Meet the Client
The Florida Board of Professional Engineers operates under Chapter 471, Florida Statutes, with a clear mission: review applications, administer exams, license qualified applicants, and regulate engineering practice across Florida. Based in Tallahassee, FBPE manages licensing for approximately 38,000 engineers. That number shifts constantly with each exam cycle. The board handles everything from initial applications to renewals, verifications, and public records requests.
Daily Detour: When paper slows down licensing
Processing engineer licenses meant drowning in paper. Picture this: during deadline periods, staff received 250 applications daily. That’s over 2,000 sheets of paper flooding in at once. Staff juggled 15 to 20 different application types simultaneously. Each application followed a multi-month journey through multiple hands.
Here’s how it worked. Applications arrived at reception. Staff input them manually into the LicenseEase system. Someone placed them in folders with supporting documents. The folder traveled to finance first, then moved to profiling, next to the assigned analyst, on to the Executive Director, and finally to the Board for approval. Documents went missing. Status updates required hunting down physical files person by person. The risk of lost paperwork hung over every application.
Board meetings added another layer of complexity. Six times yearly, 11 board members and legal counsel reviewed up to 200 application files per session. All hardcopy applications had to be packaged and transported from Tallahassee to wherever the board met. Board members spent meeting time manually reviewing stacks of paper instead of focusing on critical decisions.
“Since FBPE is required to maintain licensure records for all Florida licensees, we need a program that is accurate and reliable,” states Zana Raybon, FBPE Executive Director. “Laserfiche does just that, and provides the type of document management system necessary for FBPE to comply with public records requests and licensure verifications.”
The Solution: Digital routing replaces paper trails
FBPE partnered with MCCi, a Laserfiche solution provider, to eliminate paper from the licensing process. Applications still enter through LicenseEase for assignment numbers. But instead of creating physical folders, staff scan documents directly into Laserfiche. Workflow routes everything electronically to the right departments and analysts for review and approval.
Staff track documents in real time. Anyone can locate any document instantly. Customer service jumped. Response times to applicants dropped significantly. No more physical file hunts.
The board meeting process changed completely. Using Laserfiche Web Access and iPads, board members access documents remotely and securely. They review completed applications before meetings even begin. Files go to the board in batches as they’re compiled. This spreads the review load across days instead of cramming it into one meeting. No more packaging. No more transporting. No more manual reviews during precious meeting time.
“Implementation of Laserfiche and Workflow has been the first and largest step towards being a completely paperless organization,” states Katherine Anderson, Scanning Technician.
FBPE uses Laserfiche as their archival system too. All licensure and legal files from off-site and in-house storage now live digitally. Staff retrieve information instantly for verifications, legal cases, public records requests, and applicant questions.
Quick Fields handles the heavy lifting. This batch processing tool pulls data from document contents, determines where files belong, and automatically files them in the correct engineer record. What would have taken weeks of tedious manual filing happens automatically. Anderson confirms: “Quick Fields has completed it all for us! We are now preparing to use Quick Fields at the first step in the Workflow process when applications are scanned into Laserfiche.”
Looking ahead, FBPE plans to automate Accounting and Legal Department processes with Workflow. They’re also configuring Laserfiche Forms for online application submissions. Quick Fields will work with Workflow to kickstart application processing automation.
The Results: Hours saved, zero documents lost
By using Laserfiche to automate and centralize records, FBPE saved countless hours and eliminated the potential for lost data.
The numbers tell the story. Staff no longer manually route 250 applications and 2,000+ pages daily during peak periods. Documents don’t get lost in transit between departments. Board members review applications remotely instead of during meetings. Weeks of manual filing time vanished with Quick Fields automation.
More importantly, FBPE delivers better service to Florida’s engineers. Applicants get status updates instantly. Verifications happen faster. Public records requests get fulfilled promptly. The entire licensing process runs smoother.
FBPE proved that even high-volume, highly regulated licensing boards can go paperless. With the right Laserfiche partner providing training and ongoing support, manual processes transform into efficient digital workflows that save time and reduce risk.