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of a multiple-copy distribution may be a source of
eliminating or curtailing paper work.
OBSOLETE SUBJECT MATTER OR
SITUATIONS.– Forms that are still being used that
appear to contain obsolete material or to have outlived
their usefulness furnish possible leads. Clues come
particularly from dates on forms or directives that
appear to be unusually old; subject matter no longer
current (for example, shortage of materials or skills no
longer critical); use of the form (preparing forms to
show violations, performance data, and the like after the
situation requiring the information has passed); or other
out-of-date practices.
Design of the Forms
Determining forms on which items can be
rearranged or design improved for more efficient
preparation or use is another profitable area. Some
examples are the following:
. Forms on which completion could be improved
by more effective use of aligned marginal stops, tabular
and columnar spacing, eliminating or minimizing
rollbacks and hand-positioning, or saving other
typewriter motions
. Forms on which recurring items could be
reprinted and fill-ins limited to variable information or
on which ballot boxes could be used instead of lengthy
write-ins
. Forms that could be mailed in window envelopes
to eliminate retyping addresses
. Forms that should contain items for To and From
information to eliminate preparing, handling, and filing
separate transmittal letters
Part IV of the Department of the Navy (DON)
Forms Management Program, SECNAVINST
5213.10C, contains a detailed treatment of design
techniques.
BENEFITS FROM FORMS MANAGEMENT
The management of forms and their related
procedures results in benefits such as the following:
Greater efficiency in:
l organization;
. operations; and
. procedures.
Greater economy in man-hours, space, and materials
through:
elimination of unnecessary forms and related
procedures.
consolidation,
simplification,
and
standardization of necessary forms and related
procedures.
rapid and uniform
data.
reduced printing,
costs.
Improved records through.
handling and processing of
stocking, and distribution
l analysis of the required subject matter.
. systematic and orderly arrangement of the
required data on the form.
Better relations:
l within the activity.
l with other activities and agencies.
. with the public.
Some examples of actual benefits accomplished
through forms management follow.
Navywide Improvement
The Secretary or the Under Secretary of the Navy
is required by law to approve the payment of finds to
nongovernmental institutions for training Navy civilian
employees. The original procedure to approve or
disapprove a request for payment of funds for such
training required the processing of a minimum of 35
separate documents which, in turn, required a minimum
of 56 separate operations. The requirements for the
information to be submitted were not definite. The
tendency was to include all possible data. Many of the
requests were in the form of 30- to 40-page documents
that contained a great deal of unnecessary information
and lacked some of the essential details.
About 25 to 30 requests for tuition payment were
being received each month. It was estimated that in 90
percent of the cases extensive use of telephone, letters,
dispatches, and so forth, were required to obtain the
actual data needed. Approximately 6 weeks elapsed
between the time the activity forwarded the request and
the time it was returned.
5-6
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