Successes - State of Maine
Fortis is a statewide resource for collaboration, compliance and cost containment

Paper-intensive processes waste time and money – and because state agencies work with vital records, it often seems as if employees are drowning in file folders. Thirteen agencies throughout Maine use Fortis document management software to scan, index, archive and retrieve documents thereby eliminating bottlenecks and replacing paper files with electronic documents. Fortis provides a secure electronic repository with built-in workflow tools that make it easier to retrieve and share documents, speed approval processes and comply with government security and retention mandates.

The State of Maine began using Fortis for document imaging, storage and content management in1996. The current Fortis installation supports more than 30 projects and approximately 1,000 users. The database contains over seven million documents, which increases by thousands of documents each day. In 2007, the Enterprise Applications Group migrated all Fortis systems to an enterprise environment. This consolidation ensures that a consistent set of best practices are applied across state government and that future implementations will be even more cost-effective.

Current document management users range from the Department of Education to the Bureau of Veterans’ Services. The bureau can now give the admissions departments at VA Homes access to electronic records during non-business hours via the Internet. Fortis also makes it easier to share information among agencies. For example, Accounts and Control uses the software to distribute reports and financial records to 140 agencies across state government. With permissions-based access, users can only view documents that they are authorized to see. An audit trail provides further security.

The State of Maine’s Fortis team, Ann Saban and Daniel Feeney, works closely with state agencies to make sure the software implementation process runs smoothly. The team conducts a business analysis, gathers project requirements, writes the project charter and is responsible for project management, development and training, and support of the system.

“Fortis is useful for any agency that wants to automate workflow and improve collaboration. For example, the Division of Purchases has asked us to create a contract approval process that will involve the CIO’s office, the budget office, accounts and control and the governor’s office, depending on the amount of the contract,” Ann Saban service manager for the State of Maine said. “When this approval process is implemented, it will make the routing, review and approval of contracts paperless.”

“The Fortis system has proven to be a valuable tool for our bureau,” said Nancy Plourde, office manager, Bureau of Veterans’ Services. “It’s been a tremendous time saver because we can locate records quickly in response to requests for military discharge documents. Our seven field offices and the Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery System use Fortis Web to access documents online. The Maine Veterans' Homes and the Veterans Administration staff use Fortis Portal to instantly access military discharges for determining various veterans' benefits.” In the past, all of these requests were handled by one staff person at the Bureau of Veterans’ Services. There would often be a backlog waiting to be processed causing a delay for medical enrollment, filing a claim for disability, or admission into a Maine Veterans' Home.

“Our bureau staff is very pleased with the exceptional service that we have received,” Plourde continued. “I can't say enough good things about Fortis. In fact, this system has proven so useful for accessing our discharge records that we are now scanning all of our education and cemetery records as well.”

The Division of Purchases has been using Fortis for several years. In fiscal year 2008 the division scanned over 7,000 procurement documents into the system. “The integration of Fortis into our business model has allowed us to adjust our archive schedule and reduce the retention of paper documents on site,” said Mike Wenzel, operations manager. “Frequently departments request copies of contracts or amendments and we are able to quickly send an electronic copy of their document.”

Better Customer Service and Paperless Processes
The Certification Office of the Department of Education has been a Fortis user for about one year. “This program has helped us tremendously with the organization of our files and efficiently providing customers with support,” said Courtney Baehr, office support. “Members of the certification team often work on the same files and Fortis enables us to leave notes in the file, highlight pertinent information, re-order pages as needed and above all, it has significantly increased our productivity. We are not searching for files, passing them between desks, or struggling to read handwritten notes. We don’t need to place people on hold to pull their file from a cabinet and therefore can increase the number of clients we can assist in a day.” Fortis has also helped the Certification Office save money by eliminating the need for printing paper copies.

The Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection in the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation has been using Fortis for more than two years. “The ability to have Fortis installed on each of our desktops has saved our staff a great deal of time in researching paper files and documents,” said Julie Haefele, examiner in charge. “It has also been extremely beneficial to our field staff, who can access bureau records from their computers while at remote job sites or while completing their work at their home offices.”

Other users include the Employment and Securities Service Center, Department of Education, Fire Marshals Office, Employment and Securities – Human Resource Dept., the state’s Postal Center, Treasury, Employee Health & Benefits, Office of Information Technology, and Maine Revenue Services.

There are many advantages to having a document management system implemented statewide. “With Fortis, you can get to every document you have access to with one log in. For example, if you’re working in Maine Revenue Services accessing revenue notices, you also have access to the accounting system – you can pull up other documents you need,” said Saban, “We’re also able to automate processes through secure file transactions to incorporate workflow.”

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