Application Story:

Brick Computer Science Institute

by Randy Savicky and Kara Gerry

 

Founded in 1970, Brick Computer Science Institute (BCSI) has been training students in computer technology continuously for 30 years. Nationally accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT), BCSI combines state-of-the-art equipment, an intensive hands-on, instructor-led curriculum and a highly trained professional faculty.

The only nationally accredited school in the country to earn certification as an Adobe Certified Training Provider, BCSI is also a Microsoft Authorized Academic Training Center, Authorized Novell Education Center, Autodesk Authorized AutoCAD Training Center and an Authorized Sylvan Promeric Testing Center.

During the last three decades, BCSI has graduated several thousand students who have gone on to work at such major companies as Hewlett-Packard, Bloomberg, Bell Atlantic Mobile and Lucent Technologies. BCSI maintains all of its students’ records – even beyond traditional record retention standards because students and potential employers still request student transcripts even years after graduation.

In addition, as a private vocational training school, BCSI must comply with mandates from both the New Jersey State Department of Education and the Federal Government to maintain its certification status and receive Federal funding.

BCSI president Robert Forshee had long sought an imaging system that would address these challenges and streamline the school’s operations in two key areas – business management and document storage and retrieval. “When I looked at the way we managed the incredible amount of paper we generated around each purchasing decision as well as the endless task of managing almost 30 years of student records, I knew we needed an imaging system that could handle both of these challenges,” he said. “We needed a system that could streamline our business process and give us a workflow environment as well as provide a way to retrieve student records electronically, without having to find the original paper record.”

Forshee is not an imaging expert, but most of the options he explored required BCSI to first build an imaging application from the various tool kits available and then integrate it into BCSI’s Macola accounting system. This approach could have taken months and cost tens of thousands of dollars.

After contacting Macola Software, Forshee was put in touch with Samson InfoTech – the developer of ImageNavigator, a turnkey imaging application, which was already integrated with the Macola Software accounting system. To meet his dual challenges, Forshee consulted with his Macola-authorized reseller, ADS Consulting. After seeing the demonstration and prototype, Forshee decided to use Samson InfoTech’s ImageNavigator, an integrated imaging client targeted specifically at middle-market companies, integrated with Macola Software.

Before ImageNavigator was installed, BCSI’s entire process for purchasing materials and managing student records relied exclusively on paper. Purchase orders and all of the supporting document moved through the approval process manually - a process that could result in lost or misfiled documents.

Invoices were filed by hand, and when the accounting department wanted to send a copy of an invoice or purchase order to a vendor, they would first need to locate it manually, make a copy and then fax it to them. The approval of a purchase order could take weeks, especially if the supporting documents were not easily available.

Since BCSI implemented ImageNavigator, paper has been entirely eliminated from the decision-making process. At the same time, classic procurement errors such as duplicate payments, over-payments, lost documents and strained vendor relations have been eliminated. The system was implemented on BCSI’s existing Novell network. “This was an important factor since we did not have to invest in additional hardware costs, except for one scanner,” said Forshee.

BCSI’s Purchasing Process

The purchasing process begins with a materials requisition. A purchase order request form is then initiated for any items that need to be ordered. Together, these documents are scanned and routed, using Samson’s queue-based workflow feature, to the purchasing department for soliciting quotations. Queues allow users to move documents from one process to another without making copies of the document. This feature allows BCSI to manage the flow of documents in a carefully planned and controlled environment, pleasing the Federal and State regulators as well as the outside auditors.

When quotes are received, they are scanned and attached to the purchase order request. Then, the purchase order is cut and electronically stored with the rest of the documents. This entire package is then routed to the president’s desk (queue) for approval. He can now see the original materials requisition, the purchase order request form, the purchase order itself and all backup documentation used to determine the lowest price.

Once Forshee has approved the purchase, Dennis Magsaysay, BCSI’s internal auditor, prints the purchase order, with all appropriate approvals, and sends it to the supplier. If the purchase is not approved, the documents will be routed back to a specific point of review with instructions annotated directly on the documents, such as “better price needed.”

ImageNavigator Improves the Decision-Making Process

ImageNavigator enables Forshee to see the price quotes that were obtained for an item and check to see that BCSI is making the best vendor/price decision. With ImageNavigator’s annotation function, he can make sure that the purchasing decision has been carefully reviewed and approved by all of the necessary parties before a purchase order is issued. Employees are making more careful decisions because every step is now documented and controlled.

ImageNavigator has also improved the tracking of materials that BCSI receives, from computers and peripherals to textbooks and office supplies. Now with ImageNavigator, when material is received, the actual receiving slip, packing slip and invoice are scanned into the system and attached to the purchase order. Other supporting documents, if necessary, such as product fact sheets and warranty information, can also be electronically “stapled” to the invoice.

“To sum it up, ImageNavigator really makes it easy for me to keep on top of every business decision,” Forshee said. “It’s now a much more controlled environment, and I can check to make sure that all of our decisions are sound. I’m now much more confident that we are receiving everything we ordered and that bills are only being paid once,” he said.

Additional Benefits

The installation of ImageNavigator has also generated a number of additional benefits for BCSI, according to Forshee. Most notably, the school’s management and access to student records has been streamlined. This helps ensure that the financial aid staff has access to student records as needed and that BCSI meets both State and Federal regulations as a vocational training school.

“The Federal government, for example, requires us to document all financial aid made available to a particular student,” said Forshee. “If we can’t produce our records of these disbursements, we may be required to refund the federal aid disbursed to such students, lose our funding or both.”

With ImageNavigator, every student document can be accessed quickly and easily from the desktop. BCSI has saved a tremendous amount of time searching for records, and most importantly, the regulators know we have every document we need to maintain our certification.

“I originally focused on document imaging as a method to prevent us from losing documents – both business and student records,” said Forshee. “We’ve gotten so much more out of the system. Our goal now is to keep reducing the amount of paper we process as we continue to grow in size.”

About Brick Computer Science Institute
Brick Computer Science Institute offers courses in four areas: Graphics Arts and Design; Computer-Aided Drafting and Design; Programming, Networking and Internet Specialist; and Computer Repair, Networking and Internet Specialist. For more information, visit www.brickcomputer.com.

Randy Savicky and Kara Gerry are technical writers with ACS Communications. They can be reached at 516-466-7980, rsavicky@acsad.com, kgerry@acsad.com