Fighting For A Healthy In-plant

Pete Twentey has traveled a long road, but the sharpest curves are yet to come.

by MIKE LLEWELLYN

Every morning, Pete Twentey gets in his car and drives 74 miles from his home in Frederick, Md., to the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., where he is director of Material Services Operations.

It's been a long road for Twentey, and to show for it, he's pulled together some rock-solid experience.

"I've been in this business for 34 years," he says, adding that he picked up his first printing job after leaving the military.

"I was just driving up the road looking for a job," he recalls, when he came across an airplane parts manufacturer that needed a Xerox operator for its in-plant. Twentey didn't plan on staying long, but he learned there that he had a talent for—and a future in— the printing business.

His short stint at that print shop ended when he decided to strike out on his own. He got some family members together, and they went into business for themselves.

"We opened the first instant print shop in Frederick," he says. The grand opening was in 1969.

"We started out in a small room with an Itek and an IBM electric composer," says Twentey. "It took a lot of guts."

His shop was in business for five years before he sold it and moved on to his next post as print shop supervisor for Frederick Electronics' in-plant.

For 12 years, Twentey was responsible primarily for silk-screening and electronic photography. But always with his ear to the ground, he knew that the business's fortunes were taking a turn for the worse.

That's when he jumped ship and landed his current position at Washington Hospital Center, where he was chosen from a list of 35 hopefuls.

Twentey has been at the hospital for 17 years now, and he says the job has been a very positive experience that has allowed him to take a troubled in-plant and turn it into a great example of in-plant efficiency.

"When I got to the shop, there was nothing but junk," he says. "There was no dark room, and just a whole lot of antiquated equipment."

His first major improvement was to set up a darkroom. He followed that up with the purchase of a new collator, then added a Kodak high-volume copier.

"But now we're exclusively Xerox," he quickly adds.

Big Plans

While Pete Twentey has spent many years at the in-plant increasing the shop's productivity and streamlining its workflow, he says the biggest battle he's going to have to fight is yet to come.

"Our biggest challenge is getting ready to relocate and implementing a [Komori] four-color press," he says. Twentey explains that his shop has been running all four-color work on a two-color Shinohara.

Additionally, Twentey is in the middle of a campaign to earn his shop the right of first refusal for work printed by seven hospitals in the parent's network, called MedStar.

"There are a lot of politics involved," he admits. "Folks don't want to give up partnerships with local commercial printers, and a lot of folks don't want it to happen."

But Twentey insists this policy will be in everyone's best interest because the in-plant functions as a "cost avoidance center"—hospital jargon for a department that saves the organization money.

Twentey got a recent reminder of the importance of saving money when a tight budget led the hospital to drop three managers from Twentey's division. He's the only one left.

Twentey sees that move as a vote of confidence from his assistant vice president, though. The restructuring doubled the size of his staff and put him in charge of warehousing in addition to printing.

"I guess no one had any complaints about the print shop," he jokes.

Actually, the administration got word of Twentey's great rapport with his staff and his reputation for excellent customer service. He says his boss told him that his management style defined customer service.

Off the clock, Twentey also stays very busy. He and his wife Doris have three kids and two grandchildren.

"And I'm also a sportsman. I like to hunt, fish, play golf," he says.

The patience and care that his pastimes require will come in very handy as he steers his shop through what will certainly be a challenging new year.