The Process
After completing a manual data collection process, the project team used a Pareto chart to list the input variables related to printing. The Pareto showed that 83 percent of the company’s printing costs were driven by five factors: toner, paper, parts and labor, network printer depreciation and (bingo!) desktop printer costs.

However, upon plugging these five variables into a fishbone diagram, the team decided that these inputs were actually outcomes. So, it completed a separate fishbone for each outcome. This resulted in more than 50 inputs contributing to one or more of the five outcomes.

To narrow down the list of inputs even further, Rutherford and his team used a cause-and-effect matrix. One of the critical inputs they identified was toner cartridges. After a brief investigation, the team discovered that network printing costs could be reduced by more than 60 percent if remanufactured cartridges were used instead of new ones.

Before making the switch, however, a pilot was conducted to make sure the remanufactured cartridges did not introduce quality or serviceability issues. The remanufactured cartridges not only performed within spec limits, they even produced a higher yield than the new cartridges.

In addition to reducing toner price, the project team hoped to lower costs even more by reducing toner consumption. More than 50 combinations of network printer configuration settings were tested using a DOE (Design of Experiments). Again, the team approached end-users to review the test printouts for quality. As it turned out, they were able to lower the TDL (toner density level) by 50 percent on most printers and maintain acceptable print quality.

The discussions were eye-opening. For example, some people admitted to printing for convenience, and not because a printed copy was essential. Most didn’t print on both sides of the paper, and many were unaware that color ink cost significantly more than black ink. Overall, the project team sensed a lack of knowledge, and a lack of concern for the cost of printing.

Although many of the associates seemed open to change, the project team knew that making a detailed case for reducing the number of desktop printers would increase acceptance of the idea. So, the team conducted usability studies and found that the majority of desktop printers, and many of the network printers, were greatly underutilized when compared with an industry target utilization rate of at least 30 percent. “That told us we had immense capacity to transfer the prints from desktop printers to network printers,” says Rutherford.

The team also talked to printing industry experts about the ideal placement of shared network printers. Reviewing floor plans and conducting a walk-time study showed that the company’s existing network printers could be repositioned to meet the recommended average of 15 seconds/ 40-45 feet from a person’s desk. In some cases, the number of network printers in a given area could even be reduced.

Armed with this information, the team held focus groups with associates to discuss moving from desktop to network printers. “We shared the background and the cost information, and some of the potential savings with the groups,” Rutherford says. “One of the things we tried to explain was here’s an area where we can lower our costs without having to eliminate positions. I think people appreciated that.”

• the use of significantly lower priced remanufactured toner cartridges
• retirement of older, inefficient printers
• a centralized toner ordering and storage process
• a chargeback policy for color printing
• duplex printing to reduce paper costs
• a system for tracking printers covered by warranty to eliminate unnecessary service charges
  

These recommendations presented BCBSF an opportunity to lower its annual distributed printing costs by more than $1.4 MM, while maintaining acceptable levels of print quality and service.

The team also proposed a “Print Behaviors Communications and Training Program” to raise awareness about best practices and evolve the culture around printing. As Rutherford explains, “The program is aimed at educating people on how much it costs to print in color versus black and white, and the opportunity they have to duplex rather than print one side only.”

Rutherford sums it up in one of his key learnings from the project: “Had we focused only on eliminating desktop printers, we may simply have transferred costs to the network printers with minimal savings.”

A Recent Update
According to Black Belt Gene Rutherford, most of the recommendations from this project have been implemented at BCBSF, and have resulted in realized savings of $1.04 MM so far. He also reports that he’s observed cultural changes around print behaviors. For example, he says it’s becoming apparent that associates expect one another to use duplexing, and that color prints are generally accompanied with a rationale for the use of color.