Tolmachevo airport (workflow system LanDocs)

The airport of Novosibirsk of Tolmachevo — one of the largest in Russia. However quite recently, in 2001, it was unprofitable and had a considerable debt. But in the 2003rd the new management team came. Kornev Pavel, the deputy manager of affairs of Tolmachev, speaks so: "From this "swamp" in which we coordinated we jumped out in the leading airports of the country; now on the speed of optimization of structure, on improvement of processes we can argue also with the Moscow airlines". The main basic decision which was made by a new team of managers is a transition to outsourcing and removal of all non-productive functions to external business companies. But also process automation in these changes possesses not the last role. In particular, need to accelerate decision making and control of execution of documents led to system implementation of electronic document management. It was decided to work in this direction two and a half years ago.

At that time in the company about 3 thousand people worked (now — twice less). Services and departments of the airport are significantly carried territorially and as all movements of paper documents became "legs", process of their passing dragged on to unacceptable terms. As the accounting system in Tolmachev the product "Leader" in which there is a document flow module with basic functions was applied (and it is applied still). The service of automation tried to use it as much as possible, but owing to specifics of a product it was very difficult to achieve it. Company executives, Pavel Kornev tells, directly said: "I cannot work in a system where for commission of one action it is necessary to execute twelve transactions; accomplishment of action should be linear and intuitive". Under this requirement a new system was also selected.

Three "pilots" at one airport

Selected a system long and carefully. The first year left for testing: potential contractors ("The Siberian project company") consistently developed three different electronic document management systems as pilot projects. And all — is free for the client. A framework of a pilot project is a workflow automation in one division. During tests several heads, including the chief financial officer, legal service and the staff of IT department worked with a system. Then all of them stated the impressions, telling as far as suits them or does not arrange a product.

The principle "cheap but good" was the first premises of the choice. Therefore at first carried out "pilot" according to the Paydocs system. But it became clear that here the principle "how many is right you will pay, it is so much and you will receive": the product is cheap, but the necessary functions in it are not enough, a lot of things should be finished and changed... "And the interface suited us a little" — Pavel Kornev notices. Euphrates of Cognitive Technologies company was the following. "Though contractors warned us at once that on functionality this packet will not approach — Pavel continues the story — all of us wanted to check and were convinced that they were right: the functionality really was improper for us". (Here it is necessary to notice that both of these products "Siberian Project Company" successfully sell and, moreover, on the basis of Paydocs even keeps large-scale projects in the geographically distributed state organizations which are also connected with aircraft.)

Each pilot project occupied month three-four. "Selecting a new product, we asked contractors to show how there will be an accumulation of documents, to be conducted their preprocessing and everyday work of the head with it — Pavel Kornev remembers. — And heads selected a system "under themselves" that it was convenient to them". As a result we selected the LanDocs system of Lanit company though from all offered options it was the most expensive. The same "The Siberian project company" became the contractor on implementation of this system. According to Pavel Kornev, "they made very successful promotion". Still: if for a year of pilot projects the enterprise was not disappointed in the potential contractor it seems his qualification was sufficient.

Optimization of excess processes

Originally the compromise between electronic and paper documents was supposed to be reached so: the electronic document comes to division and people work with it and if they need the original, then it will be delivered and issued later, by the time of sending to the partner. If it is the document internal — for work it is usually possible to do without paper original and if necessary to request it in archive. At the same time specialists of the airport assumed automation of the current processes of work with documents.

However when the contractor conducted a preproject research of document flow, interesting things became clear. Many ways of circulation of papers were excessive. "Consultants made many sensible offers on simplification and optimization of regulations of passing of documents, and we accepted many of them, having made corresponding changes to the processes" — Pavel Kornev tells.

After signing of the contract the work plan was made. It was originally supposed that before delivery of a system in operation half a year will be required, but in general did not meet the planned deadline. Pavel Kornev explains: "Those requirements which we put in the beginning (preprocessing automation, passing and approval of documents) were during this time fulfilled, but therein there was desire to change business processes, to optimize them". So by agreement customers and contractors the agreement lasted twice. As a result the project took slightly less than a year.

How did users apprehend innovations? "We carried out study, told about a system, training was provided by the contractor. At first people did not understand what there is a speech about and in what sense, solved — there now, again any new toy which the administration tries to implement — Pavel Kornev remembers. — But when restriction of a flow of paper documents began, it became clear to employees that this system nevertheless should be studied. One more grade level was carried out, and only support in workplaces is required now. It is especially important for heads of an upper and average link — chiefs of services, departments, i.e. those to whom information is flown down, and then disperses again. Now they already ask questions. And the CEO turns, and is very tough, attention of heads to need of complete system learning". Pavel at the beginning of implementation on each conference call by name called those who did not find time to look at the documents sent it yet, and gradually the number of persons interested to hear the surname in the list of poor came to naught.

What turned out?

"I executed at first the administrator's duties, i.e. distributed the general flow of documents among contractors, and before transition to electronic document management was engaged in the same as the head of office — Pavel Kornev tells. — Improvements are very noticeable: separate document types are processed 70% quicker. In the conditions of the competition and a fast changing external situation, it is very important for us. It is convenient to work from one screen, at any time precisely the nobility where what document is and what its status. Besides, papers are lost in any organization, be three persons or thirty thousand there. But it is very easy to find the lost document as the way of its passing between different divisions and officials is fixed in a system. After implementation of Landocs of loss in general became a rarity. Very well the execution control phase also is registered in a product". Now in Tolmachev the movement of electronic documents and control of their execution is automated, 97 jobs at the airport work, and except them there are remote users, including in representation in Moscow with which work is conducted through an e-mail client. "95 — 97% are executed of our today's requirements to document flow" — Pavel Kornev notes.

The term of return of investments into a system was estimated at inspection. It was supposed that the project should pay for itself for two and a half, at most in three years. "Now all costs are already known to us, but we will sum up the results only in three years after 100% start of a system in operation" — Pavel Kornev reported.

What's next?

A system is brought into commercial operation in the middle of 2005, but work on it is continued. In particular, approval of agreements and other functions of legal department are implemented. There were questions of use of the electronic signature, and specialists dealt with a harmonization problem of legal nuances with automation opportunities. At the airport own certification center is created, and electronic signatures are already used, such opportunities are built in Landocs. Each employee working with a system signs the annex to the employment contract where he recognizes the electronic signature valid that sets the status EDS and provides a possibility of its use with internal documents.

The functionality which initially in a system was quite limited is connected — for example, automatic entering of documents. Pavel Kornev explains: "If a certain Excel form was filled, it is necessary that its contents was automatically loaded into Landocs. We do such completions constantly, being guided by one principle — accelerations of work with documents. Such tasks are set for us and by legal department. All completions and improvements are done by our main contractor, the developer of a product — Lanit company only sometimes helps".

Since May, 2005 there is an accumulation of electronic archive. "We in it already brought all agreements starting with the 2001st stored in Leader. We will surely solve a problem of transfer to an electronic form of the corporate paper archive existing even since 1956, but after we complete all main work on Landocs" — Pavel Kornev told.

• On the materials intelligent enterprise: The document flow automation system – not a toy for the administration