Aviator Software, Inc. - Document Management Technology

				Case Study (PDF Version)
				Wolverine Gasket

				Reducing Document Change Cycle Times Wolverine Gasket is a Division of Eagle-Picher Automotive. Wolverine Gasket Division was established in 1934, and joined Eagle-Picher in 1967.
				In March 1999, Wolverine's Product Quality department deployed Aviator at its Virginia manufacturing facility to automate the change process of their quality documents and parts catalog. Since that time, Wolverine has realized an 83% reduction in document change and approval cycle times. Aviator has been deployed at Wolverine's Florida and Michigan facilities, and is now being considered for other hard-copy distribution processes. Objective: Wolverine Gasket has been QS 9000 certified since January, 1998. However, the product quality department needed improved management of its quality document and parts catalog changes. Volume of Information: Wolverine quality personnel manage 6,000 documents, and the change process involves up to 5 departments and as many as 12 people. Problem: Wolverine's document change process was completely manual, extremely time consuming and used a lot of paper. A document change request would be routed (by email, telephone, or personal visit) to one person who would make the change and distribute the new documents (requiring multiple paper copies, each stamped 'controlled', a written distribution cover page, and hand delivery of all the copies to relevant people). Verifying delivery of the new or changed document was difficult if not impossible. If an individual needed another copy, the one person had to recreate it for the individual. Solution: Aviator's feature set and integration with Lotus Notes/Domino provide the necessary tools to completely automate Wolverine's document change process, saving time and money. Aviator gives everyone in the process access to the electronic file, so the person requesting the change can actually perform the change. Aviator's workflow automates the entire distribution process. Aviator: eliminates lost documents; allows for obsolete document recall; allows viewing of past revisions threaded under the parent document; provides document archives and change histories at the user's fingertips. Benefits: Wolverine has realized many benefits from Aviator's deployment: Document change approval cycle time has been reduced from 6 weeks to 1 week; Wolverine workgroups can now easily collaborate and implement projects across 3 different U.S. locations; Money is saved through cost avoidance of time printing copies, toner cartridges and paper supply; Aviator eliminates use of obsolete documents and forms at the different company locations; Users are more productive by switching from making copies to implementing the conversion of other paper systems to electronic form; Aviator has provided the ability to identify weaknesses in Wolverine's current processes of documentation within the organization; Aviator allows users and controllers of the documents to sustain their original client software application in the editing process which reduces the learning curve. Aviator and Domino Functionality: Wolverine has created a Library for each manufacturing facility, and uses Domino replication to ensure all facilities are up to date on document change activities. Aviator utilizes Lotus Notes email for workflow routing of document changes. Conclusion: Aviator is creating a window of opportunity for Wolverine Gasket department managers to look at other hard copy distribution that exists currently, and convert to Aviator's advanced file management system. Additional comments: Aviator's support staff provides quick response times to questions. Thanks to Theresa Gemus, MIS Manager, Wolverine Gasket Division, for providing narrative of this case study.
				Wolverine Technology today: Lotus Notes / Domino 4.6 Server OS: Windows NT 4.0 Client OS: Windows 95/98 3 Domino Servers 90 Users