WorkCover SA

WorkCover SA manages the South Australian Workers rehabilitation and Compensation Scheme, which provides protection to workers and employers in the event of workplace injury. WorkCover SA has close to 300 staff working across nine floors and prior to arrangements with Kyocera Managed Print Services (MPS), was equipped with a printer fleet that incorporated 12 Multifunction Devices (MFDs), stand alone copiers and 40 printers. While the MFDs and copiers were maintained under a service contract, the printers had been purchased outright and demanded ongoing costs for toner and maintenance.

In addition to our immediate cost savings and the impressive forecasted savings, the MPS solution has meant that we've reduced the number of calls.

- Chris Osborne, ICT Operations Manager, WorkCover SA

Challenges and Solutions

	Device management Different printer models purchased at different times: 20 different types of toners			Device support Single reliable source for MFDs, printers, service and support
	Scale High inventory cost to stock two to three bottles of each type of toner as a buffer			Device management Accurate automatic toner ordering and delivery system
	Costs Printers with a TCO 10 times more expensive than original hardware for regular print volumes			Cost control Automatic meter reading for tracking overall usage and costs
				Accountability Monthly usage report for cost analysis

Key objectives

WorkCover SA were looking to replace their ageing MFD fleet and wanted to turn their focus towards an overall printing solution that would enable a reduction in TCO. Their key goals included: 

• Reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) of their document equipment

• Simplification of the currently diverse fleet and toners

• Improve the currently poor toner management and reduce manual errors

• To be able to measure and evaluate overall printing costs

The challenge

WorkCover’s varied fleet of MFDs, copiers and printers, presented a series of operational challenges and with the MFD devices fast approaching end-of-life and the associated service contract due to expire, it was apparent that new devices would need to be purchased and deployed as replacements.

“One of the consequences of having such a diverse fleet of MFDs, copiers and printers was the burden of having to purchase and manage 20 different types of toners, with two to three pieces each for buffering, in the inventory room,” said Mr Chris Osborne, ICT Operations Manager, WorkCover SA.

“This also meant that every time a toner needed to be replaced, people had to go from their respective floor to the inventory room. This, combined with manual ordering errors and poor toner management, sometimes resulted in a printer being down for days before the replacement toner was available and installed.”

With the IT area responsible for managing printers and another area managing the MFDs, the existing set-up lacked efficiency and didn’t allow for measuring or evaluating overall printing costs.

When a preliminary Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis was carried out for the printers, the cost was some 10 times the cost of the original printer hardware. The escalating printing costs, along with the need to replace the ageing MFD fleet prompted WorkCover to turn their focus towards an overall printing solution that would enable a reduction in TCO.

The solution

Working with Kyocera, WorkCover were able to update their MFDs and printers under a Managed Print Services (MPS) agreement, which would provide a single contract for ongoing maintenance (including toner management and servicing) on all devices, and keep costs to a minimum. This arrangement would also help to ensure that the new printing operation had minimal environmental impact.

Under the five-year MPS agreement, Kyocera replaced WorkCover’s ageing MFD and printer fleet with 10 sophisticated TASKalfa 500ci, KM-C4035e and KM4050 A3 colour MFDs and seven FS 1300DN and 23 FS 4000DN high-speed printers.

Where possible, various side-by-side monochrome and colour printers were consolidated down into a single, high speed, colour printer for maximum efficiency and ease of operation. Importantly, the agreement provided a single-vendor product solution that incorporated all devices and focused on delivering a much lower TCO by eliminating future overhead costs associated with extra toner requirements or device servicing.

“Kyocera’s MPS proposition was an attractive solution because it offered a simple and streamlined solution that would enable us to reduce costs. Ultimately, we chose to work with Kyocera because they are one of the very few vendors that can offer highly reliable MFDs and printers at the same time, along with their commitment to helping us create a more environmentally sound document management operation,” said Mr Osborne, ICT Operations Manager, WorkCover SA.

Being based in South Australia, Kyocera also worked closely with WorkCover’s IT area to set-up automatic meter reading and monthly usage analysis for their MFDs and printers. This meant WorkCover could begin to track and understand overall printing volumes and costs – organisation wide, by business area or by individual user. As part of the MPS solution, the IT area could also track its toner usage, knowing that once a toner gauge was low, a replacement would automatically be ordered and shipped to the exact location of the respective device, thereby minimising device downtime.

Working with Kyocera has been a great experience. Not only do they understand our business and our goals, but have demonstrated they have they technology and the flexibility to build a quality solution to truly support our operations.

- Chris Osborne, ICT Operations Manager, WorkCover SA

The results

Implementing the Kyocera solution delivered several measurable improvements and big results that:

• Reduced their overall printing costs by 30-35%

• Greater visibility of overall printing volumes and decreased costs, through improved reporting capabilities, has empowered the IT area to make effective decisions more easily

• More printing being done in-house, made possible by the improved functionality of the new devices (A3 Colour + Finishing Options)

• Reduced service call and response times to less than 4 hours, previously 4-6 hours for MFDs and next business day for Printers.

• WorkCover's staff have been able to better utilise their time through automation, rather than the administration area having to purchase and manage toner stocks. 

• Minimising e-waste and resulting landfill. The award winning cardboard-only package design for toner and devices has reduced the amount of waste that cannot be recycled. With Kyocera’s long-life ECOSYS technology and recycling efforts, it is projected to help WorkCover to divert more print cartridges and drums away from landfill.