The Occupational Development Center in International Falls has received a grant to purchase equipment that will be used to scan documents and images for clients.
The $4,133 grant, from the Koochiching Community Development Association, was used to purchase two setups, each consisting of a computer, scanner and software, which will be used by the workers at the ODC to complete scanning projects for the center and contract with outside clients.
“Without that grant we would not have been able to do this project,” said Jenell Feller, Occupational Development Center division coordinator.
The program is the first technology-based endeavor for this branch of the ODC, which Feller said mainly sees their workers in janitorial positions. She said that it will be a great opportunity for the people with disabilities who work with the ODC, especially in the Supported Employment program, to learn a new, marketable skill and try their hand at a different type of work. For some with physical limitations, this work may be a better match.
“This opens up a whole different world,” Feller said. “Technology is the great equalizer, regardless of your ability or disability. It gives us more opportunity for people to do work and learn a skill that is transferable. It’s really exciting because it provides a new type of work for us.”
“It’s a time-consuming project and we have nothing but time,” she said.
Initially, the ODC will train their workers how to use the hardware and software through scanning internal documents and manuals. Once they have become proficient, the company will sell the service to other local companies, or individuals, who need digitizing and archiving.
Feller said that she already has several customers in mind once the system is running in October. For companies with mountains of paperwork in file cabinets, this could provide a backup copy or even replace the paper copies on site, she said. In addition, she said the service could be used by individuals with photographs or other information to digitally archive.
The International Falls division of ODC is the first to try document scanning as a business, Feller said. She learned of the project from the Ability Building Center in Rochester, Minn., which is also involved in document scanning.
The ODC’s Supported Employment program currently has about 25 workers, some of whom will be trained for this project. Feller said that the ideal workers will be chosen because of their abilities to read and match text on the original and scanned documents and their concentration level in an office-style environment.
“I suspect we have a few who will become proficient in it,” she said.
According to the grant application, four to six jobs will be created and retained locally. ODC employees will need to prepare, scan, review, rework if necessary, and return the files to the customer.
She said that one customer’s documents could be worked on by several members of her staff, because they will learn a system for stopping and starting that is universal. In other words, if one worker can’t complete a task, the customer will not be left waiting, because someone else can pick up the file and continue seamlessly.
“They are eager to do a different type of work,” Feller said.
