RailCorp NSW to digitise historic maps

RailCorp NSW -- the merged entity of the State Rail Authority and metropolitan functions of the Rail Infrastructure Corporation -- stores around 475,000 physical documents, including drawings, plans and maps, on its premises. The collection ranges from drawings on linen to blueprints and eight-metre-long plans.

According to Phil Chambers, managing director of Fuji Xerox Australia, the digitising process means RailCorp not only saves money on physical storage, but improves the productivity of staff who work with the documents.

"Often companies do this for records management and compliance reasons. However, they have started to realise there are other major benefits. In the case of RailCorp, they will quickly realise the cost savings from reduced storage expenditure, but they also realise that the real benefit will be increased productivity from staff that can more easily locate and access the digitised documents," said Chambers.