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The need to improve operational efficiency and rise in need for data security has led to the emergence of digital signatures. Organizations have begun adopting this technology for internal and external communications and improve efficiency. Along with better efficiency, there will be cost savings that can be reinvested in more important tasks.
Tech giants have realized the pace of adoption of digital signatures by organizations across the world and began innovating their offerings through various strategies and digital signing software.One of the industries reaping the benefits of the digital signature is aviation. The maintenance tasks can be accelerated with the help of digital signatures. One of the aviation companies in the U.S. has implemented the solution.
Moreover, governments have been utilizing digital signatures as the paperless transformation takes place. The Indian government is one of the leaders in the adoption of innovative technology. With such a boom in adoption, the industry for digital signature is on rise. According to the research firm Allied Market Research, the global digital signature market is expected to reach $3.44 billion by 2022. Following are some of the activities taking place in the industry:
The aviation industry reaping benefits by accelerating maintenance tasks:
Maintenance tasks in the aviation industry are necessary for seamless operation and ensuring safety. Speeding up the maintenance tasks would help in focusing on providing service to customers due to time and cost-saving. Geisinger Life Flight, a helicopter at Schuylkill County, has begun using WinAir Version 7 that has digital signature functionality.
Geisinger outlined that the availability of this functionality has helped pilots and mechanics to digitally sign on job completion tasks and maintenance routine. Before the availability of this functionality, the digital task cards were printed and signed. Then they were uploaded to machines. However, the maintenance tasks are now signed off with digital signatures.
Jeff Gazey, the director of aviation maintenance at Geisinger Life Flight, outlined that investing and utilizing innovative technologies has always been part of an organization. The addition of functionality of digital signatures took almost a year as updating policies, cooperation with IT staff, and regulatory approvals were needed.
The latest version contains digital signatures that make a unique digital record in WinAir. This record is associated with the approval of the user. As a mechanic completes the maintenance task, there can be a review and task card can be filled with a digital signature.
Then an inspector would assess and approve. This process avoids the inaccuracy of data and enhances safety. The modifications made in follow-ups will be invalid and need re-authentication. Kyle Vergeer, WinAir managing director, commented that the digital signatures will help Geisinger’s maintenance team a lot through speeding up and streamlining work steps related to maintenance along with maintaining the data integrity.
As there will be faster services and more efficient process than before, the firm can care for people in need. Jerry Splitt, Geisinger Life Flight program director, opined that the implementation of digital signatures will enable savings of nearly 2,200 hours of labor and $10,000 in office supplies and labor costs each year.
Indian government implementing digital signature
Various governments across the world have realized the importance of utilizing digital signatures for speeding up operations and saving a lot of time. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), an aerospace and defense firm owned by the Indian Government, generated purchase orders (POs) through the systems.
However, printing and signing them before distributing them to contractors and vendors manually is a long and tedious task. Moreover, the company needed to execute this task in less time and lower down the costs related to this process. The firm selected PDFeSigner, an E-Lock’s desktop-based digital signing software, for accomplishing this task.
The software was installed on the machines of employees and signatories signed the POs digitally with the help of digital certificates in USB tokens. Then the POs were emailed to contractors and vendors in a go. The files were verified with the help of Adobe Reader, which eliminated the need for verification. This solution lowered down expenses, streamlined business processes, and improved efficiency.
With the aim of Digital India, the government offices are undergoing a paperless transformation. One of the major bottlenecks were physical movements of files from one department to another department for signatures. This process affects the efficiency of an organization. The Indian government realized this and opted for digital signature.
The government selected an eOffice powered by emSigner, which is an eMudhra’s paperless office solution. This solution ensures accountability along with the elimination of paper movement. This would enable faster processes and security of documents as well.
In addition, eMudhra is a Licensed Certifying Authority in India and assisted the state government in offering digital signature solutions to various departments and authorities in different districts in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, and Kerala. These solutions have ensured the integrity of documents, faster decision making, and the elimination of papers, which resulted in the saving of costs and reduction in carbon footprint.