Speeds up and Improves Processes

Contex wide-format scanner saves money, speeds processes and improves customer service for engineering company in India

I.D.E.A., a consultancy engineering company in India, uses a Contex wide-format scanner to help improve the effi ciency of their business. By saving time and money on outsourced scanning jobs they are able to provide better service for their clients and increase their competitive advantage – without increasing costs.

Digital storage of large-format documents:
Crucial to effi cient project management

Like most engineering consultancy fi rms, time, money and resources are in constant focus at Intercontinental Development & Engineering AE&E Pvt. Ltd. (I.D.E.A). Their success depends on fi nding the right balance between these important elements, while delivering quality service and results. And, it’s an ongoing challenge – especially now in an uncertain economic environment.

The competition for projects and clients is tough and once a new project begins every minute counts. I.D.E.A. Pvt Ltd., located in Chennai (Madras), India, is a multidisciplinary engineering consultancy organization offering their clients a wide range of engineering services, including feasibility studies, design and detailing, fabrication drawings, modelling of process plants and construction supervision. According to Mr.J.Srinivasan, manager of the Chennai office, the ability to scan and digitally store large format documents and drawings quickly is crucial to effi cient project management and keeping their clients satisfi ed.

“We scan about 20 documents and drawings per day,” explains Mr. J. Srivivasan. “That may not seem like a lot, but the size of these engineering documents and drawings varies a lot – from A3+ to A0. Every time we needed to scan a document or drawing that was larger than A3, we had to send it out to a vendor and that took too much time.”

The company also needed the ability to provide soft copies of large format drawings and documents to their clients and to project group members.

“It was so time-consuming, inefficient and awkward to send hard copies of large documents and drawings around for approval or revisions,” says Mr. J. Srivivasan.

“We realized that we needed to improve the effi ciency of the way we worked if we were to improve our service.” After evaluating many different types of scanning solutions, I.D.E.A. chose a Contex HD scanner to handle their scanning needs.

“We were looking for a scanner that was fast and easy to use while providing superior image quality,” says Mr. J. Srivivasan. “It’s important for our company’s image that we can provide our clients with high quality copies of large format drawings and documents – fast”. 

And, just as important was the ability to archive, exchange and distribute soft copies of important wide format documents, plans and drawings.

“We needed a scanner that could help us communicate changes and revisions faster and more easily among project group members and with our clients,” says Mr. J. Srivivasan.

I.D.E.A. started using the Contex HD scanner early 2009, and since then they haven’t looked back. They have two employees dedicated to working with the scanner and now all their scanning tasks take place in the office.

“It surprised me just how much time and money we are saving by scanning in-house,” says Mr. J. Srivivasan.

“And, our customer service has improved signifi cantly – we work more effi ciently because we can give our clients what they need – changes, revisions, and plans – almost immediately. It’s so impressive when we can say: I’ll send you the revisions now instead of tomorrow.”

Contex scanners are known for their versatility and producing the highest quality scans. It’s possible to handle any scanning task, document type and size fast to give customers exactly what they want – no matter how sensitive or specialized. And with multi-function capabilities including scan-to-fi le, scan-toprint, and scan-to-net it provides easy archiving, exchange and distribution of wide format documents and drawings.

I.D.E.A. has since set up a Knowledge Center that consists of many reference documents and drawings from projects – in the form of soft fi les and hard copies. “Having an in-house scanner that can scan and store large format documents and drawings has been a real time and money-saver for our company,” says Mr. J. Srivivasan. Adding,

“It’s so much easier now that we can refer to an earlier project and see how we solved a particular problem. And because many of the fi les are stored digitally, we save a lot on offi ce and storage space.”