HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 10058 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10058
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council October 17, 2017
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SUBJECT: PAPERLESS OFFICE INITIATIVES
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At the request of Council Member Moon, the Informal Report is intended to provide a status on the City's
efforts to become more paperless. City of Fort Worth staff generate substantial correspondence during the
course of daily operations. Letters, reports, forms, memoranda, etc. require substantial amounts of paper
each year to produce. Two initiatives aimed at reducing the use of paper in City offices are making great
progress towards this goal.
Copier/ Printer Management
A March 2015 review of the Reprographics Internal Service identified efficiencies and cost reduction by
contracting for printing services and transferring office photocopiers contract to the Information Technology
Solutions Department (ITS). In conjunction with this effort, ITS engaged the photocopier vendor to manage
desktop printing. Table 1 provides a summary of the annual expense before and after these changes and
the savings realized, which are consistent with original projections.
Expense Category Before managed printing After managed printing*
Copier/printer equipment $377,000 $613,000
Per print cost $264,000 $427,000
Obsolete equipment re lacement $117,000 Included
Printer repair parts $190,000 Included
Toner/ink $475,000 Included
Annual Total: $1,423,000 $1,005,000
*forecast for FY 2017 based on Oct—July actual usage
In addition to recurring cost savings, City offices gained operational efficiencies. Detailed print reports are
available to manage high utilization/ low utilization printers; manage color vs. black and white print costs;
and manage top jobs driving print expense. Printer models were standardized going from 1,286 to 8
models. Toner is included in the cost and inventory is staged at various locations around the city. The City
now has surge capability to add printers for short durations such as summer programming at community
centers. The result of the new managed print contract is a much greater ability for managers to precisely
control the paper generated by correspondence and the associated desktop copying/printing expense.
Automated Forms
Forms support many of the business processes within the City of Fort Worth. Forms collect, organize and
present information. Forms route the information among work groups. Forms also provide a means of
storing information. Forms generate a lot of paperwork. There are many opportunities to create operational
efficiencies by switching to electronic forms:
• Error reductions by pre-filling information, validating inputs, eliminating transcription
• Reduction in delays by routing electronically, predefined routing, reminders and escalation when
delays occur
• Automatically applying data classification and retention schedules
• Support for desktop and mobile devices for easy access/review/approval in the office or at remote
locations
• Ability for non-technical staff to create and publish forms with routing
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• Continuous process improvement with statistical data collected for each step of the workflow
providing quick analysis for improvement opportunities
• Eliminates multiple forms for complex processes
In addition to the operational benefits, electronic forms are solely digital. From initial creation, to routing, to
long-term storage and destruction according to approved retention schedules, electronic forms greatly
reduce the volume of paper needed to support the City of Fort Worth and bring greater efficiency to
business processes.
The City has created a forms portal (forms.fortworthtexas.gov) as a central location to find all forms
regardless of which department uses or requires the form. The portal will collect forms of all formats (e.g.
MS Word, Adobe PF, MS Excel, etc.). The portal is also a full function Automated Forms system. The
portal provides all of the capability described above for forms converted to Automated Forms. As of this
report date, 366 forms are available in the portal. More forms are regularly added and converted. The
portal tracks which forms are accessed and provides metrics for process improvements as well as
identifying which forms are priority for conversion. As forms get converted to fully automated forms, the
need for paper is greatly reduced.
Conclusion
City offices are just beginning the journey towards a reduced reliance on paper. In the coming months,
staff will be adopting the practices outlined above in their normal work routines. Staff has high
expectations for this new way to perform our work and we will keep the Mayor and City Council updated
along the way.
Please direct any questions to Kevin Gunn, Director of Information Technology Solutions Department
(817-392-2015).
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS