Document Management within the Information Process
Optimise processes, obtain information and keep track of supplier documentation.
The customer and our previous assignments
The customer I spoke with that day is a subsidiary of a large logistics service provider, responsible for the construction and maintenance of goods distribution centres in Germany.
During our previous collaborative projects, our task was to describe the goods distribution centres – sorting systems with conveyor belts (several hundred metres long) and very complex reading and controls technology – in the form of the required operating manuals.
Organise complexity. Create clarity.
Admittedly, the beginning of the project was much more complex than we had expected:
Establish a consistent system
Fifteen Project Engineers, in their function as Trades Representatives, had their own “local” system for storing, naming and checking the required documents.
Standardise terminology
The situation was made more difficult by the fact that there was no uniform naming for identical documents or document types, which meant that they were named differently at different points within the system.
Set up a central repository
Since the storage of the documents was not always centralised, it was necessary to gain an overview of almost one thousand documents, as a basis for further work.
From document chaos to clear oversight
The various Trades Representatives first provided us with all the documents already available via e-mails, USB sticks, and various other storage sources centrally, so that we could finally sort and organise them all – no small task, given the very large number of documents.
In order to create uniformity and transparency for the future, we developed a filing system made up of numbered sub-folders with defined terminology, in cooperation with the Project Engineers. From then on, an extensive document list with identical numbering helped to quickly record the current status of the documents, using a visual traffic light system.
Transparency, efficiency and reusability for future projects
After several months of on-going support from kothes for all the parties involved, the processes are now slowly beginning to take shape. We’re very pleased that the suppliers, in particular, have already recognised the advantages of our work several times, in terms of transparency and time. We’re also pleased that our customer has really been won over by solution, and they’ll be using our system for documentation control, right from the beginning of their next major project.
The answer to my question back at the beginning was therefore "Yes" in this case – we’re permitted to contact all suppliers. And "yes" was also our answer to the question, as to whether we can support our customer during this project. We’re very happy to be able to optimise and relieve the burden for this type of project, and we’re also looking forward to many more exceptional projects in which we can contribute our knowledge – and the experience we’ve gained.
