Steve Price, Reproduction and Design Divisional Manager of the Personnel & Administration Directorate General of the European Commission

An introduction
As all good Europeans know, the European Commission is at the heart of the European Union and is located in Brussels. It is the initiator of European Community policies, embodies the general interests of the European Union and acts as a driving force in the integration process. It proposes directions to take and implements the measures decided upon by the Council and Parliament. It is politically answerable to the European Parliament, which has the power to dismiss it by adopting a motion of censure.
 
European Commission and DG Press
The European Commission is assisted in its work by various disciplines and services. One of them is DG Press, which informs the media and citizens about the activities of the European Commission. It has the second largest press room in the world, after the White House, and can accommodate almost 5,000 media representatives at one time. At DG Press, press releases and a range of publications are printed daily on Océ printers.

The move to digital
In the past, the European Commission had 17 manned and 5 unmanned print shops. In all of these except one, analogue machines were installed. This equipment had become outdated during the life of its contract as lower prices and increased quality of digital equipment ensured a transition away from analogue towards digital. It became apparent that one was not taking advantage of the possibilities offered by this new technology. And so a decision was taken to proceed with the installation of a networked system of high volume digital printers located strategically in certain Commission buildings but centrally controlled. Because the Commission is so spread out over Brussels, it was inappropriate to have just one central print shop. Users had to be able to access a print shop relatively easily, so some decentralised capacity was necessary. However, these print shops still had to work as one big virtual print shop from a management point of view.

 

The objectives
The first objective was to ensure continuity of production. In 2000 some 200 million A4 pages were produced in the European Commission printshops. These often highly time-sensitive documents were (and still are) crucial to ensure smooth flow of procedures. Secondly, modernisation was necessary. Outdated equipment had to be replaced with
 machinery which could produce quality documents whilst being easy to maintain. Thirdly, the Commission wanted to eventually be able to put in place a centrally controlled system giving easy access to users via its intranet. Moreover, the Commission wishes quite simply to print only what it needs and at the lowest possible cost.

 

The best tender
The objectives of the project were developed within the Commission after studying the market and considering how the current technology could best be applied to the very particular needs of the institution. Prospective contractors simply responded to the publication of the tender in the Official Journal. Océ simply followed the formal procedure like everyone else. The Océ offer fulfilled the requirements laid down in the invitation to tender. The European Commission's aim was quite simply to obtain the best offer it could, applying objectively the evaluation criteria laid down in the tender. When the European Commission did this, the Océ offer came out on top, simple as that. And that is why Océ is now the European Commission's supplier for the coming years.

 

Advantages
In the document production centre, the machines for the Océ configuration are in place but the system is not yet fully installed. The solution comprises Océ Doc Works (member of the Océ PRISMA® software architecture) and Océ DPS400 (now named Océ VarioPrint™  2105). Very perceptible advantages are already apparent. Steve Price, Reproduction and Design Divisional Manager of the Personnel & Administration Directorate General of the European Commission, states, "Next we will proceed with the installation of a workflow system which will allow us to take full advantage of this networked system. We are already seeing a slight increase in the number of jobs being sent electronically instead of as hard copy. We will encourage this trend to continue, a task which should become easier as our facilities are made more accessible via the Web. Océ Doc Works allows us to work, via Acrobat, in PDF format in all our print shops (Acrobat is not yet standard in the European Commission apart from the Acrobat reader). This is the format we are seeking to use as much as possible. PDF allows users to visualise what we print before we print it. If we design the layout of a document and need it to be checked, we can prepare it using current graphics software, convert it to PDF using Océ Doc Works and send it to the users for their OK prior to running on one of our machines. This avoids any mix-ups later. The acquisition of the BB2008 booklet maker has allowed us to easily apply professional finishing to our documents. The Océ printers themselves are much more ergonomic, quieter and, significantly, far less likely to break down or jam up than the machines we used to have." He adds, "The first implementation at DG Press has exceeded all our expectations and we are very pleased with it."

 

The challenge
But not everything went according to plan. Steve Price explains: "This particular installation was not described in the tender documents but was, as it were, thrust upon us and Océ at the last minute. DG Press already had a digital printing system in place prior to signature of the new contract and their working practices were very much geared to this system. It was a challenge for everyone concerned and thankfully, one that Océ took on willingly."

 

Seamless installation
An installation was agreed upon, Océ technicians studied the situation and a solution was found. Océ carried out the installation seamlessly with virtually no disturbance to the output or working practices of DG Press and a very efficient team of operators was put in place. Steve Price states: "It was a real team approach from Océ and one that paid off for all concerned."

 

Teamwork
Teamwork was in fact the key to everything. Without a true team approach it would have been very difficult to apply a satisfactory solution within the context of the European Commission's very particular requirements. Steve Price explains: "It was apparent that the solution here at DG Press was very much the result of successful co-operation between various Océ departments, from the sales and administration departments which took note of our particular needs, to the technical departments which co-operated closely with DG Press to produce a viable solution based on the offer submitted, to the operators who were very much on the front line in the days and weeks following the installation."

 

New equipment, new possibilities
The Océ approach to training has been yet another source of satisfaction to the European Commission. Steve Price states: "We have been very satisfied with the Océ training approach and also with Océ's ability to modify their approach according to the natural disposition of individual operators towards information technology and digital equipment. Some of my staff are quite excited about the new equipment and the possibilities it offers. I personally really like to see this."

 

Breakdown resolution
Many of the EC documents are highly time-sensitive. It cannot be overemphasised how important it is to resolve breakdowns quickly and efficiently. Steve Price says: "This aspect of Océ service has remained excellent… some operators have reported that certain kinds of breakdown, such as paper jams, are less frequent with the new machinery than with the previous equipment."

 

State-of-the-art
Most importantly, when the whole project is finalised the European Commission will have an impressive state-of-the-art set of facilities at its disposal. When fully installed, the new document centre will comprise 16 document production centres in all. 15 of these located strategically among the 60-odd Commission buildings in Brussels and one in Luxembourg.
 
Three centres are dedicated to serving a particular set of clients and operate semi-autonomously. The others will, when installation is complete, operate as one big virtual print shop, managed centrally but with decentralised production centres easily accessible to European Commission users for the production of quick turnaround working documents. For documents requiring colour or more sophisticated finishing, a central print shop in Brussels and the print shop in Luxembourg are equipped to respond to such requests. The network capabilities will, however, allow the European Commission to spread its printing workload over all the print shops, thus ensuring that machines are fully utilised and that the same output can be achieved with fewer machines. This will result in lower cost per page for the European Commission and, indirectly, in savings for the European tax payer.

 

Satisfied
Steve Prices sums up: "We're happy to be working with Océ. As a result of what I've seen so far I'm confident that Océ has the skills and resources to make this project work. We'll remain happy for as long as Océ continues to place as much importance on the successful performance of their system as they do now. Experience tells me that they will do just that."