OFFICE AUTOMATION

Introduction Office automation has a wider perspective with the purpose of making office work functional automatic i.e. making less manual efforts and using machinery more and more:

There are variety of areas in which working can be made A list of different working areas is endless But our concern in this session is to use various machines that have a
visible impact on making communication effective can be used to make communication effective

There are various machines and variety of areas in which machines

o o o o o o These machines are: Facsimile machine -Epbax -Office photocopying machine -L.C.D. -O.H.P. -Video conferencing 1.Facsimile machine

This is popularly known as fax machine This is used for transmitting message from one place to another place The requirements are phone line and fax machine It does not take much time and cost in transmitting the message

Now a days fax can also be sent by using computer software and internet connection Types of fax machine There are different types of fax machines

Thermal fax machine

This is a THERMAL PAPER ROLL Fax Machine suitable for small office Uses TPR (Thermal Paper roll) Price range between Rs. 5000 to Rs.10000 Consumables are toner and Paper Roll Approximate cost per paper of fax is less than Rs. 1

The print on the thermal paper gets erased and needs to be photocopied for longer preservation Plain paper fax This is a desktop A4 Plain paper Fax Machine suitable for home or Office Uses INKJET CARTRIDGES Price range starts from Rs. 8000 Consumables are Inkjet cartridges and Plain Paper Approximate cost per paper of fax is around Rs. 1 Suitable for Medium size offices

Also supports copying function and contains phone book to store numbers Laser fax machine This is a LASER Fax Machine suitable for heavy duty Office work . Can be also used for printing, copying Uses LASER CARTRIDGE Price range starts from Rs. 15000 Consumables are laser cartridges and Paper One cartridge cost Approx 3000-4000 No. of pages depends on text. Normal A-4 paper 2500-3000 prints Approximate cost per copy/ fax is more than Rs. 1

Very fast and suitable for heavy duty office work Fax machine advantages There is no chance of typing mistake because only a pre-typed letter is transmitted, It is less time consuming than any other mode of sending communication It is cost-effective It carries signatures of the person who intends to write the letter under reference Its acknowledgement of transmission of message is available immediately Fax machine disadvantages Need a separate space for the machine Needs a telephone line Needs power/electricity Requires paper for receiving and sending faxes Machine needs to be on always to receive faxes Large probability of losing faxes, which could potentially be important Storage and Archival of these Printed Paper Faxes are very cumbersome. They'll need a good amount of space in the office

2.Epbax
Electronic Private Branch Automatic Exchange Epbax is an office automation tool which has become quite handy in the recent past be it a small business or a large organization Epbax helps in creation of effective communication within an organization Epbax is the tool which is connected to the phone lines of an organization and a sort of small exchange is created within the office which is operated with the help of an operator

Now a days automated epbax systems are also available How does epbax works With the use of epbax machine a small exchange within the office is created using a few telephone lines Each official is given an extension number So the official uses this extension number to receive or make a call for official purposes There is no need to give a dedicated telephone connection to the official Advantages of Epbax Cost savings as several officials can be given telephone connections without having to take dedicated telephone connections for each one of them As a record is maintained of the calls received and calls made a simultaneous track can be kept at the officials indulging in the misuse of the telephone facility Officials within the organization can interact with each other without having to move from their seat Interconnectivity increases leading to effective communication within the office Disadvantages of Epbax As a number of connections are given using only a few telephone lines the lines may remain busy and vital communication may be missed/delayed Chances of mixing of telephone lines and leakage of communication cannot be ruled out Chances of misuse by the telephone operator

3. Photocopy A photocopy machine is a machine which is used to make copies of any office document

An office work can never be complete without a photocopy machine Types of photocopy machine 1.Toner based photocopying machines 2.Laser based photocopying machines Xerox and canon are the two famous brands of photocopying machines

Based on the volume and size of photocopies to be taken the machines can be small , medium or a heavy duty machine The price of a photocopy machine will also depend on the type of machine purchased Photocopy machines being costly equipment require capital expenditure

Technical specifications The technical specification of photocopy machine will comprise of :

Speed of copying in terms of paper per minute Resolution( higher the better) Paper handling( manual/automatic) Time taken to copy the first page Weight of the machine Cost of the machine and cost of the toner/ laser cartridge Electricity consumed Safety standards Advantages of photocopy 1.Photocopier makes making photocopies simple, easy and fast 2.It may also use much cheaper ink to keep the cost lower 3.You can get a larger print on a paper with a photocopier easily but not with the normal printer

4.Nowadays color photocopy are also present and that is of course cheaper than printer Disadvantages of photocopy

Need a separate space for the machine. Needs power/electricity It is costly It requires regular maintenance 4.

L.C.D

L.C.D is an office automation tool which helps in projection of a presentation on the screen so as to make the presentation visibly effective to the audience L.C.D is slowly becoming a powerful tool for making presentation impressive and effective in conveying the message to the audience Visual aid in communication helps in making a presentation effective A presentation in the computer is projected on the screen with the help of L.C.D L.C.D is the new age projection systems which offer a clear cut image of the presentation The clarity of L.C.D depends on the lumens - higer the lumens of the L.C.D the clearer the image Movies like chak de india were shown in offices (without incurring much cost) to build team spirit amongst the employees: It is effective source of communicating message from the management to its employees

Technical specifications

Brightness: in lumens(2100/ 2200/3500)

Image size: 31 inches to 300 inches Weight: 2-3 kgs Cost one lacs and above Power consumption: 200w lamp Colour: full colour Advantages

It helps to illustrate and demonstrate points clearly Creates an additional impact on the presentation Audio video effects can be easily incorporated Disadvantage Costly equipment and requires upkeep and maintenance Consumes lot of electricity Needs a technical person to operate and maintain Costly annual maintenance contract Precautions Each audience should be able to see the visuals Slides should be sequentially placed and numbered A pointer may be used where ever necessary A slide should not be too cumbersome to understand Content of the slide should be limited A slide may not be kept for too long L.C.D may be switched off in case of prolonged discussion during a presentation

5. O.H.P

O.H.P is the overhead projector which is used to make projection of the transparencies prepared by the presenter The transparencies are placed on the O.H.P and projections are made on the screen/ board Is a visual aid and is an effective tool of communication / making presentation Advantages O.H.P projectors and transparencies are economical and easy to use Can be easily produced and does not require much technical skills on the part of presenter Can be presented with the help of computer or even by manual handwriting Can be presented in color or black and white Disadvantages O.H.P cannot be used for audio video presentations It is difficult to make the changes in the transparency and a new transparency is to be made to incorporate any changes Shelf life of transparencies is very less The O.H.P does not give a clear image sometimes Time consuming as every time a transparency is to be physically removed and new one placed Old system of projection which is slowly getting outdated Precautions Design simple to understand transparencies One transparency should not be cramped with too many words or pictures

The sequence should be correct and sequentially numbered 6. Video conferencing Video conferencing is the method for conducting meetings amongst the persons based at different geographical locations by linking them through satellite/ network of computers where the individuals see and listen and react to each other to exchange information and ideas Leading examples are, one can easily witness in day to day life, news channels are organizing video conferencing amongst participants who are distantly placed Advantages

As the business is growing in size and crossing geographical frontiers, video conferencing, as new age office automation tool has helped in breaching the distance CEO of a company can hold meetings with its officers and employees at different locations Communication can be held at the same time with persons placed at different locations without the need of being physically being present Video conferencing as a office automation tool has picked up fast in breaching the distance barriers to the communication Disadvantages While video conferencing is an effective tool it is quite expensive to use and requires highly trained and skillful operators to make it successful The cost benefit analysis of video conferencing may be carefully made before the decision to do so is made as it is very costly proposition