Developing a Centralized Copier Management Program
There's an App for That
Many vendors will offer to install software to locate machines and track volumes for a week or so. This is problematic on many, many levels. First, we've never seen an app that provided an accurate list of machines, so if you take this route, be prepared to verify that every machine on the list does exist and that the copy totals are more or less accurate. In other words, you still have to visit every machine and print an administrative report. We've seen error rates as high as 50 percent on automated reports.
Ray Chambers, CGCM, MBA, has invested over 30 years managing and directing printing plants, copy centers, mail centers and award-winning document management facilities in higher education and government.
Most recently, Chambers served as vice president and chief information officer at Juniata College. Chambers is currently a doctoral candidate studying Higher Education Administration at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU). His research interests include outsourcing in higher education and its impact on support services in higher education and managing support services. He also consults (Chambers Management Group) with leaders in both the public and private sectors to help them understand and improve in-plant printing and document services operations.
