Automated Data Collection provides an edge as it increases the efficiency of how a business works.
Today’s global competition pushes businesses to ramp up efficiency and stay in the game. They need to operate always at the highest level which requires accurate data collection’ throughout the process. To do this, companies are continuing to turn to new technologies for document capturing and extracting data from the documents. These technologies also keep them up with the blazing pace of digital demands.
Different Methods of Automated Data Collection
Automated data collection is not a one-size-fits-all type of system. It comes in all different forms and methods that could change depending on a business’s needs. The level of character recognition and automation can change and meet different requirements. Here are some of the most common methods of ADC you will see used.
Optical Character Recognition
Optical character recognition is a proven technology that has been very well-established across many industries as the go-to automated data capture method. It takes handwritten or typed documents, images, PDF files, or other scanned documents and reads them to convert them to editable, searchable digital documents.
OCR is different from simply scanning documents into the computer because it reads the characters in the document and matches it with specific templates and formats to ensure accurate data transfer, not just a copy and paste as a scanner would do.
There are type-specific OCR applications as well, such as receipt OCR, invoice OCR, check OCR, legal billing document OCR. The technology is leveraged for document collection, streamlining air travel operations, document extraction, number plate identification, and much more.
Barcode Scanner or Barcode Reader
Barcoding involves hardware and a barcode scanner SDK’ to scan code and automate manual processes. This technology is a simple but powerful way to integrate digital process automation and automated data collection into any operation.
Usingbarcoding scanners, workers scan barcodes printed on inventory, assets and other materials to automatically capture all the required inventory data for transactions such as receiving, moving, issuing and picking. A barcode scanning software provides validation steps and then transmits the data to the inventory database in real-time.
Optical Mark Recognition
Optical mark recognition does not recognize characters but will scan for marks like filled in bubbles or checkmarks. This method is great for tests, questionnaires, surveys, symptoms checklists, family history’anything that requires making a mark on the form rather than writing in information. For example, banking and insurance applications, vote counting, time sheets & inventory count, and geocoding.
Intelligent Character Recognition
Intelligent character recognition focuses much more heavily on handwritten documents. The accuracy can be a bit lower than other methods of character recognition but can save a lot of time processing handwritten forms. Using machine learning, the equipment and software can read different fonts, styles, even cursive hand-writing, which will vary in accuracy but ultimately help translate data much faster than manual data entry.
How Do Businesses Benefit From Automated Data Collection?
Companies that shift to more automation with data capture systems will reap the benefits of several advantages that come with automated data collection. Improvements to their business processes include:
Faster Turnaround Times
Processing paper forms such as medical claims can take up significant amounts of time. One must wait for documents to be processed, proofread, scanned, mailed out to the proper parties, only to go through further steps on that end. Automation can shave down the time it takes to process paper claims from days to minutes.
Fewer Manual Processes
Automated data collection will help businesses eliminate outdated manual processes. As technology continues to enhance and grow, paper forms and documents seem to be going away, almost completely. The manual processing of paper forms is old news. Automation reduces the time it takes to process data manually and saves on space required to file and store paper documents. Thanks to automated data capture, those files are now all digital and can be kept securely for years and years while being easily accessible.
Reduction in Errors
Manual data entry brings a much higher risk of the inevitable human error. Despite diligent training and expertise, mistakes can still happen. During automated data processing, however, artificial intelligence and optical character recognition can help alleviate these errors. Data collection software can quickly read through documents and compare them to other files and templates to ensure all data is complete, and things like names and date of birth match up on sensitive documents. OCR can even read handwritten forms and translate them to correct digital formats.
Businesses can see significant cost savings by choosing to hire an outside organization to handle their data capture. Anenterprise-grade document capturing toll with multiple functionality is all a business needs for automating their data collection and achieving high efficiency.
