Contact Info

  • Client: California Public Utilities Commission
  • Date: 8/2011
  • Info: Implementing a well thought out document management system and automation of publication drastically improved time and money spent by CPUC

Key metrics
1,000+ employees, 80,000 users

Services and technologies used
Open Text eDOCS, Essential Publishers e-Filing, Windows servers, Microsoft SQL, General Networks Web publishing applications

Services delivered
Strategy, planning, architecture, custom development, configuration, deployment and support.

Benefits

  • One unified platform to search and retrieve documents
  • Easy online document retrieval for stakeholders and employees
  • Application of corporate standards for records management and security for all documents
  • Ability to integrate document management system with business processes for seamless usage

Customers Challenge
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) regulates privately owned electric, natural gas, telecommunications, water, railroad, rail transit, and passenger transportation companies.  They serve the public interest by protecting consumers and ensuring the provision of safe and reliable utility service and infrastructure at reasonable rates.

CPUC wanted to create a self service process to allow their employees and stakeholders to access necessary documents at the click of a button. California Senate Bill 779 required timely publishing of public documents on a public website. They needed the documents to be ‘cleaned’ of confidential information before they became public so they were ready for public consumption.

CPUC was looking to achieve compliance and better operating performance by improving customer service and reducing risk and cost. They also wanted to reduce the time and logistics it took to create documents.

General Networks Solutionsscreen-shot-2014-04-02-at-3-35-31-pm-1024x543

The lack of a centralized and streamlined repository for document intensive processes within an organization of this size can cost millions of dollars. These  losses can come from

  • cumbersome and costly document retrieval processes,
  • missed deadlines in renewing contracts or filing reports,
  • storage and retrieval of documents stored in  voluminous paper archive repositories,
  • network storage for large volumes of duplicate document files, and
  • litigation support and document production.

General Networks used our 27 years of experience to provide strategy, planning, custom development, deployment, and support to address CPUC’s business challenges.

We used e-filing and web publishing tools to create electronic libraries that made document retrieval a self service process.

As a result documents can now be accessed electronically at the click of a button. This means CPUC can achieve business and compliance goals much more efficiently than ever before.

Business Outcomes
General Networks improved document retrieval throughout the organization and for the public. Using e-filing and web publishing tools we took document intensive business processes and provided more efficient ways of allowing employees and stakeholders to access documents to alleviate operating costs and make for more competent and compliant business processes.

General Networks created a system that automatically published the necessary documents to the public with any sensitive data removed, we drastically improved the time and money spent previously to do so.

The key benefits for CPUC are compliance with legislative mandates for Web publishing, public access and providing their stakeholders with faster and easier ways to access information in the public domain. Having a common repository for documents and one version of the truth have both been major benefits. There has been much better efficiency of managing all documents in one place and better control over documents being released into the public domain. Being able to produce ‘clean’ documents for publishing has prevented problems with sensitive information being leaked. There is also a service which allows stakeholders to subscribe to documents and issues to receive updates on any changes.

General Networks Approach
General Networks provides professional IT solutions to real business problems. Our approach begins with discussing your business needs in depth to provide options for solutions using IT platforms. Our team of experts will provide the best solution and give you innovative ideas for solving ongoing business process needs. We provide customized IT development tailored to your requirements.

We work along-side each client to achieve specific strategic goals through the successful deployment of IT software/platforms.