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The Sedbury Trust

9 December 2022

Marine Harvest

9 December 2022

United Kingdom Firefighters and Fire Engine responding to fire

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

Apogee unifies print experience across all regions, reducing print volume and costs by over 58% for Scottish Fire and Rescue.

Company Profile

Company Name: Scottish Fire & Rescue
Sector: Public
Solutions Provided: Managed Print Services (MPS)

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) are the largest fire and rescue service in the UK and fourth largest in the world, operating 356 fire stations.

The organisation is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of the people of Scotland, working on the frontline, assisting with incidents, and focusing on the prevention of emergencies by spreading the message of fire safety.

The Background

The SFRS have eight regional fire services that had been managed separately until 2013, when they were unified into one single force.

There were 780 devices in total, including 179 different models from 13 separate manufacturers distributed across various locations and no managed print service (MPS) in place. The varying collection of devices were costly, and there was a lack of consistency across the service.

The dispersed devices made usability difficult for staff to switch from each device. The ICT departments in the regions were responsible for maintenance. The device repairs took up valuable time, resources and money whilst using an aging legacy fleet, which caused increased risks of printer failures, creating unnecessary waste and costs for the fire service.

Apogee were previously servicing only nine of the 13 different manufacturers devices within one region, with the other seven regions managed by various providers all with different workflows and processes, which caused a lack of stability within their fleet.

Production Print magnifying glass over photos

The Solution

Following the consultation with key personnel Apogee’s Professional Services (PS), experts began auditing the existing print environment and examining the locations and devices for potential ways to improve their MPS.

Apogee recommended transferring SFRS from a fleet of mixed brands and models to an integrated, unified and reliable infrastructure consisting of 492 new HP devices. The devices would include an automated consumable ordering system, integrated with a new billing process to ensure all associated consumable costs were accurately assigned to the respective region.

The solutions would also need to address the SFRS requirement for devices in remote locations, as well as a need for innovative technology to manage the less accessible devices - so to reduce the burden on ICT, speed up issue solving and keep the devices running around the clock.

The solution would also need to ensure it took advantage of the latest software technology, ensuring that print quality and security would not be compromised across the regions.

The Outcome

The audit on the eight locations and devices identified the need to unify the fleet, with a planned 492 HP devices roll out across 422 locations. The new fleet would come with a fully managed print service (MPS), and the consolidation of the print infrastructure and implementation of a managed print service revolutionised the way SFRS operated.

The solution included the deployment of 70 devices to offshore locations. For these devices, Apogee project management team travelled to each location by either ferry or plane to ensure a full comprehensive installation service.

Those devices in the furthest remote locations were preconfigured prior to delivery, so they could effectively ‘plug-in and play’ by station staff. A major benefit of the solution is the cost reductions, which SFRS have achieved.

By using Apogee’s new print policies, it resulted in a significant reduction in print volumes, with the previous volume seeing in excess of 7m mono prints now down to 2.6m and a staggering 3.5m colour prints now reduced to 1.8m - which is a reduction of 62% and 48% respectively. With the changes to the fleet and with a full managed print service the SFRS has made a reduction in printing of 58% and reduced costs by 59%.

This benefits the SFRS both by reducing their impact on the environment and reducing waste considerably, contributing to their sustainability initiatives. The cost savings can instead be allocated towards raising fire safety awareness across Scotland.

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