Tag: #paperless office

IS PAPERLESS OFFICE A REALITY OR NOT?

While going completely paperless might not be a reality as of now, but the changes that comes with the modern office are encouraging companies to do so.

PAPERLESS OFFICE:

A paperless office is a work environment in which the use of paper is eliminated or greatly reduced. it is done by converting paper and other documents into digital form. It is a workplace that has minimal paper-based processes.

BENEFITS OF PAPERLESS OFFICE:

There are many perks of paperless office. Some include

  • Strengthened Document Security & Confidentiality
  • It has easy access to data.
  • Eliminating paper work helps you save money spent on printing and storing documents.
  • Less paper waste means decreased carbon footprint.
  • Adhere to Audit Guideliness.

DISADVANTAGES OF PAPERLESS OFFICE:

As the proverb goes “A coin has 2 sides” likewise paperless office also has its own disadvantages

  • Software Maintenance is a huge problem.
  • Legal and Compliance Issues arises.
  • Difficulties in Digitalizing Existing Documents.
  • Security Risks and Viruses.

WHICH IS BETTER?

In case of paper office, paper documentation simply looks more professional. Paper office is that it doesn’t cost a whole lot of money and its much cheaper. Ultimately, it’s much easier to conduct business with a paper-filled office. In paperless office the amount of clutter that can be reduced. Sending big documents and leaflets to business clients can be done at the click of a button. Documents that may have been misplaced or lost entirely can be found with a quick search of the hard drive. Therefore both has its own side of story. To conclude which one is better is still a debate and also a matter of choice.

PAPERLESS OFFICE A REALITY OR NOT?

In this pandemic, paperless seems more likely and imperative. However road to a fully paperless office seems like a long one as of now but it is definitely possible in near future.

Paperless office- Need and want of the hour

A paperless office or paper-free office is a work environment in which the use of paper is eliminated or greatly reduced. This is done by converting documents and other papers into digital form, a process known as digitization. Proponents claim that “going paperless” can save money, boost productivity, save space, make documentation and information sharing easier, keep personal information more secure, and help the environment. The concept can be extended to communications outside the office as well.

Environmental impact of paper

Some believe that paper product manufacturing contributes significantly to deforestation and man made climate change, and produces greenhouse gas. Others argue that paper product manufacturing, especially in North America, supports the ecological and economic balance of sustainable forestry. According to the 2018 American forest assosiation Sustainability Report, paper manufacturing decreased greenhouse gas emission by 20% in an eleven-year period.Measures such as recycling can help reduce the environmental impact of paper. Some paper production outside of North America may lead to air pollution with the release of nitrogen oxide (NO2), sulfur oxide (SO2), and carbon dioxide(CO2). Waste water discharged from pulp and paper mills outside of North America may contain solids, nutrients, and dissolved organic matter that are classified as pollutants. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus can cause or exacerbate eutrophicatiob of fresh water bodies.

Printing inks and toners are very expensive and use environment-damaging volatile organic compounds, heavy metals and non-renewable oils, although standards for the amount of heavy metals in ink have been set by some regulatory bodies. Deinking recycled paper pulp results in a waste slurry, sometimes weighing 22% of the weight of the recycled wastepaper, which may go to landfills.

Eliminating paper via automation and electronic forms automation

The need for paper is eliminated by using online systems, such as replacing index cards and rolodexes with databases, typed letters and faxes with email, and reference books with the internet.[Another way to eliminate paper is to automate paper-based processes that rely on forms, applications and surveys to capture and share data. This method is referred to as “electronic forms” or e-forms and is typically accomplished by using existing print-perfect documents in electronic format to allow for prefilling of existing data, capturing data manually entered online by end-users, providing secure methods to submit form data to processing systems, and digitally signing the electronic documents without printing.

The technologies that may be used with electronic forms automation include –

  • Portable Document Format (PDF) – to create, display and interact with electronic documents and forms
  • E-form (electronic form) management software – to create, integrate and route forms and form data with processing systems
  • Databases – to capture data for prefilling and processing documents
  • Workflow platforms – to route information, documents and direct process flow
  • E-mail (electronics email) communication which allows sending and receiving information of all kinds and enable attachments
  • Digital signature solutions – to digitally sign documents (used by end-users)
  • Web servers – to host the process, receive submitted data, store documents and manage document rights

Difficulties in adopting the paperless office

A major difficulty in “going paperless” is that much of a business’s communication is with other businesses and individuals, as opposed to just being internal. Electronic communication requires both the sender and the recipient to have easy access to appropriate software and hardware. Costs and temporary productivity losses when converting to a paperless office are also a factor, as are government regulations, industry standards, legal requirements, and business policies which may also slow down the change. Businesses may encounter technological difficulties such as file format compatibility, longevity of digital documents, system stability, and employees and clients not having appropriate technological skills.

For these reasons, while there may be a reduction of paper, some uses of paper will likely remain indefinitely. However, a 2015 questionnaire suggested that nearly half of small/medium-sized businesses believed they were or could go paperless by the end of that year.