Refocusing on Core Services and Lean Manufacturing

UNIVERSITY OF California-Berkeley Printing Services has long been known as one of the leading offset printers in the in-plant industry. When IPG visited and wrote about the in-plant back in the fall of 1996, it had just spent $3 million on a six-color, 40? Heidelberg Speedmaster 102, a move that put it on par with most of the Bay Area’s mid-sized commercial printers. With 174 employees and $15 million in annual revenue, the shop ran three shifts a day back then and handled 65 percent of UC-Berkeley’s printing needs.

But eight years later, the state’s budget in disarray, the in-plant was losing business and laying off staff. As former Associate Director Sue Sheehan told IPG in 2004, “In the past we always managed growth. Now we’re managing decline.”

Today the in-plant is a more streamlined version of its 1996 self. With 120 employees (60 in the printing plant) and $13 million in annual revenue, it has survived the tough times by focusing on its core services and applying lean manufacturing standards. At the same time, it has evolved into a more adaptable, customer-focused operation and has made a concerted effort to improve its production processes and quality.

“The quality has drastically skyrocketed,” proclaims Haron Abrahimi, associate director. The in-plant is still producing the large volumes of manuals, magazines and annual reports that it is known for, but its emphasis is now on making them look better—and doing it with fewer people.

“We have reduced staff by 40 percent with the same amount of revenue,” Abrahimi boasts. As a result, the in-plant now runs just two shifts, he says, and has become far more efficient than it was in the ’90s.

Lean manufacturing is the new focus at UC Printing. The in-plant no longer stocks and mixes inks, but relies on its ink vendor to deliver what it needs in 24 hours or less. It also drastically reduced its paper inventory and moved to just-in-time paper ordering.

“We’re trying to get to zero inventory,” Abrahimi says.

Environmentally Focused

Printing Services was one of the first in-plants to become FSC certified. At a recent open house, the in-plant emphasized its use of paper harvested from forests that meet stringent environmental, social and economic standards, as well as its use of soy-based inks. The shop also showed off the bailing system it uses to capture excess paper trimmings from the bindery. Customers enjoyed hearing about the in-plant’s green focus, Abrahimi says, and he hopes this translates into more business from eco-minded university clients.

Though the shop runs a Xerox DocuColor 7000 and other color and monochrome Xerox equipment, multi-color offset is still its claim to fame. Its six-color press has now been joined by a four-color, 40? Heidelberg. These and the in-plant’s other two-color sheetfed and web presses now have a new home, though.

Four years ago, the in-plant left the Art Deco facility where it had resided since 1939 and moved into a 65,000-square-foot off-campus facility. Abrahimi says the new plant offers much better vehicle access for pickup and delivery.

“It increased our capability to handle bigger jobs in a much more efficient manner,” he notes.

Though he estimates the in-plant now handles just 45 percent of campus printing, it employs a sales and marketing manager to visit departments and bring in more business.

In recent years, the in-plant created a copier management program for the Office of the President, the governing body for all UC campuses. It also took over forms coordination and helps university departments get the best prices on forms and checks by handling the bidding process.

As for the future of UC Printing, Abrahimi hopes that once it has fully implemented lean manufacturing practices, the shop will add a third shift and grow to serve the offset needs of the entire University of California system.