Speaking Of Forms Processing ...

Many forms processing VARs offer solutions for "heads up" or "heads down" data entry, but A1 Productivity Products (San Diego) closes deals by offering "hands off" data entry for its customers. Combining voice recognition and forms processing, A1 offers customers unique solutions that increase productivity for users who have physical restrictions - and many who don't.

Mark Kornheiser, a partner at A1, admits that educating the end user community has required a substantial investment in advertising and educational seminars over the past nine years. It was at one of these educational sessions that a hospital transcriptionist with carpal tunnel syndrome discovered A1. A skilled data entry worker, she was unable to continue her work. After learning about voice recognition technology, she went to her departmental supervisor and helped to pitch the idea. "This is typical for us," comments Kornheiser. "A voice recognition solution often comes in through the back door with a champion from within the company." Meanwhile, another hospital employee in the purchasing department had a similar problem. The growing number of repetitive stress injuries and the novelty of the proposed solution got the attention of the hospital, and A1 was called in to demonstrate its voice recognition capabilities using Dragon NaturallySpeaking from ScanSoft, Inc. (Peabody, MA) to a department head. Over a nine-month period, Kornheiser provided numerous demonstrations of the technology to everyone from business managers to the IT department. Kornheiser says this is not unusual. "They've seen Star Trek and think something like this can't really be real," he remarks. "They keep trying to figure out what kind of smoke and mirrors I am trying to sell them."

However, the effort put into that sale is paying off as voice recognition solutions are now being offered to 25 employees at the hospital. Only about half of these employees have injuries. "It is much cheaper for a company to provide this type of software solution than to have that employee suffer from repetitive strain injuries and have to be retrained for other types of work," observes Kornheiser. "It is also much cheaper to have an experienced employee go back to doing the same work they had done but now assisted by voice-recognition software." Kornheiser says some employers are also evaluating how a voice recognition solution can eliminate repetitive stress injuries in the first place.

Voice Recognition: Widely Applicable, Services-Intensive
By integrating Dragon NaturallySpeaking with ScanSoft's OmniForm software and existing applications, A1 has created solutions for employees throughout the hospital. The purchasing employee uses Dragon NaturallySpeaking with a homegrown application. Using voice commands, she accesses a database to track warranties and fill out the appropriate paperwork for various actions, such as renewals. Using "voice macros" that were customized for her system, she can control applications as well as enter data. For example, using a designated command, she can go to a specific spot on a form, go to accounting information, or open a different contract.

The system has also been used for a nurse who does home visits. With Dragon NaturallySpeaking and OmniForm installed on a laptop, she can complete the paperwork associated with her patients. For forms that are generated by the hospital, OmniForm can be used to design them. If a specific form must be used, such as a Medicare form, it can be scanned into OmniForm and the fields specified. Because the software can be configured to print an entire form or just the data, paper forms can be fed into the printer and completed automatically. OmniForm will size the text appropriately for the form field.

Kornheiser says Dragon NaturallySpeaking works with most applications requiring data entry from forms to Word documents, and the latest version has a rated accuracy of 99%. Capturing an estimated 160 words per minute, voice recognition recognizes words much faster than most people can type or speak them. To reach its full capability, Dragon NaturallySpeaking projects require a basic amount of testing and configuration. "When you first install the software, you have to do some sound checks," notes Kornheiser. "There is a standard script that the user has to read into the system for about six or seven minutes. That adjusts for the user's speaking volume, accents, and other factors." Kornheiser always suggests additional training of the system with more readings as the user adjusts. Dragon NaturallySpeaking also increases its accuracy over time by "learning" the context of certain words and how they are used.

More complex solutions could include significant services on the part of the VAR for customizations such as configuring voice macros and designing the method for navigating through various software applications and documents. Macros can also be used to eliminate the labor associated with automatically populating repetitive data such as addresses or standard diagnoses. Depending on the complexity of the associated tasks, implementing a voice recognition solution requires anywhere from one month to seven months.

Kornheiser estimates that 75% of the implementation period is devoted to training, and he admits that pricing that service has been especially challenging. "I have installed this application for many different end-users," he states. "Some of the users have been 'computer gurus' who very quickly jumped ahead in learning how to use the system. The most challenging were people on the other end. People who are computerphobic, computer illiterate, or just slow to learn can sometimes be tough to identify. When putting together a bid to install the system and train the user, you have to state up front what the training charges will be. I have to admit getting burned more than one time putting together this estimation. When the actual training commenced, I found I had to provide more training than I had charged for. Over time, my ability to accurately estimate the training needs of an individual has improved greatly from these painful miscalculations of the past."

Special Needs Aren't Just Physical
Kornheiser asserts that voice recognition technology is appropriate for a number of customers and isn't limited to those with special needs. Although he has designed numerous systems for physically/mentally challenged clients, he has also sold systems to users with a goal of increasing productivity. For instance, voice recognition allows scientists using HP microscopes hooked up to computers to change variables and other settings on the fly. According to Kornheiser, the trend toward downsizing has eliminated data entry staff at many organizations. When workers unaccustomed to doing their own data entry are forced to pick up that responsibility, they often realize higher productivity through the use of voice recognition.