The Evolution of Metrics in Print Production
The way leading in-plants measure productivity has evolved, writes Consultant Howie Fenton in a new blog. Modern metrics are detailed and actionable, giving a clear picture of how well things are running – but it wasn’t always this way.
“Traditionally, print shops used some pretty basic measures to see how they were doing. They looked at total sales, the number of jobs completed, mistakes, total costs, and how often they delivered on time,” writes Fenton in his blog. These metrics gave a rough idea of how things were going, but didn't always provide enough detail to pinpoint specific problems or provide actionable data.
Eventually, expensive and challenging Print MIS systems were created that tried to automate the collection of data. The process was time-consuming, prone to errors, and the data was rarely actionable. This left companies with a love-hate feeling regarding their Print MIS systems.
“Thankfully we’ve seen some changes in the years since,” Fenton writes. “Modern metrics are much more detailed and actionable … Print shops are able to obtain clear insights that can lead to immediate improvements in their manufacturing process.”
To learn more, read Fenton’s full blog post here.
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Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 180 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.
