CLARK FREEPORT — SARS has hit Subic Freeport, but no one is running scared.
Not, it’s not the dreaded Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS, a viral respiratory disease that caused worldwide scare after it became a pandemic in Hong Kong from 2002 to 2003.
Rather, it’s SARS as in Structured Archive and Retrieval System, a paperless system developed by Ed Michael Lee Cruz and Jan Aries Gomez of SBMA’s Corporate Communications office of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) at the Subic Freeport.
SBMA has gone literally paperless and expects to save some P12.5 million this year because of this, said Marlo Zerrudo, acting chief of the SBMA Information Technology Department.
“It’s an in-house document management system that facilitates digital archiving and retrieval of office documents and forms,” he said.
“The new system is essentially scan-based and stores scanned memoranda, letters and forms used by SBMA,” Zerrudo noted.
Zerrudo explained that “under the system, all correspondence and forms are scanned and archived, with delivery and distribution to addressee-departments and employees done through the agency’s Google-powered corporate e-mail accounts.”
He said that “only documents and forms that require the signature of SBMA officials are printed for hard copies.
This enables the agency to save on paper, printer toner, and photocopying services.”
“More importantly, SARS is web-based. Users of the system can access file documents and forms anytime, anywhere with the use of 3G-enabled PCs, tablets and even smart phones,” he added.
Zerrudo further explained that “as part of the preparation for the full use of the system, each SBMA department has been assigned two document management officers who have been trained to use the system and are now responsible for their respective department’s document flow.”
“With this system, the agency can enjoy cost savings of up to P12.5 million in operating and capital expenses this year, as we can do away with the procurement of an off-the-shelf document management system that costs P9 million,” he said.
He noted that “the remaining P3.5-million savings will be realized from the expected 50 per cent decrease in the agency’s P7 million annual budget for bond paper, printer toner and photocopying services.”
SBMA chairman and administrator Roberto Garcia urged all SBMA employees “to help make the system work, so that the target savings could be achieved.”
“We always welcome smart and innovative ways of doing work here, especially when they are developed by our own employees, and generate savings and faster turnaround time,” Garcia said.
“Data are an essential component of effective management. With this system in place, we now have easy and faster access to high-quality and reliable information in support of more responsive decision-making and service delivery,” he added.
Since the implementation of SARS in May of this year, close to five gigabytes of the Agency’s official documents and forms have been stored digitally in the system, Zerrudo also said.
