Never Say ‘No’

IN SOME people’s minds, “in-plant” equals “print shop.” Dan Adams, duplicating assistant at Chippewa Valley Technical College, in Eau Claire, Wis., views his job more broadly: To provide clients with whatever they want.

“Five years ago we started taking on other responsibilities,” says Adams.

The mail room was the first acquisition. The in-plant then took on commercial work, mostly from non-profits. The help desk for the IT department was outsourced, so Adams became first in line to repair the copiers. When the bookstore was outsourced, the in-plant started selling envelopes and other paper items. The shop now processes the student evaluations of teachers.

“We never said ‘no,’ ” he says. “Anytime they asked, or something went through the cracks, we picked it up—and we’re still picking up.”

The media department was recently outsourced, so Adams and his one full-time co-worker, Chris Davis, will soon record and duplicate tapes and CDs. The in-plant also merged with receiving and deliveries; one employee from that department does occasional work at the in-plant, while Adams and Davis back up his duties.

The Only Ones Not Outsourced

“Chris and I are the only ones who didn’t get outsourced,” points out Adams—but that’s not to say that the college didn’t try. The shop’s diversity proved to be its best armor, however, when it came time to compare prices.

“Our shop has been built up so big that other companies didn’t even want to bid on it. One did bid partially on the work, and another bid completely, but the price was so high”—a cost of $225,000 more—“that it wouldn’t benefit the school at all.”

Adams has also saved the college money another way.

“For the 25 years I’ve been here, students have got their printing for ‘free,’ but the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is behind us, and their students use our library and our resources,” Adams says. “The library was going through 10,000 sheets a day.”

Using PaperCut software, Adams implemented a chargeback system that shows students where an item will print and what the cost will be. At the end of the semester, the students who are graduating receive a bill, and once they pay the bill, they receive their certificate of graduation.

“Students used to run around two million copies annually,” says Adams. “This system has cut student printing by 50 percent.”

Expect Adams and Davis to take on more work to make up for the time saved filling print trays at the library.IPG

—By W. Eric Martin