When Disaster Strikes

Are you ready for a calamity to hit your in-plant? Neither were these managers. Find out what happened to them, and how they recovered.

For most people, spring break brings thoughts of warm, bright Florida sunshine under which college coeds hit the beaches by day and party by night.

But for Brad Johnson, print services manager at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., last year's spring break was about as far from fun as he could get—and not just geographically.

"I was in shock. It was a reality check for sure." That was how Johnson says he felt when he first laid eyes on the carnage left in the wake of a tornado that ripped through campus late one Sunday night. Fortunately, most students had left for their spring hiatus.

"It is not anything I had ever thought to plan for and hope I never have to plan for again," admits Johnson. "I didn't have a plan."

Having a disaster plan should be a top priority for in-plant managers everywhere. Disasters, like this tornado, can strike at any time, and if you're not prepared you could lose your in-plant forever.

Across the country, in-plants have been damaged by floods, fires, earthquakes and hurricanes. Managers who have endured these tragedies have learned important lessons about disaster preparedness and recovery—lessons they're more than willing to share.

Vendors To The Rescue

At Gustavus Adolphus College, after the tornado tore the roof off of the in-plant, exposing equipment to water damage, Johnson had to move quickly to get that gear to dry ground. He received help from a very useful source—his vendors.

"I couldn't have done it without them," Johnson praises. "Installation, removal and dismantling printing equipment is not something that I am trained to do. The vendors specialize in that."

Johnson says he got many unsolicited offers from vendors to lend a helping hand. Cole Papers allowed the in-plant to store equipment in its warehouse; Xerox picked up, dismantled and moved the shop's new 5800; PrimeSource took its cutter apart—all for no charge. Other vendors also helped move equipment out of the wet areas of the shop.

"There are human factors involved. When the chips are down you'd be surprised how heavily you rely on some of those people," Johnson says. He believes that having a good working relationship with his vendors prior to the twister made them willing to step forward and help out the in-plant.

Another problem Johnson faced was getting the college's printing work done without a shop to do it in. Again, he found help from the outside.

Doug Fenske, director of printing and photocopy services at Mankato State University, offered to take on Adolphus' printing workload on top of his own school's work. His staff helped out for three months.

Johnson set up a temporary copy center with computers in the basement of another building on campus. By June, his in-plant was back up and running—but he knows he couldn't have done it without help.

Double Trouble

For Lin Hartman, manager of the University of Iowa's in-plant, one flood would have been plenty—but he got two.

The lesser of the two deluges occurred in June of 1990 at Hartman's Iowa City-based shop. About 7˝ of rain backed up a local creek, subsequently submerging the in-plant. No equipment was lost during this flood, but the shop was covered with mud after the water subsided. But that was just a glimpse at what was to come.

"The one in 1993—we were out of our shop for three months. It was a whole lot worse than the first one," Hartman recalls. "Everybody flooded in '93 around here. The state of Iowa looked like a lake."

This flood ruined two cutters and a mid-sized press, and it damaged several other pieces of equipment. Fortunately, Hartman and his staff had gotten a warning about the flood.

"We knew about it ahead of time, enough to take our 1650s and 1860s and a small web press that we could move on a fork lift and put them up on pallets," Hartman says.

This saved some equipment, but Hartman still needed to find a place to use that equipment.

"We moved out to a barn with our little 1860 and 1650 and did all the bindery stuff by hand. We were in that barn for about three months."

Floods like this can hit any in-plant, not just those near flood zones. In 1994, St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia was flooded after storm drains collapsed during a storm, bringing 14 feet of water into the unsuspecting shop.

In-plant Inferno

Disasters have a way of taking people by surprise. Sometimes they come when you're too far away to help.

Back in July of 1992, Sandie Franklin never would have dreamed that when she left her in-plant at Oregon State University, Corvallis, to go to a conference, she would return to only charred remains.

"I received a call from another manager, and at first I thought she was kidding me," recalls Franklin, general manager of printing and mailing services. "It was hard to imagine that building burning."

But it was no joke. The fire started in a tar truck that was reroofing the building. It quickly spread to the in-plant's roof, and then into the building.

"Almost everything was lost," Franklin recalls. "All the mailing and binding equipment were lost in the fire. The presses and typesetting equipment suffered heavy water damage from the efforts to put out the fire. We had one press, a Heidelberg two-color perfecting press that survived the fire and was later sold."

A major concern for firefighters at the scene was a chemical storage area located adjacent to the building. "Keep your MSDS (material safety data sheets) handy," suggests Franklin.

Franklin says the in-plant got help from several sources after the fire, including the University of Oregon, which offered copying and printing services. Many vendors helped out as well, especially with mailing services.

"They assisted us in finding comparable equipment so we could process some of the more time-sensitive mailings," Franklin says. Vendors have also helped the in-plant prepare for future problems. "We have spent time talking to vendors and others, developing contingency plans for the next disaster."

The fire provided a good lesson on the importance of backing up files.

"We were able to salvage the hard drives from the PCs but not our main server. This hampered our rebuilding effort considerably. At the time we used tape and disks. Now we have the ability to backup to a server located in another building."

Franklin says the in-plant's loyal customer base is a major reason that the operation came back after the fire.

"It was largely due to customer support that our organization survived to rebuild and continue to provide service to our campus," admits Franklin. "Make sure you have open communication with your customers, listen when they make suggestions and include them when setting future goals."

Permanent Change

Despite its best efforts, though, the in-plant did not return to normal after the fire. Printing is now bought outside using a bid process. The in-plant no longer has a traditional pressroom—it handles xerography and digital printing. Color work is now outsourced to vendors.

One thing is certain, you can never predict what effect a major disaster will have on your operation. In fact, in rare cases, there may be an inadvertent positive side. Just ask Brad Johnson at Gustavus Adolphus College.

"If anything good came from what happened it would be the fact that they are building us a new shop," Johnson says, adding, wryly, "and that we [now] have experience in moving a print shop."

Prepared For A Pounding

Hurricanes are a part of life in southern Florida. So Simon Siflinger, document project manager for the South Florida Water Management District, has to have his West Palm Beach-based in-plant ready for an emergency whenever a storm is approaching.

As soon as a hurricane is forecasted, Siflinger has his employees on a three-tiered alert system, beginning 72 hours before the storm is expected to hit. Each employee has a "checklist" of duties he or she is responsible for in the event of an emergency.

"The checklist will allow the person to know what to do at different stages," Siflinger explains. Duties include covering equipment such as copiers, printers and presses, and moving gear off of the floors and away from windows.

Also of great importance is backing up computer files and programs. Siflinger actually ships copies of his files out of state when a hurricane is approaching.

"That way we don't lose everything that we have done," he says.

This type of preparation can make the difference between survival and utter destruction for an in-plant.

Although his in-plant has not been damaged in any of the tropical storms that have hit south Florida, Siflinger is ready for a catastrophe. To help in the clean-up process, he has even prepared a list of non-printing skills that his in-plant employees possess—such as truck driving.

Siflinger says there are three main points in-plant managers should abide by when making a disaster plan.

Make a checklist. List the responsibilities of each employee in the event of an emergency, including protecting valuable equipment and files.

Education. Make sure each employee knows what to do in an emergency.

Look at all possibilities. Have a plan for all types of disasters.

Siflinger stresses that it is important to have a plan no matter what part of the country your in-plant is located in.

"Be alert—you don't necessarily have to have hurricanes," Siflinger points out. "It's vitally important, especially if you live in an area that has tornados or earthquakes or things like that."