Phase Three is characterised by getting the most out of the system through being more efficient in the way data is stored, shared, and used.

A Typical Phase Three Business

You’re already reaping the benefits of having almost all jobs and job information stored in the system with documents attached electronically.

However, when job information changes in one department, staff often communicate this by email, phone, or hand-written notes rather than through the system. Often triggering re-keying of information into local systems.

As a result, you will be finding that:

• There is still some printed supporting documentation for jobs. Having printed supporting documents means sometimes important documentation is lost or forgotten, or manual notes or highlights are lost or invisible to the next department.
• Similarly, emailing supporting documents increases the chances of important documentation getting buried in an inbox, and not acted on soon enough.
• Most departments are re-keying data and data entry errors are common. Every time data is re-entered, there is an opportunity for error. There are problems with employees taking less care when it’s the 3rd, 4th, or Nth time entering the same data.
• People are using reports and summaries, but these require a lot of manual effort and input to prepare, especially cross-departmental reports.

The Transition Journey From Phase Two

• You will start reducing the risk of data entry errors by making data more accessible and eliminating as much data re-keying as possible. Data is increasingly entered only once and then is available to all departments which may need them. People are scanning the supporting documents into the database where they become available for all to access.
• You will start automating the reporting. Gone are the days when you spent hours compiling data or waiting until the first of the month for a new report to be circulated. With proper enterprise integration, all information is accurate and in the system, making reporting faster and more reliable. In fact, most reports should be available at any time, at the push of a button.
• You will be documenting your Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) into the system as templates. Your processes are data, too. The system should not only keep track of the data, but it should also be a reference point for how to process the data.

The Benefits of Completing Phase Three

You’ll notice that most data is keyed only once, and as a result, there are reduced data entry errors and related rework required. Any information about job changes is keyed in by the first person aware of the change, and is then automatically available to all departments that will require it.

• Job information is easy to access, up-to-date, and more reliable.

All those documents you used to lose or forget about… that doesn’t happen anymore, as people almost always scan or transfer supporting documents into the database system.

• At the push of a button, you can have reports right in front of you, as they are all automated and pull up-to-date information right from the system.

Since the SOPs are now available on the network, or are in the system, all operational staff are following up-to-date processes and procedures.

• All new jobs anywhere in your system are using the most up-to-date SOPs