Olympus Dictation App – A crucial part of the Dictation Puzzle

by Wayne Melleon 7 June 2017in Digital Voice Recorders, Olympus No comment

Olympus launched the Dictation App / ODDS system in late 2013 to much fanfare – initial write up – NEW Olympus Smartphone App. The response however to the new product wasn’t overwhelming – which was understandable in a traditionally conservative professional market place. Over the past 2 years the solution has really started to gain traction with many clients testing and implementing the system within their businesses.

Robbie Dent of Hopelands Clinic in Durban (our single biggest user of the APP) had the following to say about the offering:

“We have been using the Olympus Dictaphone APP now for a few months. As a busy medical practice of 12 consulting oncologists we cover a large area and do many away clinics. Having the APP on our phones has been a huge time saver for us as we are able to dictate letters/notes immediately without having to carry a Dictaphone with us and then wait for the letters to go through to the typist when we dock the Dictaphone. This means that urgent letters are sent to the typist immediately and this cuts down on the lead time for letters getting out.

We would very highly recommend the Olympus Dictaphone APP.”

As was the case for Hopelands Clinic – one of the biggest benefits of the Dictation App in conjunction with ODDS (Olympus Dictation Delivery Service) is the massive amount of time certain professionals can save in having urgent dictations transcribed. It’s the perfect companion for your tried and tested Olympus Digital Voice Recorder and the integration between the two is seamless.

It’s important to bear in mind that this APP is NOT designed to replace your current handheld Voice Recorder; instead it’s designed to compliment it. This will allow a busy professional who has the need to work out of the office to complete urgent dictations and send them off for transcribing straight away – regardless of where they are.

IF this is something you feel could revolutionize your business please contact us to set up a FREE trial on the system – you wont regret it.

What is SEARCHABLE PDF & how can it make your life easier?

by Wayne Melleon 6 June 2017in Olivetti, Printers, Scanners No comment

A Searchable PDF is actually a PDF image file. The data is not static (like a photocopied sheet is) as the document has the ability to contain several layers of information i.e. image layer and text layer.

However a PDF created by a scanner on your multifunction device is like a photocopy on your screen. It’s not editable or searchable as it’s much like a photocopied piece of paper. You cannot search for a word or a phrase, even if you use a PC. If a PDF was created by typing a Word document and then turned into a PDF with a converter you can effectively press the “search” icon and find a word or the phrase you require. In other words these converted PDF’s usually have layers so the data is searchable.

If you decide to add the Searchable PDF option when deciding on what options to procure for your Olivetti network printer and multifunction device, this allows for a scanned PDF to become searchable! This option is actually a module built into the FIRMWARE of the copier – in other words, it will be in the menu / software built into the Olivetti device itself.

A great feature, when a PDF is searchable, is that you can search using your OS explorer for a phrase and all the documents relating to that phrase will list. This applies to PDF just as it would to Word or Excel. Therefore it gives you the ability to search for files and not solely search for data in a file that is already open.

Searchable PDF is a popular request by government departments and companies where most of their paperwork is scanned, especially on units like the Olivetti MF552.

Post By: Justine Wittels – Olivetti Imports SA

Dual Scan vs Reversing Auto Document Feeder

by Wayne Melleon 23 May 2017in Olivetti, Printers, Scanners No comment

In the market for a new network printer but all the optional extra’s are slightly overwhelming – let us explain some of the advantages of a Dual Scan Document Feeder – this time saving device from Olivetti is definitely worth a consideration.

You can choose many options and modules to add onto your Olivetti network printer, one of them being the kind of document feeder you would like. Sometimes the document feeder comes as standard but most of the time you would need to choose between an automatic document feeder or a flat platen lid. If you choose the document feeder bear in mind that not all document feeders are created equal!

Features to consider are how many pages your document feeder can take through in one feed. It varies from 50 pages to 175 sheets that can be placed into the document feeder.

If you intend to scan numerous DOUBLE SIDED ORIGINALS we would highly recommend you choose an Olivetti Document feeder with DUAL SCAN capability. This means – a double sided page will be read on BOTH sides of the page in one SINGLE PASS through the feeder. Eg. if you want your Olivetti scanner to read a 60 sided document (30 double sided pages) it will only need to scan thirty pages to get 60 sheets of scanned documents – this drastically reduces the time spent on scanning, something every busy professional will appreciate.

A Reversing Automatic Document feeder on your Olivetti MF Printer can also read both sides of the page but the automatic document feeder turns the page over automatically to read the second side of a page. This means scanning takes twice as long.

So in summary both units can read both sides of a page without user intervention but the Dual scan ADF does this on one pass whereas the Reversing ADF automatically turns the page over and takes double the time.

Our Olivetti models in black & white and colour A3, now also some of our A4 models have Dual scan options available. Often clients like to order their 22ppm – 75ppm colour units with this feature Eg. the Olivetti MF362

Article by: Justine Wittels – Sales Manager (Olivetti Imports SA)

Cross Cut vs Strip Cut Shredder – The Pro’s & Con’s

by Wayne Melleon 22 May 2017in Ideal, Shredders No comment

Shredder Terminology:

Strip Cut refers to shredding of the document vertically only. The IDEAL standard width of a strip is 4mm. An A4 page will get stripped into 53 pieces.

Cross Cut refers to shredding of the document both vertically (into strips) and horizontally into pieces 4cm long. An A4 page will get cross cut into 400 pieces

Security Comparison

Cross Cut shredding offers 7.5 times greater security for shredded information than Strip Cut does.
The DIN 66399 Standard for the destruction of data defines security levels for the protection of data once shredded.
Shred Cut documents qualify under P-2, where documents are rendered illegible.
Cross Cut documents (4*40) qualify under P-4, which is recommended where data contains especially sensitive and confidential information.
With the implementation of the POPI Act towards the end of 2017, each company will need to establish an appropriate policy for the safe destruction of all personal information of employees, clients and the public at large that is in the company’s possession. It will be the responsibility of the Directors ultimately to enforce the fulfillment of this policy.

Performance in sheets

A Shredder motor requires greater power to shred documents through a Cross Cut Head as compared to a Strip Cut Head. This results in a lower capacity of sheets being shredded by a Cross Cut shredder. So a 390 Watt motor will be able to process the following maximum number of 80gram sheets at one time :

Strip Cut : 18 Cross Cut : 13

Wear and Tear

Cross Cut Shredders will work considerably harder than Strip Cut machines, which has the potential to tire out a Cross Cut machine sooner than their Strip Cut equivalent. However wear and tear will be of little concern, if one invests in an IDEAL shredder. IDEAL shredders are manufactured in Germany. The Cutting heads are made from the strongest Solingen steel and have a lifetime guarantee. The motors and gears are engineered with the precision for which the Germans are renown. IDEAL shredders are both a workhorse and a thoroughbred. Love them and service them annually and they will consistently do their job to your satisfaction.

Shredder Waste Storage Capacity

The Cross Cut pieces settle significantly more compactly in the collection bin than Strip cuts do. The effect of this is that one can shred many more pages using a cross cut machine before having to empty the bin. Shredded Strip Cut pieces periodically need to be squashed down in the bin manually to compact this waste paper, to maximize the bin capacity. This is not required for a Cross Cut machine.

Whatever your Shredding needs Maynards Office Technology will provide

The IDEAL solution

The IDEAL 1031 Trimmer – Perfect for Arts, Crafts & School Projects

by Wayne Melleon 19 May 2017in Ideal, Uncategorized No comment

When using a pair of scissors to cut paper or a board, there is a natural fear that one will cut squeue, and the result will look terrible. Using scissors requires precision and a steady hand. Most of us don’t possess these skills and end up frustrated. There is an easier way to achieve a straight cut : Get hold of a well made trimmer, and the precision comes for free. Here’s a great review from a happy client:

“I am a home Hobbyist; I design and make my own cards, so a neat finish means everything to me. My children at junior school are always busy with projects, and I insist that they don’t depend on their mother to get the work done. But they are not great with scissors; so I purchased an IDEAL 1031 (A3) rotary trimmer, made in Germany, from Maynards Office Technology recently. What a difference it has made in our home. Less irritation for the children, less waste, less time spent on the projects; and I have new energy in making my cards. Now my children’s friends want their moms to buy them an IDEAL 1031 trimmer too”

The lightweight IDEAL 1031 is a rotary trimmer. It uses the edge of a concealed steel wheel to cut up to five sheets of paper clean through. The IDEAL 1031 trimmer provides immaculate lines and a clean finish. The extendable measuring bracket is useful as a front gauge, or as a back gauge. And it is safe ! One cannot slice a little finger which makes the IDEAL 1031 trimmer perfectly child friendly.

The IDEAL solution from Maynards Office Technology.

Olympus Dictation for the NHLS

by Wayne Melleon 18 May 2017in Digital Voice Recorders, Olympus, Transcription Kits No comment

Building on the huge success the Olympus brand and in particular the Olympus DS-7000 Digital Voice Recorder has enjoyed in the SA medical market over the years the NHLS (National Health Laboratory Service) have recently started rolling out this solution to all Pathology Labs in Gauteng through Olympus’s accredited fulfillment partner OTB (Office Technology Brokers).

Olympus Audio SA has a long history of dealing with pathology labs in Southern Africa, both government and private. A couple years ago the WC Forensic Pathology Services upgraded to the then brand new DS-7000 Digital Recorders and AS-7000 Transcription Kits (Cutting Edge Olympus Tech for Forensic Path Services). Pathcare, the biggest private pathology practices in SA have long trusted Olympus with all their dictation requirements (Pathcare entrusts Olympus with all their dictation requirements).

“The National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) is the largest diagnostic pathology service in South Africa with the responsibility of supporting the national and provincial health departments in the delivery of healthcare.

The NHLS provides laboratory and related public health services to over 80% of the population through a national network of laboratories. “

With this kind of workload and responsibility the equipment being used in the labs is essential to providing quick and accurate reports for South Africa’s citizens. The NHLS ultimately decided on the tried and tested Olympus DS-7000 Digital Voice Recorder for the pathologists and the AS-7000 Transcription Kit for the typists. In total close to 80 DS-7000’s and 30 AS-7000’s have been installed in the last 6 months across Gauteng – joining the established Olympus systems in the NHLS labs in the Western Cape and KZN. The current intake of devices has upgraded a combination of old analogue (tape) systems as well as older digital systems.

Both the DS-7000 and AS-7000’s are supplied with the award winning ODMS (Olympus Dictation Management System) software, which allows for an infinite amount of configuration setups. With the future vision to connect all NHLS labs around the country to one singular system we used the network configuration (single file sharing server which all PC’s point towards). For now each lab is running their own SME file server, this is due to limited bandwidth across the overall NHLS network at this point in time. Once this has been resolved the infrastructure is in place to connect the labs together and share the workload across different locations – which is the ultimate goal.

The DS-7000 / AS-7000 system also allows for work to be created outside of the main workflow and sent in, as if it was created right there in the office– something that is invaluable for users that work from home or out of the office. The Dictation App paired with the FlashAir card makes this all possible.

Olympus Audio S.A are proud to join the “rest” of the Olympus family (microscopes and camera’s) within the NHLS – helping the countries biggest laboratory to continue to provide the critical reports they do on a daily basis.

Olympus Medical Equipment

NEW Olympus Foot Pedal’s – can now be used with 3rd party software programs

by Wayne Melleon 17 May 2017in Digital Voice Recorders, Olympus, Transcription Kits No comment

Want to use an Olympus USB transcription foot pedal with Express Scribe, Windows Media Player or any other audio or video playback software? Now you can with the free Olympus Foot Switch Configuration Tool for both Windows and Mac.

Olympus are well known for their innovation and equipment in the digital voice recording, dictation and transcription world and when it comes to transcription their ODMS (Olympus Dictation Management System) transcription module software for Windows and DSS Player Plus for Mac is the go to for many legal, medical and outsourced transcription providers. Marry the software with the Olympus RS-28H (three pedal) and Olympus RS-31H (four pedal) USB transcription foot controls, both built like a tank, to take a pounding from constant foot stomping you can see why their pedals are often craved by most typists.

Now using the free Olympus Foot Switch Configuration Tool from Olympus these two pedals can be set to either work with your Olympus software OR work with any other audio or video playback software. How? The tool allows you to map hotkeys used by the software to a foot pedal on the RS-28H or RS-31H.

Here is an example, Windows Media Player, the hot key or keyboard short cut to play at normal speed is Ctrl + Shift N : the keyboard shortcut can be applied to any pedal on the RS-28H or RS-31H, letting you now use a footpedal for playback.

The Olympus Foot Switch Configuration Tool is available as a free download for both Windows and Mac from the Olympus website. Download link below:

Foot Switch Configuration Tool

Note: CREDIT for this blog post goes to Dave from Dictate Australia!!

WHAT IS POPI??

by Wayne Melleon 20 February 2017in Ideal, Shredders No comment

What is POPI: The Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act 2013 explained

In simple terms, the purpose of the POPI Act is to ensure that all South African institutions conduct themselves in a responsible manner when collecting, processing, storing and disposing another entity’s personal information by holding them accountable should they abuse or compromise your personal information in any way. The POPI legislation demands that your personal information be treated as “precious goods”.

Examples of “personal information” for an individual could include:

Identity and/or passport number
Date of birth and age
Phone number/s (including mobile phone number)
Email address/es
Online/Instant messaging identifiers
Physical address
Gender, Race and Ethnic origin
- Photos, voice recordings, video footage (also CCTV), biometric data
Marital/Relationship status and Family relations
Criminal record
Private correspondence
Religious or philosophical beliefs including personal and political opinions
Employment history and salary information
Financial information
Education information
Physical and mental health information including medical history, blood type, details on your sex life
Membership to organisations/unions

Why should I, or my company, comply with POPI?

POPI promotes transparency with regard to what information is collected and how it is to be disposed of. Openness increases customer trust in the organisation.

Compliance demands identifying Personal Information and taking reasonable measures to protect the data. This will minimise the risk of data breaches and the associated public relations and legal ramifications for the organisation.

Non-compliance with the Act could expose the Responsible Party to a penalty of a fine and / or imprisonment of up to 12 months. In certain cases, the penalty for non-compliance could be a fine and / or imprisonment of up 10 years.

Does POPI really apply to my company?

Here are cases where POPI does not apply. Exclusions include:

Purely household or personal activity
Sufficiently de-identified information
Some state functions including criminal prosecutions, national security etc.
Journalism under a code of ethics
Judiciary functions etc.

When will POPI affect me?

We anticipate that the POPI commencement date will be early in 2017, but no later than 24 May 2017. Bear in mind that there is a one-year grace period that could be used by the Information Regulator to begin the work. We currently anticipate that you will have to comply with POPI from early in 2018 as the Information Regulator will start enforcing POPI by then.

See how the Foschini Group have prepared for the POPI act in conjunction with IDEAL Shredders – FOSCHINI GROUP prepare for POPI

Olympus DS-5500 Giveaway

by Wayne Melleon 10 November 2016in Digital Voice Recorders, Olympus, Uncategorized No comment

The Olympus DS-5500 Giveaway is rapidly approaching its completion. We are into our third month of the giveaway now having already given away 2 Olympus DS-5500 Digital Voice Recorders to 2 lucky winners over the past two months.

Our first winner of the fantastic Olympus DS-5500 Digital Voice Recorder was Margaret Bigby from Durban. Margaret received her new Olympus Recorder from our Durban based sales consultant Sabeena Singh. Reports out of our Durban office are that Margaret is enjoying the use of her new Olympus Recorder and is looking to expand on her range of Olympus devices in the coming months which is fantastic news.

Our second lucky winner was Advocate Tertius Steyn from JHB. Our JHB Sales consultants Shaun Naude and Thandi Mncube handed Tertius’s new Olympus DS-5500 over to him. Tertius was extremely happy to win the Olympus Recorder as he had used one at his previous firm and had always loved the Olympus brand and the functionality of the device. Being a previous user of the brand Tertius didnt need any introduction to his new Olympus Recorder and was able to start using it the same day. We would like to wish both our lucky winners many years of high quality recording from their respective Olympus Recorders.

SO – one month to go means one more Olympus DS-5500 Digital Voice Recorder to giveaway. For those of you that haven’t already entered please visit the entry page and complete the entry form – DS-5500 Competition

We expect to draw the last winner in this fantastic Olympus competition a little later on this month! Some pictures of the 2 winners:

Margaret Bigby recieving her Olympus DS-5500

Adv. Tertius Steyn receiving his Olympus DS-5500

Olympus Audio Conference 2016

by Wayne Melleon 9 September 2016in Digital Voice Recorders, General, Olympus, Uncategorized No comment

A couple of months ago the Olympus Audio team got together for our annual conference. Traditionally this has been held in Cape Town with our direct sales teams from across the country attending. This year we felt we needed to do something a little different – so we held a client appreciation conference over 3 days in JHB. The first day was an internal conference with our JHB team – a massive thanks to both Ian and Lee from Olympus UK who begrudgingly came out to sunny South Africa to share their valuable insights on the brand and products with us. 🙂

The second day we hosted a dealer appreciation event. The idea was to say thank you to our valued dealer partners for their continued support of the brand. The brief for the day – FUN – so we decided an afternoon of Go-Karting was the way to go!!

Compu-Kart in Edenvale was the host of our afternoon event – what a great venue with very knowledgeable and friendly staff, definitely a venue we would highly recommend and frequent again in the future. We had the use of the full facility for 3 hours and with the rather small amount of people that ended up attending that meant ALOT of “cart” time for each person. As one can imagine, there was plenty banter and lots of fun had by those that attended. For those valued partners that unfortunately couldn’t make it – you certainly missed out 🙂 🙂 BUT we hope to see you all at one of our events in the future. 🙂

A couple pictures to bring back some memories:

Our 3 day event closed off with an end user gathering in our JHB office – users + prospective users of the Olympus brand were invited in to discuss the products, their features and how best they could be used in different industries. This proved to be a fruitful process for both the Olympus staff and our clients and its definitely something we will look at doing a little more of in the future.

A big thanks to everyone that was involved as well as those valuable partners and clients for attending – we look forward to hosting you again in the near future. 🙂

Author: Wayne Melle

What is POPI: The Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act 2013 explained

Why should I, or my company, comply with POPI?

Does POPI really apply to my company?

When will POPI affect me?