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Ricoh’s local knowledge of our business environment
played an important role in the success of the solutions
rolled out and we have been impressed by how
office automation was able to complement what we were
trying to achieve culturally in this new space.
Santosand Ricoh
”
‘‘
Discovers, delivers, collaborates, cares These are the guiding business principles of major Australian oil and
gas company Santos. Founded in 1954, the company is Australia’s
largest domestic gas producer, supplying gas to all mainland Australian
states and territories, ethane to Sydney, and oil and liquids to domestic
and international customers.
With one of the largest exploration portfolios in the region, the
Santos vision is to become the leading energy company in South
East Asia. Since 2001, the company has worked towards this goal by
capitalising on its business interests, both at home and abroad, as well
as developing new projects to drive production and earnings growth.
As part of an improvement program implemented in 2004, Santos
identified it could further strengthen its position if it could mobilise the
full capability of its workforce.
In February 2005, work began on what would become the new Santos
headquarters on Flinders Street, Adelaide. Completed in March 2007
and covering some 15,000 square metres over 12 levels, the state-of-
the-art facility accommodates around 1,000 employees.
The design and fit-out of the Santos Centre reflects the company’s
aim to provide an environmentally friendly workplace that fosters
teamwork, collaboration and achievement, giving employees flexibility
and mobility. The new open-plan building includes an internal atrium
and stairway linking all levels, providing a sense of community through
encouraging movement and increasing accessibility.
The common features on each office floor are workstations, breakout
areas, meeting rooms and quiet rooms, yet that’s where the similarities
end. Each level differs in theme with furnishing, colour schemes and
finishes relating to the geographic areas and physical environments in
which Santos operates.
Breakout areas can be found in the most central locations, allowing
employees to interact informally with access to full IT services and
support. Layout aside, Grant Holland, Business Services Manager, says
the most exciting part about custom-building the new office space
was the opportunity to overhaul office technology that had become
outdated and inefficient.
Traditional telephone handsets were replaced with new VoIP phones,
desktop personal computers were replaced with laptops and state-of-
the-art audio-visual equipment was installed in each meeting room.
The new workspaces feature wireless functionality, allowing employees
to seamlessly move around the building.
When it came time to evaluate print and copy inventory, Santos found
over 140 multifunction devices (MFDs), desktop printers, scanners and
fax machines located throughout the building. To complicate matters,
the devices came from a range of vendors. Many of the pre-existing
MFDs did not support confidential printing, often had different print
drivers and some were much slower than others. Santos wanted to
standardise the equipment available to staff which would in turn also
simplify training and education.
“The new building presented us with an opportunity to improve how
we managed office automation,” says Holland. “ We wanted a new
approach so we talked to a number of vendors, including Ricoh, about
what they could offer.”
Waste and the environment were other key concerns. While the
machines themselves wasted energy and took up vital floor space,
staff would often print documents to their MFD and never collect their
completed job or leave it so long before collection that it would be
disposed of. Santos recognised they could manage paper and toner
use more effectively.
Together Ricoh Australia and Santos identified that it was possible to
reduce waste and consolidate the disparate and multi-branded print
and copying equipment by harnessing the solutions capabilities of
Ricoh’s software-enabled multifunction devices. Ricoh proposed to
replace the high number of existing devices with just 32 multifunction
devices. The bottom line being, unlike before, more staff would have to
share but would have improved functionality available to them.
Privacy, security and backlogs were of key concern, particularly to
many staff who had previously had their own personal printer. Ricoh’s
solution had to also take these sensitivities into account,
explains Holland.
“The upgrade offered us a unique opportunity to replace both
outdated equipment and outdated work practices. New technology
had the ability to break old ways of doing things and bring new
efficiencies to the company but we had to consider the concerns of our
staff in such a major change.”
“ We wanted a new approach so we talked to a number of vendors, including Ricoh, about what they could offer.”
New technology had the ability to break old ways of doing
things and bring new efficiencies to the company but we had to
consider the concerns of our staff in such a major change.
”‘‘
same level of assistance and support would be critical. Ricoh’s local
knowledge of our business environment played an important role in
the success of the solutions rolled out and we have been impressed by
how office automation was able to complement what we were trying
to achieve culturally in this new space,” says Holland.
The solutions had to be delivered by March 2007, stretching all
resources. Design, testing, training and implementation occurred over
a 4 month period. A number of challenges were thrown up during this
time and the majority resolved jointly in time for the staff moves.
Staff were moved to their new premises in stages. Support groups
made up of the many project teams (Facilities and IT) roamed the
floors to provide assistance to staff when needed. Ricoh, other vendors
and Santos staff made up these groups and facilitated a smooth
transition to the new working environment. The majority of staff were
working in their new locations within hours of moving to the new
building.
Both management and staff remain excited about the results since
the new Santos Building on Flinders Street was opened. Santos looks
forward to reporting that productivity is up and waste is down. Already
the lines of communication have been thrown open.
“Technology has played an important role as an enabler for culture
change,” says Holland. “Staff now move around the building, sharing
their ideas. We couldn’t be happier with the outcome.”
To minimise waste, improve document security and meet the demands
of the new highly mobile workforce, Ricoh’s Business Solutions
Group worked with Santos and other related vendors to custom-build
solutions that integrated the new multifunction devices with the
company’s new security access software and implemented ‘Follow
YouTM’ printing using EquitracTM Office software. Also implemented in
Adelaide was Ricoh’s scanning solution GlobalscanTM and integrated
into an enterprise fax solution. Ricoh worked with Santos and other
vendors to deliver these solutions.
To address staff concerns about backlogs, lost prints and confidential
printing, ‘Follow You’ printing securely holds all print jobs on a central
print server. At any time and at most multifunction device’s, a user can
release a print job by simply swiping their employee smartcard and
selecting the document from the list of jobs that they have permission
to access. The need for staff to constantly key in user IDs or passwords
to print has been eliminated; each printing device quickly recognises
an employee’s identification card via a proximity detector and can
provide immediate access to colour printing and document retrieval.
To provide greater visibility of employee work practices, EquitracTM
Office has given Santos the capability to manage throughput down to
user level, highlighting potential training issues, workload balancing
and correct placement of devices.
“We had previously worked with Ricoh on a very demanding project
with good results. Going into the technology upgrade we knew the
Ricoh Australia Pty. Ltd. 8 Rodborough Road, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086. Phone: 61 2 8977 1111 Fax: 61 2 8977 1100 Web: ricoh.com.au | Product code: 950501Ricoh New Zealand Pty. 60 Stanley Street, Parnell, Auckland New Zealand. Phone 0800 2 Ricoh (0800 2 74264) Fax: 64 9 915 1401 Web: ricoh.co.nz
We had previously worked with Ricoh on a very demanding
project with good results. Going into the technology upgrade we
knew the same level of assistance and support would be critical.
”‘‘