CN’s Human Resources Department is always looking for ways to automate manual processes. As the “owners” of the eRecords system, EcoChampions Stephanie Dornenburg, HR Service Centre Associate, 2nd Level Support, and DomenicoAndrea Marcone, Manager, HR Data Security and Governance, both located in Montreal, knew there had to be a better way than manually processing each employee document, like leave of absence forms, one by one to transfer them to eRecords. “There are also dozens of filing cabinets stuffed with over 50,000 employee files that need to be digitized to eliminate the use of paper for recordkeeping,” says Stephanie. “We figured this was a perfect candidate for CN’s drive toward automation and would be good for the environment, too.”

Together, Stephanie and Domenico worked with I&T EcoChampions Michael Chaput, Expert, Service Offering Delivery Services, and Andrea Chartrand, Manager, Product Management, on the design and security of a “robot” to automatically transfer documents to eRecords.

Stephanie also helped with the testing of the digitized filing process called RPAD-210. “Not only does the bot save manual processing time and improve work efficiency,” explains Stephanie, “it also reduces paper waste at source.” The project cost about $31,000, but has saved CN approximately $45,000 since 2020 in improved productivity, freeing up staff to work on more valuable, high-impact tasks.

CN’s EcoConnexions Employee Engagement program – a partnership with Earth Rangers – drives sustainability across CN's network by empowering employees and their families to conserve energy, reduce waste, and improve housekeeping

Visit our "Delivering Responsibly" section to learn more about sustainability at CN.

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