Special

Electronic File Approval and Document Management

The main objective of this project initiated by the Assam Electronics Development Corp. Ltd. was to minimise transaction time and streamline workflows in line with government organisations, thereby creating a paperless workflow process. Confidential data and authorised access were some of the concerns, and the application handles these by using several layers of security.

PROCESS->

The Electronic File Approval and Document Management System (EFADMS) assigns a unique serial number to every document. Specific file action rights are pre-assigned to different users, thereby restricting and controlling access to the documents. Every document has an attached noting, which is secured with a digital time stamp. Document uploading has been restricted and is digitally signed to maintain the integrity of the document. All documents and related file actions are logged for audit requirements.

Users can monitor documents or folders for updates and receive notification by email.  A version control system is used to track changes, keep copies and provide a change log. Users can add comments to individual documents and control the workflow on any document.

IMPACT->

The process has enabled faster workflows and greater accountability leading to high productivity and efficiency. It has led to increased accessibility of information with reduction in infrastructure complexity in manually managed files archives. Sorting and searching of documents have become easier. Operational and maintenance costs on ink, paper, print cartridges and fax rolls have also reduced. Overall, efficiency and profitability has improved and business processes have become more refined.

SCALABILITY->Scalability of this project has prospects to meet the challenges of information lifecycle management along with compliance regulations, corporate governance and electronic discovery technologies. EFADMS can be tailored for small, medium or large businesses and is easy to replicate and maintain. It can also be integrated into existing third-party document content management systems and email archiving systems. Many features added to the core of the open source OWL engine framework have yielded a completely different perspective towards its implementation in the e-governance framework.