Call to Congress: Increasing Competitive Integrative Employment for Persons with Disabilities
On Thursday, August 21st, Indiana State Representative Robin Shackleford visited Crossroads Industrial Services, which resides in her District 98. Representative Shackleford has been the District’s elected official since 2012, and her visit on Thursday was a great opportunity for Crossroads Industrial Services to inform her about our business, what it does, and how it impacts the employees that work here.
Greg Roberts, Product Manager, relaying to Rep. Shackleford about our Ability One Program / Combat ID Panel job
Bill Love, Business Development Manager, relaying to Rep. Shackleford about our Contract Manufacturing capabilities
Rep. Shackleford is talking with one of our customers, Tyler Back, co-owner of Gimme Charge, about the product that we assemble for them, with Ruby Campbell, Line Leader, standing to Tyler’s right.
Bill Love, Business Development Mgr, Anne Traub, Human Resources Mgr, Mary Jo Gremling, Document Services Mgr, Curtiss Quirin, COO, posing with Rep. Shackleford (2nd from left)
Representative Shackleford wrote,
“Thanks for taking the time to provide a wonderful and informative business tour. During my visit, I couldn’t help but to appreciate all the efforts Crossroads Industrial Services is doing to cultivate opportunities for Hoosier adults and children with disabilities.
Learning your business goals and highlights is valued input. For instance, Crossroads does a great job innovating and creating new ways connecting entrepreneurs to income generation for disabled adults and children. Also, life skills are positively reinforced by implementing initiatives making sure work is more than “just a job.”
My goal as your State Representative is to give vocational services a voice within the Indiana General Assembly. By taking the time to discuss your goals and concerns, it helps me form additional legislative groundwork to improve the quality education and communities.”
We appreciate Representative Shackleford’s support and will continue to invite other Representatives and Senators to Crossroads Industrial Services to see the great work that we do, which also helps provide and increases employment for adults with disabilities.
Today’s post was written by Anne Traub, Manager of Human Resources at Crossroads Industrial Services.
Curtiss Quirin Presents Manufacturing Solutions to Rotary Club of Carmel
On Friday, August 21, a crowd of 80 individuals in Carmel gathered together for their weekly Rotary Club meeting. Curtiss Quirin, Chief Operating Officer of Crossroads Industrial Services, was invited to speak about manufacturing solutions offered by our company.
Since joining Crossroads Industrial Services in 2009, Quirin has presented to multiple groups to discuss the importance of making a difference in the lives of individuals with disabilities, special needs or challenges while also helping them understand how Crossroads Industrial Services can impact their bottom line.
From polystyrene recycling to contract manufacturing, Quirin outlined the major operations of the facility in a way that anyone could relate to, even those without advanced manufacturing or technical degrees. Crossroads Document Services, for example, can be used by any business who relies on paper for keeping track of important information, no matter how big or small they may be.
ZOO Fans employs Crossroads Industrial Services to manufacture their product, which is sold to large grocery store chains to be used in the freezer and refrigerated sections. The ZOO Fans help circulate warm air into the chilly areas, allowing people to shop comfortably and for a longer period of time.
Crossroads Document Services prepares small and large files for scanning. This operation employs individuals who may be have ambulatory challenges and require sitting, or those with autism who enjoy repetitive tasks.
Two trailer loads of polystyrene are recycled every day at Crossroads Industrial Services. Last year, two tons of polystyrene material was recycled.
At the end of the presentation, at least a dozen hands popped into the air to ask questions about how products are manufactured, where staff is recruited from, and how their business could work with Crossroads Industrial Services. In addition, State Representative Donna Schaibley of District 24 connected with Quirin to arrange a site visit with her and her team. Schaibley’s visit falls in line with our Calls to Congress initiatives where we are inviting our elected officials to tour the facility and learn more about our available resources.
Quoted from Schaibley’s Facebook page: “I attended the Carmel Rotary meeting yesterday and met Curtiss Quirin of Crossroads Industrial Services who spoke at the meeting. Crossroads employs many disabled members of our community doing contract manufacturing and document scanning, matching a persons individual skills to positions.”
Are you interested in learning more about Crossroads Industrial Services and our manufacturing solutions? Schedule a site visit with us by calling 317-897-7320!
7 Ways to Identify a Good Document Scanning Company
Today’s post was written by Mary Jo Gremling, Manager of Crossroads Document Services.
Despite the popularity of desktop computers since the 1980s, most businesses still produce and handle mountains of paper. Even with good paper records storage, efficiently locating a specific document becomes more and more difficult as the volume of paper increases. That, coupled with the ever-rising cost of office space, often prompts a business or organization to seek the services of a document scanning company.
But how do you go about choosing a document scanning service? As a mother, I liken this process to selecting a good childcare provider. You wouldn’t hand your children over to just anyone who claimed to run a daycare. Neither should you choose a scanning service bureau without knowing it meets important criteria that insure your documents remain safe, secure, and protected.
1. Integrity—A good document scanning service should have an excellent reputation and be able to provide credible references. Contact these references and ask pertinent questions: What was it like to work with this company? What about the images they produced? Are they clear and legible? Do the file names make sense and help you find the information you need? Would you use this company again? Why or why not?
“Thank you for coming out to take a look at the work we have for scanning and shredding. We had such a good experience with your team last time, that there was no question as to who to contact for this project. Thank you again for your team’s excellent work!”
– City of Westfield, Crossroads Document Services customer reflection
2. Experience and Expertise—Can the scanning service handle your type of documents? Some imaging companies specialize in certain sectors, while others serve a broad range of organizations. Not all imaging services can scan fragile historical documents, large format prints and drawings, or bound books.
Crossroads Document Services scans for a variety of businesses and organizations. In the past two years, we have imaged historical property records, both large and small format, for the Indianapolis Airport Authority and the City of Westfield; an entire archive of engineering drawings and maintenance manuals for Rexnord Corporation; several special collections of photos, posters, programs, and scrapbooks for the Indianapolis Public Library; and a wide range of real estate, healthcare, personnel, education, financial, and automotive records. (And that’s not a complete list!)
3. Security—Security and confidentiality are of the utmost importance. Is the facility locked, with access limited only to employees during their scheduled shifts? Have criminal background checks been run on all employees? Is the facility alarmed and monitored by an outside service? Are 24-hour surveillance cameras in place? Are all employees who handle your documents formally trained to follow HIPAA and other privacy regulations and procedures?
All Crossroads Document Services employees are taught to respect the documents we handle as “sacred.” We have often recognized and returned originals that the client has not previously recognized as valuable (live checks, original student records of “celebrities,” etc.) so the originals could be retained by the customer instead of shredded upon completion of the project.
4. Scanning Technology—Professional imaging hardware and software should be kept up to date. Does your service provider have the capacity to handle your job in a timely manner? Can they provide the file type you need (TIFF, PDF, JPEG, other)? How accurate is their OCR (optical character recognition) software? Can they provide cloud- or server-based solutions to help your company improve information access? How will they deliver your final electronic archive?
5. Quality—The object of every scanning project is to capture every image as legibly as possible to ensure the information on the page is readable and printable. Is your provider a “load and walk away” shop, or is the scanner operator visually verifying the capture of each image on the screen? In some industries, 99.9% accuracy is terrific, but in the document scanning world, that means one page of every 1,000 could be missing or unreadable! In image capture and data entry, your service provider should strive for zero defects.
As part of an ISO 9001:2015 certified business, Crossroads Document Services consistently upholds strict standards through our established process controls and quality systems.
6. Service—A good scanning company aims to make your job as easy as possible by offering a variety of services.
- Consultation—Whether you have a complete vision for your project or are just beginning to discuss it, you should be able to count on your imaging service to help you plan a logical process and file-naming structure to make your project as pain-free as possible. Seek a scanning partner, not just a vendor.
- Document Preparation—Don’t settle for a provider that makes you take out all staples, paperclips, etc. That’s their job!
- Scanning—What do you need? Large format, small format, black and white, color, grayscale, high-resolution, fine art, bound books, ledgers, microfilm, aperture cards… Ask about capabilities.
- Access—Worried about needing your records while they’re not in your office? A good service bureau can track your documents throughout the entire process and should be able to scan and upload requested documents quickly, usually the same day they receive your request.
- Document destruction or return—Your documents should be handled securely all the way through the process. Make sure you have ample time to approve the final output before your provider has a certified shredding service dispose of the paper documents. Paper documents on hold for approval should be maintained in a securely locked area until they are shredded. Make arrangements with your provider if you want your paper records to be returned or put into long-term record storage.
7. Site Visit—Although they will have some restrictions in place because of confidentiality policies, a good scanning company will welcome a request for a tour of their production facility. Inspecting the facility where your critical business information is to be handled is an excellent way to check out all the points we’ve covered here.
Crossroads Document Services offers experienced, quality scanning for your personal and professional needs. To receive a quote, call Mary Jo Gremling at 317-897-7320, ext. 4230.
Mary Jo owned and operated eLucida Imaging from 2003 to 2013, when her Indianapolis-based company was purchased by Crossroads Industrial Services. She now manages Crossroads Document Services, located at 8302 E. 33rd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46226.
John R. Jones Recognized in AbilityOne Annual Report
Recognizing the good work of our manufacturing and assembly employees is something we do every day, but only occasionally have we received national attention for having such outstanding staff.
John R. Jones, one of our utility assemblers, was recently recognized in the AbilityOne annual report for providing quality service at Crossroads Industrial Services. The U.S. AbilityOne Commission is an organization that provides employment opportunities for people who are blind or have significant disabilities in the manufacture and delivery of products and services to the Federal Government.
John Jones with Indiana Governor Mike Pence
Here is the excerpt from the AbilityOne FY 2014 Annual Report:
John Jones is known for his perseverance, hard work, infections smile, outgoing nature and positive “can do” attitude. Having a mild intellectual/developmental disability did not stop him from exceeding expectations throughout childhood nor as an adult. Today, he is a valuable team member of AbilityOne NPA Crossroads Industrial Services. At one point homeless and living in a shelter, Jones worked hard to realize his goal of living independently. He joined Crossroads nearly 20 years ago and currently produces combat ID panels, which are mounted on military ground vehicles to distinguish them from the enemy and reduce friendly fire incidents on the battlefield. His primary job on the combat ID panel project is applying tape – a job that requires great attention to detail and eye-hand coordination – and he also performs assembly, boxing and kitting. Outside of work, he participates in community work through church, enjoys singing and shopping, and collects vinyl record albums.
“I feel very grateful that Crossroads has provided me with a steady stream of employment over the years, which has allowed me to recently move to a very nice apartment in a better neighborhood… I am also extremely proud of the contributions we have been able to make to the U.S. Army warfighter. This contract has required us to put our best foot forward,” says John.
The recognition for John continued with a personal note from E. Ballard, the Executive Director and CEO of the U.S. AbilityOne Commission.
“Dear Mr. Jones – On behalf of the U.S. AbilityOne Commission Presidential Appointees and the Commission Staff, thank you for allowing us to share your story in our 2014 Annual Report. Your dedication to remain independent and self-sufficient in the face of significant challenges sets an example for others to follow and clearly demonstrates the possibilities arising from the AbilityOne Program. Of equal importance is the care and pride you take in manufacturing combat ID panels for our Army warfighters which helps our soldiers avoid incidents of friendly fire. You are an inspiration and we wish you continued success.”
How many of your employees have been with your company for 20 years? That kind of employment longevity stems from taking pride in your workplace, respecting your colleagues, and an underlying dedication to not just get the job done, but get it done right. When you partner with Crossroads Industrial Services for manufacturing and assembly, it is people like John who will provide the attention and quality you deserve.
Remembrance Ceremony
On Friday, June 24, 2015, Crossroads Industrial Services gathered all their employees and some family members on the West Side of our building, where we have a wooden deck and urban garden. We wanted to remember employees who previously worked for us and passed away much too soon.
We remembered: Ralph Bibbs (worked at CIS almost 7 years and passed away on 7/23/10), Carol Ford (worked at CIS for almost 8 years and passed away on 8/7/10), Linda McGee (worked at CIS for almost 40 years and passed away on 6/25/12), Melissa Tempke (worked at CIS for about 10 years and passed away on 12/10/12) and Timmy Yegerlehner (worked at CIS for about 10 years and passed away on 5/12/15).
Most recently we were inspired to remember these employees after Timmy was tragically hit by a school bus while walking on the Southside of Indianapolis. He loved movies, his favorite one being When Harry Met Sally. So we decided to purchase a couple of apple trees in our employees’ memories and name the trees, “Harry MacIntosh
and Sally HoneyCrisp,” and created memorial name plates to be placed by the apple trees and in our garden area. We remembered each of them and the special characteristics they brought to Crossroads Industrial Services. Their spirits were always so uplifting, and they made our business feel more like a family, leaving behind a hole in our hearts. We each took turns placing a shovel of mulch around the apple trees and remembering them. Timmy Yegerlehner’s parents placed his name plate under the Harry MacIntosh tree, and the other remembrance name plates were placed around the garden and trees as well.
They will all be remembered fondly.
CareCycle Partnership
Crossroads Industrial Services, a division of Easter Seals Crossroads, has formed a strategic partnership with CareCycle that has created job opportunities for adults with disabilities.
CareCycle’s mission is simple and clear — reduce cost and waste. They do this by using an FDA registered cleaning process to disinfect and remanufacture manifolds used in operating room fluid management systems.
Crossroads provides the virtual factory that CareCycle needs to conduct their business; we provide the plant, supervision, overhead, material handling, trucks and storage space. Our employees disassemble, disinfect, reassemble and then package / ship manifolds to hospitals and surgical centers.
Currently, about one million manifolds are being disposed of every month in the United States; with five manifolds weighing one pound each, this translates to 100 tons of manifold waste in our landfills monthly! The partnership between CareCycle and Crossroads offers a game-changing opportunity to reduce that waste.
With over 40 years of industry experience, the management team of CareCycle realizes that their sustainability must be focused on reducing costs in a meaningful and immediate manner. CareCycle is committed to delivering savings to these healthcare providers.
Crossroads Industrial Services can be your organization’s virtual factory; contact us to learn more about manufacturing, assembly and supply chain solutions that we can customize for you.
