Automotive

What can GREEN do for you?

Cutting down on paperwork

If putting up a wind turbine seems too extreme for your operation, follow the lead of Hoffman Car Wash-look around the office. According to Tracy Braun, CPA and controller for Hoffman Car Washes, a chain of 21 locations throughout New York, a document management system like CNG-SAFE can reduce paper usage by 50 percent.

Braun said she was turned on to Cabinet NG, the company which manufactures CNG-SAFE, after another operator raved about his success with the technology. “We were looking for access and efficiency and a way to control our paper usage,” Braun explained. “I myself would create a 4-inch stack of paper each week.”

But with this new program, Braun has no need to manually file her documents. The advantages stem far beyond their eco-friendly attributes, she added. “The main benefit is really tied into time with the retrieval end of things. Looking up information-it’s literally at your fingertips. It takes that dreaded question away, ‘Will I find that file?’ Braun attested. “Now it takes seconds and the file is there. It’s much easier to locate our documents since they are filed electronically.”

How it works

Braun admitted the company was a little hesitant at first to move forward with the software. They wanted to be sure they could afford the technology, as well as time for training. But in the end, Braun said the process was very smooth.

“[Training] was very easy and…probably took a week on and off,” she explained. “We actually obtained CNG-SAFE through a reseller (E-BizDocs) and they have what they call the ‘guide and assist method.’ Basically, they set up one cabinet for us to start with. During the training, they walked us through building a second cabinet and then later I built my own cabinet by myself.”

In the end, the process is much like you would imagine. The physical documents are scanned to become digital copies, and e-mail, computer and audio files are automatically converted to files on the CNG-SAFE server. The software can digitize virtually any type of office communication or paperwork, from e-mail and faxes to existing documents, forms, database reports memos, and even audio files and Office Suite documents.

The big picture

For Hoffman Car Washes, reducing paper waste was just one small part of their overall effort to decrease their carbon footprint, save money and become more environmentally friendly. For instance, in their Jiffy Lube operations, the company uses waste oil burners to heat the building, and they also use water reclaim systems throughout the chain.

In addition to the more obvious and commonsense methods, the company has also replaced their traditional motor technologies with variable speed drives-over 150 are installed today.

Beyond what the new software program has meant for their green initiatives, Braun said the program has also freed up space in the office. “Now we don’t need those big clunky filing cabinets anymore so we’re saving on real estate as well,” she explained, adding that the technology has improved efficiencies among office staff. “[Workers are] more organized and [the technology] increases the speed of how the work is flowed from person to person,” Braun explained.