BYFORD SECONDARY COLLEGE

Konica Minolta provides cost savings and improved fleet management at Byford Secondary College

Byford Secondary College opened its doors in February 2014 to 169 students in Year 8. It is now a fully operationally public secondary school with more than 1,400 students enrolled in Years 7 through 12. Located in Byford, Western Australia, Byford Secondary College aims to provide excellence in all areas of education.

"If the college ever has a question for Konica Minolta, we can ring or email and have a response back very quickly. The support is outstanding"

Andrea Wright, Business Assistant, Byford Secondary College

The challenge

• New school required a printing solution that would minimise costs and complexity
• Requirement to track printing and charge back to departments
• Requirement to minimise administrative work in maintaining printer uptime

As a new school, Byford Secondary College was keen to keep costs and complexity to a minimum. One of the decisions made early on in the college’s establishment was to make sure all printer and photocopier consumables were interchangeable so the team didn’t have to manage different brands, carry different size toners, and figure out whom to call if a machine needed maintenance.

The school required a fleet of multifunction devices (MFDs). It also required a solution to help it manage costs across these devices, charging back printing and copying expenses to the appropriate department.

The solution

Following a tender process, Byford Secondary College chose Konica Minolta to provide the MFDs and print management services.

Andrea Wright, Business Assistant, Byford Secondary College, said, “The college chose Konica Minolta because the team was responsive and easy to work with. If we ask for a quote, Konica Minolta provides one within two hours.”

The managed print services option was also an important factor in the college’s decision to work with Konica Minolta.

Andrea Wright said, “With 1,400 students and 200 staff members, it was important to be able to manage which departments were printing and how much. The college uses PaperCut print management software, which is the only option that’s supported by the Western Australia Department of Education.”

Using PaperCut and FollowMe print through Konica Minolta card readers, staff members use a swipe fob to sign into the machine, which then releases their printouts. They can sign into any machine on campus and have the job charged back to their own department.

Andrea Wright said, “Konica Minolta machines self-order their consumables. We have spare consumables ready to go and, when the machine runs out, it orders replacements to come the following week, ensuring the college doesn’t run out.”

Customer benefits

• Konica Minolta MFDs order their own consumables, ensuring the college doesn’t run out
• Staff members don’t have to spend time ordering consumables or tracking printing
• Educators can access their printouts from anywhere in the college
• Tracking printing costs and charging back to departments is simple and automated

Having a homogenous fleet of Konica Minolta machines provided the cost savings and reduced complexity that Byford Secondary College required. The managed print services arrangement means that the college never runs out of consumables, so the printers stay up and running whenever staff and students need them.

Andrea Wright said, “Automatic ordering saves on administrative time for the team and the MFDs run themselves. This even includes if a machine needs a new drum, for example. It sends a message to Konica Minolta, including the fact that a drum is required, so the technicians can bring the drum with them when they come, saving a trip.”

Furthermore, being able to track which departments are printing and charge the costs back to them helps the college manage its budgets more effectively.

The strong relationship with Konica Minolta is a driving factor in Byford Secondary College’s decision to purchase a new machine recently.

Andrea Wright said, “If the college ever has a question for Konica Minolta, we can ring or email and have a response back very quickly. The support is outstanding. While the college has just purchased a new machine, we are moving towards a leasing arrangement and it was unbelievable how easy the lease process was.

“The collaborative approach by Konica Minolta was especially helpful when the college recently started doing banner printing. Konica Minolta provided trial paper and helped set up the printers for us. It’s a great relationship based on trust.”