How do you currently manage your fleet of output devices?
Printers, copiers and scanners are often considered a secondary, though necessary, aspect of doing business. These devices handle routine daily print and copy jobs day after day and week after week, and IT departments or device vendors are usually available to fix them when they break. So why concern yourself with it?
Because when you do, you will realize just how much wasteful printing and device downtime can cost you. In addition to the budgetary savings on toner, paper, and device maintenance that naturally occurs when you cut unnecessary and accidental printing out of your business, getting your output environment under control can lead to gains in productivity, information management and security.
Keeping a watchful eye on output helps you understand when certain devices are bearing the burden of your business’s print work, allowing you to adjust your fleet usage or to schedule maintenance as devices near their prescribed use limits. Those small adjustments can make all the difference, as workers are no longer left waiting in line for the device they need, or waiting for the device to be serviced after it breaks. They may even send their job to another device in another location, but that’s still valuable time lost as they track down their document(s).
In addition to knowing which devices are getting the most work, you can use fleet-management to build insight into which workers are generating the most prints. With that knowledge, you can identify your most used devices and determine your best course of action, whether it’s adjusting the device fleet to meet their work needs, or implementing a chargeback system where print expenses are billed back to department budgets. At the very least, you can begin a conversation among your team about resource management.
Industry regulations have made businesses of all sizes and industries hyperaware of document security, such as sensitive information sitting unguarded on an output tray long periods of time. While asking employees to identify themselves at the device before they can pick up their prints helps you put a name to a page count, it also helps increase security. Holding documents for printing until someone releases them at the device lessens these privacy and security concerns.
With these, and other benefits for effective fleet management available, it’s time you ask yourself – or your IT department – questions about how you approach monitoring and management. While every business and fleet faces its own needs and challenges, we find the following questions particularly helpful in identifying the areas that may need addressing in your current fleet management infrastructure:
1. How do you currently monitor and manage your fleet of output devices?
2. Do you know monthly print volumes for your entire fleet? Is that number in line with your devices’ projected capabilities?
3. How do you manage print expenses? Do you bill back department budgets? If so, how do you track print expenses by department?
4. How do you configure your fleet? Do you route jobs in a batch configuration, or device by device?
If you struggled to answer any of these questions – or if asking them made you wonder if there’s a better way to handle things at your company – it may be time to consider more robust fleet management service. Contact us today to learn how Capital Business Systems can help.