Just a single sentence in 200,000 documents

How do you search with pinpoint accuracy for a very specific text passage in up to 200,000 documents archived on microfiche? An IT approach immediately springs to mind. But in the end it is an analogue process that wins out as the quickest and most cost-effective solution.

The task: In only 30 days a large utility and waste management company needed to search for a text passage in a microfiche archive of 200,000 documents. The solution needed to be quick and cost-efficient while also highly accurate and quality-assured.

The solution: The analysis of various technical search options found that even with very advanced scanning procedures and automatic text recognition the necessary level of precision was not possible at an acceptable cost in the given amount of time. Thus, a quality-assured analogue search process was developed.

60 project employees systematically analysed the archive, documented all procedures and controlled the results in several test loops. In addition to developing the search processes, documentation procedures and test cycles, the team led by Jürgen Neumann, Ingo Rau and Iris Rabener undertook the recruitment and supervision of the entire project team and appointed the project leader.