 3 4 0 , 0 0 0 Pe r Ye a r.
"Digital Paper’s solution has saved us $50,000 in maintenance fees due to the elimination of microfilm.
We also had considerable down time with aperture card printers before, and this solution has eliminated
the need for those. Another benefit was a 10,000-square-foot reduction in floor space, resulting in
savings of $100,000," said a Lucent project manager.
AND STILL COUNTING!
Beyond eliminating the need for microfilm and aperture card printers and reducing floor space, Digital
Paper’s solution has saved Lucent Technologies approximately $90,000 per year in labor costs and has
significantly streamlined production by providing engineers with access to documents in minutes rather
than days. Perhaps most important is the improved value of Lucent to its customers, who are getting
what they have wanted for years—view and markup capabilities—without requiring a huge investment
by Lucent. The Digital Paper solution costs a fraction of other alternatives, and gives their customers
instant Web access to drawings.
“Lucent is striving to show our customers we are the best in class when it comes to the engineering
records business solution. Digital Paper helps us do that,” said a Lucent project manager.
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