Simple But Effective Workflow?

[Red_Right_Arm]

I manage the prepress department for a company that I've been working at for four months. This means that I've inherited the company workflows that they have already put in place. As a company culture there is a strong emphasis on being able to track all the details of any given job. However, the way those details get recorded and tracked becomes seemingly chaotic. Some pieces of info are applied that no one ever checks, but is good to have incase someone some day wants to know. Some pieces of info are important to one member in a department, but not to other members in that same department. Some info is logged digitally inside the job tracking system. Other info is logged digitally in another completely different system. Some info is logged by hand in a physical job folder. Some info is logged on a sheet hanging in a plastic sleeve. Some info is only recorded for a certain client. Other info is applied across the board for every job. I understand that the nature of flexographic printing requires a lot of small details to be managed, otherwise the jobs can go sideways very quickly. However, I can't help but feel like the way we are doing it is inconsistent, chaotic at times, only serves specific people on specific jobs for specific reasons in their own preferred specific way. It also means that prepress team members need to be able to just remember that for certain jobs info is logged this way. And for certain jobs info is logged this way. And for certain jobs info is logged this way.

I'm wondering if anyone can give me examples of a simple, yet effective workflow that they use that avoids this type of multiple input sources?

Maybe someone out there uses a completely digital workflow. Maybe someone uses a folder system. Maybe someone does all their work using tablets. Whatever it is, I'm trying to find a workflow I can look into and suggest that avoids continuing to use a digital / hand written / folder / notes / envelope / sign off / partially computerized / partially analog / partially specific / partially broad strokes system of information exchange.

 

[Craig]

You are looking for the holy grail of print MIS. Like Indiana Jones, I too have been on the same quest. It seems there is a need to spend $8,000 plus a year to achieve just that. We have a great program for smaller shops, but as we are growing, much like clothes, we are finding a harder fit. PressWise so far looks promising, but with a yearly expense that we did not budget for.

 

[mattbeals]

Until the company culture changes, this chaos will be allowed to reign free. You are looking for the Holy Grail and Craig said. You can do this with electronic ticketing/MIS systems -ONLY IF- the company culture changes to support it.

 

[Slammer]

It will all depend on how much clout you command, as Mattbeats says, the company culture has to change, can you change it?

 

[Average Joe]

I agree with Mattbeats. In my experience company culture is the one that needs to be changed. In my previous place I've seen introduction of expensive workflow systems and new initiatives, but people would go back to the same old ways. Staff on the printfloor just look at any change as if the 'pen-pushers from upstairs' going to give them extra unnecessary work... Well at least that was the case in our company.

 

[MailGuru]

One trick/technique I used to use when designing and writing systems (you could also use this technique while shopping for an off-the-shelf solution), is, to involve, and enlist, the help of the people that will actually be using the system. Let them have a part in the process. Make it a team effort. That way, acceptance will be enthusiastic, because, each user will feel as they are partly responsible for the selection. Even it the system doesn't do exactly what you wanted it to do, human nature being what it is, nobody want to admit that they were wrong (marginal items will be met with a "we've got to figure out how to make this work" attitude, instead of, "this is a piece of crap that upstairs is trying to cram down our throats" attitude). With the latter attitude, even if it is a good system, you will get push-back from all stake-holders, and, they will try their best to make it NOT work.

 

[Puch]

You'll be very lucky if you find a product which fulfil your specific needs / established workflows. We tried several boxed products, just to conclude not one of them will be perfect for us. Some of them are bloated, some of them lack key features we need. Eventually we went into developing our own one.

 

[mattbeals]

Friend of mine took VirtualTicket and customized the heck out of it to fit their shop needs. I worked at a place where took Logic and customized.