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Postal Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
he Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), an independent agency of the Federal government, primarily sets postal rates but also deals with customer inquiries and complaints. The government looks to the commission on matters of postal fees, mail classifications and other postal issues. The PRC is constantly holding hearings and investigating complaints, which means a lot of people need access to information in its possession.
In the past, anyone who needed information on a case or a classification had to either travel to the PRC in Washington, D.C., or send for the information--which costs time and money. If people were able to travel to Washington, they then had to contend with storage rooms full of filing cabinets and boxes.
"Currently, I often have more than a hundred different files piled up in my office when working on a single analysis. As we start using Laserfiche and WebLink, it's going to be much easier to find what I need quickly. It will also be much easier to share our research with colleagues here, with colleagues in other USDA offices and, at times, with external associates such as university-based researchers and economists."
"We are definitely a pilot project that our managers plan to extend to other departments. Our long-term goal is to get rid of the paper and the filing cabinets."
The PRC has been using Laserfiche since 1997 to scan and index files. Since August of 2000, they have been using Laserfiche WebLink and, according to Margaret Crenshaw, Chief Administrative Officer for the PRC, it has made a world of difference.
"It's been outstanding and unbelievable," Crenshaw says. Laserfiche "solves a huge problem." Those wishing to retrieve documents pertaining to PRC court cases, mail classification rulings and post office closing decisions can now access the information from the PRC's Website. Because of this technology, Crenshaw feels that the PRC is "light-years ahead of other government agencies."
"The system is phenomenal and our people are absolutely thrilled." Crenshaw adds.