Automation of the Bishop's Storehouse Food Order Forms

So you have the BIG idea that the Church or community needs to develop. Discuss that idea here. Maybe you just want to make a suggestion on a new forum topic. Let us know.
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jeromer7
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#11

Post by jeromer7 »

boomerbubba wrote:I am trying to think of something that does not involve double data entry for the RS president or bishop...

As for authentication, I am assuming this would have to be a centrally developed application, not something homegrown. So I also am assuming that authenticating bishops, clerks and RS presidents is a general problem that is about to be solved by LDS Accounts.
As an initial step, the system could follow a similar path used by the Temple Entry System and Missonary Online Recommendation System. Temple recommend forms are completed in the appropriate interviews and end up with a stake clerk to get activated, copying data off the form (granted, a small amount of data). Medical and Dental exam info is completed on hardcopy forms and that again end up with a stake clerk to transcribe the information into the online application.

In the case of the commodities form, it would certainly be nice to have a single point of entry and maybe that can come in the future. Right now I see a big benefit to having an online application even though the data would be collected in the home on a paper form and then that info would need be be transcribed into the online form after being reviewed and approved by the bishop/branch president. TES and MSS have paved the way. They do not provide answers to all the issues, but do provide a framework that addresses authentication.
JLR
gavinpayne
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Thanks for all the helpful tools for the Bishop, still waiting on this one... =)

#12

Post by gavinpayne »

It is wonderful that as a Bishop I can do the following electronically:
1. Recommend missionaries online (Use once a year, we have a young ward)
2. Provide Ecclesiastical Endorsements online (Use once a year...)
3. Initiate multiple confidential membership actions online (Use quarterly)
4. See membership information online (Use regularly)
5. See organization information online (Use regularly)
6. View many critical reports online (Use occasionally)
7. Have access to the Church Handbooks online (Beginning to use regularly)
8. Get access to leadership directories online (Use regularly)
9. Access to the directory, maps, and in the future calendar (Use regularly)

So thank you, thank you, thank you, for helping this youngish tech savvy Bishop bless his ward. Also thanks for the improvements in MLS regarding finances and other improvements as well.:D

So next on my list would be a way to have electronic food order forms filled out by the RS president, electronically signed by me, electronically sent to the store house, and we don't have to manage a bunch of paper, match receipts, present them for audit, and though rare worry about changes to the form in route to the storehouse, etc...

We do multiple of these forms per two week period, it is a regular occurrence. I believe that it could also bless those that manage the storehouses to know the demand and have reporting that would aid the Brethren in managing the worldwide welfare system.
JamesAnderson
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#13

Post by JamesAnderson »

There is an earlier discussion thread about this, and another more recent (within the last week) about a Bishops Storehouse system online, don't know even if the two are actually related though.

But electronic forms can be very useful, once the order is filled and sent online, the storehouse can know what inventory is needed to have in, and if projected to be short on something, can order it in or even let bishops know if something is going to be in short supply so they can tell the member if they might need to go back and get some items.

This didn't come to mind in the initial discussion of the idea of an online 'Bishops Order for Services' regarding the storehouses, but seems like a much-needed improvement.
JohnWWright
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Google Docs for Bishop's Order

#14

Post by JohnWWright »

My wife is the RS president in the Ward and I am on the HC and have been assigned as the Stake Technology Evangelist. The Bishop in our Ward would like to find a way to sign the Bishops Order for Commodities. My wife scanned a couple of the forms and shared them with the Bishop on Google Docs. He should be able to print it, scan it and share it. My wife will need to print it and take it to the Storehouse. The question is whether the storehouse will accept it. It is a triplicate form so my wife will print out 2 copies for the families to take with them to the Storehouse.

I suggest an interim solution for the Storehouse to have a gmail account that could be shared in Google Docs between the Bishop and RS President. The document would have the date, family name and Ward on the document name. When the family comes to the storehouse with their form, they would match it with the Google form and look a the signatures.
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aebrown
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Location: Draper, Utah

#15

Post by aebrown »

JohnWWright wrote:My wife is the RS president in the Ward and I am on the HC and have been assigned as the Stake Technology Evangelist. The Bishop in our Ward would like to find a way to sign the Bishops Order for Commodities. My wife scanned a couple of the forms and shared them with the Bishop on Google Docs. He should be able to print it, scan it and share it. My wife will need to print it and take it to the Storehouse. The question is whether the storehouse will accept it. It is a triplicate form so my wife will print out 2 copies for the families to take with them to the Storehouse.

I suggest an interim solution for the Storehouse to have a gmail account that could be shared in Google Docs between the Bishop and RS President. The document would have the date, family name and Ward on the document name. When the family comes to the storehouse with their form, they would match it with the Google form and look a the signatures.
The Bishop's Order for Commodities is like a check. It has a unique serial number. So although your system is clever in some ways, I really doubt that the Storehouse will accept it. You certainly wouldn't expect a bank to accept a reused scanned version of a particular check.

Also, such a system would require the Storehouse to use a different system for your ward than is used for all the other wards, which adds an extra burden to those serving in the Storehouse who process the forms -- and in my experience, using Google Docs would be a challenge for some of those volunteers.

I would guess that somewhere down the road, this system will be automated, but for now I think your idea is a bit too far ahead of the existing system to be practical.
Questions that can benefit the larger community should be asked in a public forum, not a private message.
jdlessley
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#16

Post by jdlessley »

Bishop storehouse order forms are in triplicate. Each page is a different color. The instructions for the form require the bishop to keep the pink copy while the white and canary copy goes to the storehouse. Once the order is filled the storehouse returns the canary copy to the bishop. The bishop then must compare the pink copy and the returned canary copy for discrepancies. The unique serial number is the only sure way to know what sheets to compare.

Until there is an automated system to track the process from order approval by the bishop to completion of the order and comparison between what was approved and what was filled at the storehouse we have to continue to use the triplicate form with serial numbers.
JD Lessley
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