Telford & Wrekin Council streamlines functionality with new document & print system
Recognised as one of the top performing councils in the West Midlands and a four-star authority by the Audit Commission, Telford & Wrekin Council was looking for a technology partner to transform its fleet of printers, copiers, scanners and fax machines into a state-of-the-art office infrastructure.
Using Xerox’s multifunction printers and Equitrac’s print tracking and cost recovery solution, the council can now gain clear insight into its total document output, apply this knowledge to streamline processes, control costs and contribute to the requirements of its environmental policy.
When Telford & Wrekin Council wanted to refresh its office environment, it started looking for a solution that could help reduce operational costs, streamline its administration functions and integrate sustainable business practices into everyday activities. The council quickly recognised that by streamlining its printing, copying, scanning and faxing infrastructure would not only help minimise paper waste, it would also reduce its day-to-day operational costs and improve employee efficiencies.
“Of greatest importance was finding a solution that could potentially be used by everyone in the council. In our ideal world, employees could walk up to any device, authenticate themselves and immediately print the documents they needed – even if they were not in their usual building.” - Cabinet Member Resources, Telford & Wrekin council.
Telford & Wrekin Council selected Xerox to manage its phased transformation into providing a greener, more efficient and future-proofed office environment.
“This project was an important undertaking and we weren’t reticent to scrutinise the capabilities and business practices of potential partners. Xerox was a confident choice. From the beginning they acted as a natural partner that renewed our print infrastructure, made our administration easier to manage and helped to reduce our waste and carbon footprint,” explained the Project Sponsor.
Telford & Wrekin Council identified 14 locations that together generated an output in excess of 12 million pages per year. Desktop devices were consolidated from previous stand alone printers, copiers, scanners and fax machines to more than 80 Xerox devices including the Xerox WorkCentre 7245 and 7345 multifunction devices (MFD). These support up to 45 pages per minute of printing and copying in black and white and 35 pages per minute for colour. Xerox partnered with Computacenter, an existing supplier to the council, to manage the removal of old devices and the delivery of the new Xerox MFDs.
“By transitioning our equipment from a single purpose device like a printer or copier into a fleet of multifunction devices, we were able to streamline internal administration. Replacing numerous suppliers of equipment and consumables with one supplier partner and an automated internal per page charging system to individual business units, has given transparency and accountability. We also reduced our paper usage and waste by setting the duplex function as standard which provided both an economical and ecological advantage,” added the Project Manager.
In order to monitor total print outputs and associated costs, Telford & Wrekin Council implemented Equitrac software to sit alongside the Xerox devices. Equitrac software is used in conjunction with the MFDs so statements and reports can be automatically issued to cost centre owners who can see actual usage at an employee level and split between black and white and colour. With Equitrac in place, Telford & Wrekin can now track and analyse which devices are under or overused, recognise peak usage periods and total cost of ownership.
Equitrac also makes it possible for Telford & Wrekin Council to control which devices employees can access via an authentication terminal at each multifunction device.
“One of the biggest changes we’ve seen is the increase in employee awareness about the impact of their individual actions. After every print and copy job, employees can see how much each job actually costs,” explained the ICT Senior Technician.
In addition to standard printing and copying, Telford & Wrekin Council workers can also use the Xerox WorkCentre 7245 and WorkCentre 7345 machines to manage their documents with an array of helpful tools. Employees can walk up to any convenient Xerox device in an implemented location, authenticate themselves and use the ‘follow you’ functionality to print their documents.
Documents can be easily converted from hard copy documents to electronic files and sent via e-mail either around the local office, within the wider council or externally. File size can be optimised and network traffic minimised through the ability to store digital documents as High Compressed PDFs.
In addition, Xerox SMart Kit technology constantly monitors critical components of the WorkCentre device to predict and prevent downtime. The Xerox multi-tasking network controller maximises office productivity: employees can concurrently scan, print or copy, fax while digitalised files are rapidly routed to their next destination.
“By establishing a streamlined solution at our larger locations, Telford & Wrekin Council is confident that we’ll reduce costs by at least 15 per cent over the first three years,” said the Head of ICT. “After four years we expect to have reduced costs by 25 percent.”
Since its transformation, Telford and Wrekin Council has lowered costs whilst producing higher quality printed documents.
By cutting down the fleet from hundreds of machines to just 66 workgroup multifunction devices and a small number of specialist devices in support, the council has streamlined its processes by integrating services, including voice and document management.
The ultimate goal has been to provide the council with a future-proof infrastructure and this has been achieved through the implementation of Xerox devices.
Telford and Wrekin Council has more than 6,000 employees at over 80 different locations and 80 schools. Future plans will involve installing Xerox devices at further locations where existing equipment requires replacement and numbers of staff and volumes are appropriate.
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