The Challenge

Nigeria, Africa’s most populated country was in the need of new census data as a trusted basis for creating national development plans. The task of evaluating the questionnaires of the Nigerian census was awarded to Beta Systems Software AG owing to their comprehensive process and application know-how in the area of digitizing and analysing bulk data. The project was funded by the European Union.

The Approach

The FrontCollect® document management solution is able to process millions of census sheets. The system keeps manual operations to a minimum and guarantees low error rates.

The classification of the scanned documents is done via a geometric procedure that takes the “appearance” of documents into account via a statistical, self-learning procedure or via unique features. Data reading is extremely efficient. The system is able to process handwriting, typescript, forms, structured documents like questionnaires, or information structured from the census office like surveys.

The system also includes many archive connections that only need to be set up. A wide range of options for integrating email, workflow, ERP, and other systems are also provided. A variety of configuration options for connecting specific applications and interfaces is offered.

Scanners with almost all speed levels are available or can be connected to the system for the document scanning. Beta Systems offers state-of-art recognition solutions that include OMR, OCR, ICR, DFR, and BCD. Data is completed using rules, data comparison, and manual post-processing.

The verification includes a unique double-scan check and double-feed check. Furthermore, it allows the check of copy and traces of all editing work. Logical checks and completeness checks are a must as well. This results in verification reports which are made available automatically.

Very important for the success of a census is a permanent quality check. Beta Systems supports with an outstanding quality assurance system. The quality check includes the following:

- form design with scanning quality check
- scanning quality check before delivery of paper
- confirming the quantity of forms
- making use of trial census experience
- establishing checks for essential criteria only
- making day-to-day checks during the running census
- as soon as possible checking the results and verify
- back-up/reporting
- national/international supervisors

The Solution

Beta Systems used its FrontCollect® document management solution to process more than 50 million two-sided DIN A4 census sheets (grey & black/white) in Nigeria under highly challenging social, structural, and geographic conditions. The captured census data have been transferred into a central database, linked to geo coordinates, and imported into a comprehensive geographic information system (GIS) IT environment. After having all but completed the census data evaluation phase, the present task at hand is to transfer the information into a central database as part of the “DBMS/Geoportal for Census Nigeria” project.

Project Figures

- 50 million Documents (140 million citizens)
- 550,000 kg paper
- Each form 01 (household) has 2 sheets
- Each form 01 sheet has two sides
- Each form 01 side creates two images
- grey & black/white
- 320 million images

Steeled by the specific technical challenges and the many unforeseeable factors in the project, the Beta Systems team is now extremely well prepared for any forthcoming censuses in all parts of the world.