Washington Senators Try to Close In-plant Again
The Washington State Department of Printing (PRT) enjoys a sales-per-employee ratio of $237,000 per employee, which is some 60 percent higher than the industry average of $145,000. But Sen. Sen. Rodney Tom and a bipartison group of senators still think the state can save money by eliminating the in-plant. So they have just introduced Senate Bill 5523, which sets out to do just that. According to a new blog by Ray Chambers, however, the senators' conclusions may not be supported by the facts.
"The reality is this: shutting down PRT will not reduce print costs," writes Chambers in his blog, Management Counts (www.inplantgraphics.com/channel/management-counts). "If anything, decentralizing responsibility for print procurement will enable those with little or no training in print buying to manage agency print spending—and overall printing costs for the state are likely to soar."
The new bill says that "...technological changes have decreased the need for a central state printer.” Chambers, however, wonders whether the state really wants every agency to invest in high-end production equipment. Read Chambers' entire blog here.