Resource Management recycling its past

By Megan Marie McIntyre, ASC Public AffairsSeptember 27, 2011

Trading paper for electrons
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Student hires Amber Kilgard (left) and Joselyn Gray sort and recycle old files after they have been computer-scanned. G8-Resource Management is updating its current filing system and transforming it into an on-line resource center. (Photo by Megan Mc... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Student hires Amber Kilgard (left) and Joselyn Gray sort and recycle old files after they have been computer-scanned. G8-Resource Management is updating its current filing system and transforming it i
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. - Army Sustainment Command's G8 Resource Management Division is recycling the past in order to keep up with modern technology.

The department, located in building 390, here, is taking its outdated filing system and transforming it into a more useful on-line information center.

Required to maintain a documentary trail of accounting records, the Resource Management Financial Operations Division creates a paper mountain while receiving and accounting for all funds and providing for commitment and obligation accounting of these funds.

Jerry De La Cruz, G8 deputy chief of staff, and Sheila Langfeldt Abbott, assistant deputy chief of staff, are pioneers of this initiative, which began in May 2010 and has a projected completion of February 2012.

The two explained the origin of the project and the benefits the initiative will bring.

"The requirement for additional space within Resource Management, without expanding our footprint, combined with the need to become more paperless, drove this efficiency effort for storing and retrieving voluminous financial documentation," the duo said. "Besides saving floor space and a more durable and secure filing process for existing paper files, we intend to incorporate an e-process to receive, approve, account for and retain new documents."

To accomplish this task, all files are broken down and scanned to an external hard drive. Once scanned, each file is uploaded to SharePoint, an in-house website which makes for easy file sharing. After this process, a majority of the original paper files are recycled.

"We hope to use this [SharePoint] as a singular file source," said De La Cruz.

Jeanne Hammons, budget and accounting technician, led the project with four student hires - Joselyn Gray, Amber Kilgard, Sorya Nees and Ryan VanLanduyt - who worked part-time throughout the year and full-time during the summer school break.

The project also required specialized programming support from G6-Information Management to provide adequate electronic storage space and specialized programming to securely upload, transfer, catalog and view files on the SharePoint site.

"I worked with Vista [International Operations] on the format for the file program on SharePoint," she said. "I wanted it to be similar to what the analysts used with the paper files in order to ease the transition period."

In total, 100 file cabinets of documentation will be transferred to electrons at the end of this project.

"By eliminating paper files, financial management personnel will be able to load required documentation directly into SharePoint instead of printing out and filing manually," said Abbott.

This will be a more efficient way to share data, as well as realize the benefit of savings from reduced cost of purchasing toner, paper and other office supplies, said De La Cruz.

"We are looking forward to this new process and are already enjoying the benefits of this streamlined, faster process," he said.

Related Links:

Army Sustainment Command