In-plants have traditionally been stuck in cramped, out-of-the-way places. Those who have moved into larger, brighter facilities report a world of benefits.
Rodney Dangerfield couldn't get it. Aretha Franklin just wanted a little bit. And Monica Lewinsky never had much to begin with.
Respect.
Everybody craves it, but for many in-plants—stuck in the basement like vegetables in the crisper—respect and pleasant working conditions can be hard to find. Often in-plant facilities are too small, with low ceilings, bad lighting and no windows. While managers may not like this, some feel it comes with the territory.
"The term "print shop" implies a dingy, dumpy place run by two guys with green eye shades," says John Rogers, director of print services at the New England Journal of Medicine in Waltham, Mass. "I think people think, 'It's good enough; put them in the corner.' "
This derogatory view of in-plants isn't entirely unwarranted. Print shops used to smell pretty badly from all the chemicals they used, and companies had some justification for wanting to hide them below ground. Plus, they made a lot of noise. But today's quieter, less smelly in-plants still largely suffer with their basement legacies. Not only does this impede their ability to grow, but having to work in dark, cramped, leaky, subterranean quarters impacts employee morale.
Fortunately a few in-plants have been able to claw their way out of the cellar and into bigger, better facilities. The impact on morale has been incredible, they say.
Take Rogers' in-plant at the New England Journal of Medicine. Nestled in the hills of northeastern Massachusetts, the shop is surrounded by a cornucopia of flora and fauna. With eight-foot high windows showcasing a view of the New Hampshire mountains and acres of forestland, Rogers' new facility is the most beautiful he's ever seen.
"It's very difficult to walk in here and feel miserable," asserts Rogers, as he glances out a window to watch a hawk circling overhead. "We're on top of a hill surrounded by acres and acres of forestland. We even have geese in the parking lot."
But it hasn't always been that way.
Like many other in-plants, Rogers' shop was once plagued by cramped and crowded conditions, and made worse by poor ventilation and excessive noise.
Fortunately for Rogers and his crew, the company's publication division expanded so much that the in-plant had to be moved to accommodate the increased workload. Not only did the shop get better accommodations, but it also received the support necessary to help it improve its productivity. The in-plant has been able to add a lot of new equipment over the years thanks to this support.
Before the big move, Rogers' in-plant was forced to pay vendors to store paper, which caused him much consternation. However, after the move not only was Rogers able to bring all his paper storage under his own roof, but he was also able to recapture lost revenue from outsourced work.
Rogers feels the improved facility has definitely increased productivity.
"You need to look at the benefits you get with having windows, by having a great location," explains Rogers. "These are all benefits you can't account for, but they're human benefits, and they roll into more productivity."
Patience is It's Own Reward
While getting on management's good side and proving your in-plant's value are essential if you want better digs, they won't always yield this result. Sometimes a catalyst is needed, like when another department needs the in-plant's space. This happened at Boys' Town, in Omaha, Neb., and the in-plant ended up with a larger facility—though only after proving its value to the organization.
By the same token, the in-plant at Wright State University, in Dayton, Ohio, spent 15 long years demonstrating its value, but the limited funds of the growing university just wouldn't allow for a new facility. That is, until 1997, when the school broke ground for a new service staff facility to house the in-plant, university police and grounds crew.
Prior to that, the operation was spread out over two buildings and five classrooms, with the bindery stationed in a hallway surrounded by students on their way to classes.
But the growing school needed more class space, so the in-plant gladly yielded its territory and moved into its current, much improved home, which features big windows, high ceilings and lots of extra space. Not only that, the whole shop was redesigned by an engineer to accommodate improved work flow.
"All the employees, especially the long-term employees, were really excited about all the space and the windows," says Joy Heishman, director of Printing Services. "Not that anybody has the time to sit and stare out of the windows, but it has been a big improvement."
However, the employees weren't the only ones to benefit. Heishman says the university benefits too.
"If you have good equipment and a good facility it can only help to maximize your productivity," declares Heishman. "Besides, they needed the space for classrooms. So it's a win-win situation."
A Change of Space
Down in Americus, Ga., Mike Chapman also feels that a more spacious, brighter facility has helped his in-plant increase its productivity—and its quality.
"It's uplifting to come into work now and be able to walk down an aisle," says Chapman, print manager for Habitat For Humanity. "When you walk in here it just brightens your day."
The shop even has bright murals painted on its walls. Chapman feels the quality of his work environment has definitely improved the quality of his shop's printed work.
Habitat For Humanity's in-plant has actually been moved twice. Initially, it was housed in an old lumber warehouse with crumbling brick walls and no humidity control. To add to the nightmare, the plant sat across the street from a peanut processing plant— which Chapman says is a very dusty business—and suffered from occasional flooding.
But after increasing production there and bringing in work that was formerly outsourced, the in-plant convinced management to move it to a larger facility. Though that location—an 80-year-old Ford dealership—was an upgrade in terms of dust and temperature control, there was still no room for future growth.
Even so, the in-plant kept increasing production, even adding a four-color press. But when Chapman heard that his upper management was considering buying the in-plant another new press, he told them not to bother.
"I told them there was no reason to do that unless they had additional space," Chapman explains. "Because even if we set the new equipment on the floor we wouldn't have any place to put the materials that we printed. We would've just had a great big bottleneck. We were literally filling up the building with printed pieces. We were stumbling over one another."
After doing a walk-through, management saw his point. Chapman's in-plant was moved into a refurbished warehouse, which included everything he'd hoped for: improved ventilation, space for future expansion, a workflow-based design and no floods.
Chapman says the key to convincing management to spend money to upgrade your facility is value.
"A manager needs to show his value to the people he answers to in order for them to have the confidence to invest in him," Chapman contends. "We proved ourselves in production and quality and that just promoted our expansion."