President Obama and our technical ideas
As some of you may, or may not, know...the President gives a weekly online video blog that is between 4 and 5 minutes in length.
Today's blog can be seen at various places on the internet.
The first is at http://www.whitehouse.gov/weekly_address/
another popular place is youTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLp6s-f2WKI
Anyways, in the middle of his address, he mentions seeking ideas about how government can save money.
These ideas could come from "the bottom-UP". He explains on how good ideas can come from the people just as well as from the elected people in office. So Mr. President, here is my idea I would like to submit.
As a consultant that has worked within every major government agency here in Illinois, and at every major location or building (and even most of the minor ones), I must agree with you that ideas can come from the bottom UP!
Here is my idea:
1 word - PAPER!
My idea will not be popular.
It will not be popular with the government contractor making money off paper and paper supplies.
It will not be popular with Government contracts pertaining to Printers and copiers.
It will not be popular with the employees.
BUT- YOU ask for ideas, Here is it.
Remove copiers and printers from Government buildings. Make a central point where anything on paper can be printed. Using a computer network, anyone can be set up to print to anywhere these days.
A printing office is established and printing is brought "in-house." 3rd party print contractors will no longer be needed, saving money there as well. All paper requirements run through 1 building with a full staff of printer or copy employees.
Employees will SAVE their documents to the computer servers and "Print" them into PDF's if they need to make a special looking document. Files can be on servers that are secured down, backed up, and be a place to obtain the files digitally, rather than print them and mail them(there by saving envelope and postage). Files can be emailed.
This idea of using the computer for paperless offices will result in less paper supplies to each building. The idea has been around for more than a decade, but Government as INCREASED its paper use when computers were to DECREASE it. Any office that uses MORE paper since the installation of computers, have MIS-USED COMPUTERS!. I can not tell you how many bottles of WHITE OUT that still are ordered in a computer society. Even Post-IT notes are computerized a part of VISTA Operating System now.
TYPEWRITERS are still everywhere which tell me people do not know how to print labels or envelopes. It will take a huge re-educating of the Government employee and supervisors, and maybe some directors that refuse to change. I have learned that "Change" is a bad word in a government worker's or supervisor's vocabulary.
There are major corporations that will not hire anyone whose resume contains a history of government employment. The Government employment mentality that "Change" is bad, and not do do anything more to the employer to help than what is exactly necessary....is a mentality that needs re-educated. If YOUR Presidential committee finds ways to save money like the idea I have mentioned, it will not be implemented in most government agencies if they can get away with NOT doing anything different in their work day.