UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 14, Page 5
December 10, 1992
Cutting down on paper 

     With increased emphasis on the environment, there are several ways in
which individuals and departments can help reduce the amount of paper used
throughout the campus each day.
     "This reduction of use saves real dollars in reduced paper purchases,"
said Carl Jacobson, director of Management Information Services (MIS).
"There also are the additional savings associated with reduced handling and
distribution costs."
     Following are several programs and avenues that University employees
may use to reduce paper use.

Reports online
     Currently, 21 departments are receiving computer reports "online," and
nearly 100 reports are distributed electronically to over 90 users and
departments. A system called Reports Online was developed by MIS to allow
reports to be produced, stored, distributed and viewed on the campus
computing network.
     Users of this system may choose to print all or part of any report. In
addition, the ability to locate specific information through word search
capabilities is particularly helpful to Reports Online users.

Dispatch
     Another avenue to address printed reports has been made by a system
called Dispatch. Prior to the implementation of Dispatch by the
Input/Output (I/O) Control Group, the monthly printing of reports exceeded
500,000 pages. Dispatch has enabled that figure to be reduced to 300,000
pages a month.
     This has resulted in a 40 percent decrease in paper consumption and a
savings of nearly $10,000 since the program was implemented in April of
this year.

E-mail and B-mail
     Another system that has helped reduce the amount of paper is E-mail.
Thousands of E-mail messages are sent daily through the campus network,
replacing resource-consuming memos or time-consuming phone calls and also
reducing a number of unwanted games of telephone tag.
     E-mail has been incorporated into the administrative computing systems
to allow messages to be sent to, sent by and controlled by the systems that
perform payroll, student records and general accounting processes.
     MIS has implemented a variant of E-mail called B-mail, which stands
for Batch Mail. This system allows for critical production jobs to send
notification of job completion to requesting departments, I/O Control and
the Computing and Network Services tape library. There currently are 35
production jobs sending B-mail notification to 15 users.

EZ Forms
     To reduce the handling of paper, EZ Forms allows paper forms to be
replaced on a computer terminal. This allows input, validation, routing and
delivery functions to be completed on the online system. These forms
benefit from the rapid speed and are transmitted immediately through the
campus network.
     Electronic Journal Vouchers, Central Stores Supplies Request Form and
Vacation Request Forms all have been placed in EZ Form format to help
reduce campuswide paper flow and enhance efficiency.

Microfiche
     A long-time alternative to large, printed paper reports has been
microfiche. While this avenue of storing data does not consume large
amounts of paper, it does involve significant expense.
     A recent review of microfiche by I/O Control resulted in the
elimination of 16 microfiched reports.
     This effort resulted in a savings of more than $7,000 over a
twelve-month period.

Downloading
     This process involves taking information directly from the
institution's official administrative systems and placing it into desktop
computers. This is an effective way to bypass the printing and distribution
costs of paper reports.
     All of these procedures are an attempt to reduce the growing costs
associated with paper use and handling, while at the same time, continuing
or improving upon the level of services and the accessibility to needed
information.
     According to Jacobson, in the near future, better methods of
downloading information for use by local servers and increased network
availability will provide additional, economical ways to view and store
information found in reports currently in use.
     Individuals or department representatives may contact Input/ Output
(I/O) Control for assistance and information.
     Those handling large, clumsy paper reports who would like to discuss
alternatives with an I/O Control consultant should contact Shirley Coen,
unit manager, by E-mail at shirley.coen@mvs.udel.edu, or by phone at
831-6070.