How is the information converted from paper to electronic format? Well, there are three primary methods of converting files into our unique Navigator document management database system:
We have the capability to scan all types of document from business card size to larger than A0 (we can actually scan a single document 2 metres wide by 20 metres long). It does not have to be standard paper; we can scan microfiche, film, fine art canvas, transparency, and even blue prints. During some of our property archive contracts we have scanned ancient documents, some dating back to the 16th century, still with wax seals attached.

sds FM also possess various colour and large format paper scanners and digitisers. This enables us to electronically convert any paper archive, regardless of age, individual size, condition and binding obstacles into seamless and cohesive databases. This is done without altering the original documents or causing additional wear and tear (essential for rare and priceless archives). We have the ability to colour scan any property map (in millions of colours) up to and over the actual physical paper size of A0. All forms of Microfiche to PC Digitisation and conversions including aperture cards, combination fiche, 16mm and 35mm roll film can also be captured on site at our offices. sds FM provide systems and solutions for every stage of the document scanning/processing life cycle and utilise rigid engineering quality assurance mechanisms to implement and carry out the work. We can:
A document, once scanned, can be retrieved in numerous ways:
1. Database fields i.e. enter the street name or enter the building number.
2. OCR (Optical Character Recognition). Document text is "read" by Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. This enables you to retrieve files by searching for any word or phrase in the text, by folder location or by "index card" information. Which documents people can read, and what actions they can perform on these documents, depends on their level of security, which is controlled by the system.
3. Boolean search. Whenever full-text searches are performed, there are usually several documents that meet the search criteria. Boolean searches (AND, OR and NOT) help fine-tune searches and reduce the number of unrelated documents, a standard feature of our system.

With all the changes and rapid advances in IT, many of our clients raised initial concerns about future readability. All our systems are written with "open architecture" within the parameters of Microsoft compatible systems. However, for the important data (i.e. the scanned images) we use non-proprietary image and text formats. As the examples of word processors show, documents saved in WordStar, old WordPerfect or even old MS Word are already difficult to read. Since each word processing company uses proprietary formats for their documents, getting the latest software to read old formats can be a frustrating or expensive task. The same applies in document scanning. The non-proprietary formats available for storing document information are few, but stable.
ASCII has been a standard for text information since 1963 and has become a basic building block for practically every program involving text. TIFF has been used as a standard, non-proprietary graphics format since 1981. It is widely used to transmit document information by imaging systems, fax machines and other software. Given the prevalence of ASCII and TIFF, our clients feel comfortable that no matter what new changes occur in the future they will be able to retrieve their data. Scanned documents are also saved as Acrobat PDFs (Portable Document Format), a ubiquitous and platform independent file format that's perfect for digitally storing almost any kind of document. PDFs may be catalogued, and tools exist within our software to perform part or whole word searches on any of these types of documents.

You will be assigned a dedicated project manager to provide any immediate assistance throughout the duration of this project. Should you require one or all of the documents that is being dealt with at e-Property Data Services there are numerous ways your project manager can assist you, depending on your requirements:
1. Simply read out the information
2. Fax the pages to you
3. Scan the pages and e-mail them to you
4. Courier or special delivery or HayesDX the pages to you at your expense. Documents that are returned to you will be scanned prior to sending as a security measure.

bespoke services

The sds Asbuilt Group are a specialist ICT (Information Communication Technology) group of companies, and do not provide off-the-shelf products. Every project undertaken is bespoke and tailor-made to meet individual organisation's specific requirements. As a consequence of building one-off systems, we fully understand and appreciate the clients need to change the system as it is being built. There is bound to be certain functionality required in the end product which is currently unforeseen, by both the client and FM Data Services in the early stages. Invariably this does not present a problem, because we use a rapid prototyping technique of design, where we will involve you at key milestones of development in order that we can shape the system to your exact requirements.