Turnaround is Fair Play at SFU
WHEN RAJ Nadrajan took the job as director of Document Solutions at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, he knew the in-plant needed change. Upon his arrival he discovered the full extent of the task ahead of him and admits it gave him pause.
“After my first few weeks when I joined the operation, I did not have much hope that the operation would make it,” Nadrajan remembers. “I even considered going back to my last position, but stayed to challenge my ability to make the operation one of the best in the industry.”
Five years later that goal has become reality.
Nadrajan identified the major problems with the 10,000-square-foot in-plant and systematically developed a strategy to attack and solve them all. But first, he needed support from the university. He presented his analysis to his supervisor and senior management. Much to his relief, they all agreed to invest in the in-plant.
“Fortunately, I was given all the support to make things happen, and I would say that the management was 100 percent behind me,” he lauds. “I have never—until now—worked with management who had vested interest to be the best and see the operation do better.”
(Click here to watch a video of SFU Document Solutions. It is the third video from the bottom.)
Located just 25 minutes from Vancouver, British Columbia, Simon Fraser University’s main campus in Burnaby sits on the summit of 1,300-foot-high Burnaby Mountain, beside the Burrard Inlet. The inspiring setting offers a stunning panorama of mountains, forest, ocean and islands.
But Raj Nadrajan had little time for sightseeing when he arrived. There was work to be done.
Down to Business
When he started, the operation was run as two departments: Press Operation (offset) and Duplicating (copying). This led to communication problems, inefficiency and customer confusion, Nadrajan says. So he consolidated these entities into one department, called SFU Document Solutions.
Next came the complete overhaul of the in-plant’s antiquated offset and digital equipment. The department spent more than $3.5 million over the next five years for state-of-the-art machinery. It now boasts a very impressive arsenal. Some of the major purchases included:
• A Xerox iGen3 with a Plockmatic booklet maker.
• A Xerox DocuColor 6060 with an EFI digital front end.
• A Xerox DocuTech 6135 with an interposer.
• A four-color 20x29˝ Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 perfector press.
• An Agfa Apogee X platesetter.
• A 60˝ Kodak wide-format printer.
• A C.P. Bourg BB23002 perfect binder.
• A Challenge three-knife trimmer.
The in-plant also added other digital printing and bindery equipment and moved to the new WebCRD Internet-based job ordering solution from Rochester Software Associates. Using it, customers create PDF files of jobs and send them directly to the in-plant’s Xerox FreeFlow Process Manager for prepress.
No Longer a ‘Typical In-plant’
“We have been very successful with the implementation of WebCRD,” Nadrajan beams. “I don’t know how we did without WebCRD. We process over 1,200 to 1,400 work orders a month and all jobs coming in are via WebCRD—and our customers love the system. This system has changed our image. We are no longer seen as a typical in-plant in the basement.”
The results of the upgrade thrill Nadrajan. “iGen and WebCRD have changed our image and increased our business. We are doing over 400,000 [8.5x11˝] pages per month on the iGen3 compared to 400,000 to 600,000 yearly on the Xerox 6060.
“We are fully equipped as good as or better in most cases compared with local printers,” Nadrajan enthuses. “All of the…equipment is purchased outright by the department and not by Capital Funding. We have some financing of equipment done internally by the university to Document Solutions on four-year term at a 5 percent interest rate.”
A Taste of Reality
Adapting to all this new technology was a challenge for the in-plant’s staff.
“The staff’s knowledge of their job was very limited,” Nadrajan states. Unfortunately, the harsh reality of progress and technology meant that some of them couldn’t stay.
“Today, I have only four of the 15 staff that I inherited,” Nadrajan says. Some retired, the rest moved on. In their stead, Nadrajan brought several highly qualified and competent people into the fold, and the roster again stands at 15.
The in-plant used to run one shift, with quitting time at 3:30 p.m. This presented yet another problem.
“The late arrival jobs could not be done on time to meet the time lines,” Nadrajan says. Now the in-plant’s employees run two shifts to accommodate jobs that arrive later in the day.
Like most in-plants, Nadrajan’s team faces rapid turnaround times, increased requests for four-color work and a growing need for variable data printing. Nadrajan meets these customer demands with open arms, and because of this places quality service at a premium.
“Since my arrival here I have changed the whole shop to take care of our customers,” he notes. “We are very focused on quality and delivery on time.” Four full-time customer service representatives tend to clients’ needs.
“The future of our business will be to target the audience of one,” Nadrajan predicts, citing the rise of variable data printing. To meet this need, the in-plant recently added some new technology.
“We are at the very early stage of implementing XMPie software, and there is lot of excitement from clients such as Student Services, Alumni, Athletics and Business,” he says. Designed for variable data publishing and personalized marketing programs, XMPie software will further boost Document Solutions’ value to its SFU clientele. (Xerox just announced its intention to purchase XMPie for $54 million.)
Value Added Indeed
Quantifying the in-plant’s value to customers in terms of ease of use and quality of work is difficult, but it’s fair to say that, across the board, Simon Fraser University is thrilled to have Document Solutions on hand. That being said, what can be quantified are dollars and cents. In this area, Document Solutions proves invaluable.
Before Nadrajan arrived, the in-plant used to outsource roughly half its work. Now it keeps practically all of it in-house.
“We are saving at least 10 to 15 percent [versus outsourcing] as we are running a very tight shop,” Nadrajan reports. “We can do this because of our automated workflow and dedicated staff.” Nadrajan also cites vendor partners such as Xerox as invaluable contributors to the in-plant’s success.
Because of his experience in bringing an antiquated in-plant into the 21st Century, and his vast knowledge of new technologies, Nadrajan often conducts seminars and workshops in an attempt to let other in-plants know it can be done. Document Solutions hosts many open houses, bringing both in-plants and commercial printers on tours of the facility. Nadrajan welcomes the opportunity to help out his fellow craftspeople.
“We are very open to our fellow in-plant management,” he says. “We often get calls from other universities on our opinion and how we can help them succeed.”
Nadrajan is currently assisting in the modernization of the printing department at The Open University of Sri Lanka. He will be there for five months. Even from Sri Lanka, he can keep an eye on the in-plant through WebCRD.
Challenges still exist for Document Solutions at it adapts to the new on-demand, personalized landscape of the printing industry. Yet this is already a success story. SFU Document Solutions proves that with bold ingenuity, strong leadership and management support, an in-plant can not only face the challenges of an ever-changing marketplace, it can thrive.
“We love what we do, and we care about our customers,” Nadrajan happily states. And that is a recipe for success. IPG
In-plant Snapshot
Simon Fraser University Document Solutions
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Employees: 15
Plant: 10,000 square feet
Key Equipment/Software:
• XMPie software
• Rochester Software Associates WebCRD
• Xerox Freeflow workflow software
• EFI PrintSmith management software
• Agfa Apogee X platesetter
• Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 perfecter
• Two-color Heidelberg QM46
• Xerox iGen3 with Plockmatic booklet maker
• Three Xerox DocuTech 6135s
• Xerox DocuTech 135
• Xerox DocuColor 250
• Xerox 4110
• Xerox 5690
• Xerox 6060
• 240 Toshiba multifunction devices, managed for SFU departments
• Kodak 1200 i wide-format printer
• HP 5000 wide-format printer
• C.P. Bourg BB3002 perfect binder
• Challenge CMT three-knife trimmer
• Four-tower Duplo collator
• Baum folder
