Organized for Work and Study

In early 2005, the in-plant at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio, underwent a radical reorganization due to the adoption of “5S,” a Japanese system for maintaining a healthy work environment. The shop removed dozens of dumpsters of unneeded materials, painted and repaired the workspace, then organized the equipment efficiently and placed visual aids everywhere.

In-plant manager Warren Hauser says the adoption of 5S “completely redesigned the shop. We now have a much more streamlined and logical way of doing business.”

The shop plans to bring in a Xerox 8000 digital press soon, which will require layout changes. The most recent addition to the shop was a Xerox 8160 wide-format printer in January 2006.

“Previously, departments were left to their own devices,” says Hauser. “But we’ve put up promotional pieces and advertising banners around campus to let people know that we can now print banners, posters and signs up to 60? wide. Word of mouth has spread enough that everybody knows somebody who knows we can do this.”

In addition to six full-time employees, Hauser also has two work-study assistants on hand for four hours each day. None of these work-study students has a printing or graphic design background, since those courses are held on a different campus, but Hauser says the students assist with basic tasks, such as making deliveries or helping with hand-folding, collating or binding.

“If they have heavy course commitments for a day or week, they can study during that time,” he says. “In either case, they’re paid through the financial aid department. The setup is a courtesy to financial aid, but they really help us out at the same time.”

—By W. Eric Martin