resistance to new technologies/workflows

[workflow]

Re: resistance to new technologies/workflows

It seems that every time something new is introduced resistance to the new technologies/ workflows is prevalent. we've had to deal with this issue on several new introductions and upgrades. the folks i work with span several generations and the older the generation the harder it is to get them to accept the new tech. at the beginning i was dumbfounded by the fact that some folks did not want to get on board with new technologies that would reduce the number of production issues that we were running into and that they were frustrated about. i guess that was my own naivete. once i accepted the fact that you can't make everyone happy, i went another route. basically presented the new tech very positively, explained to them that the it would get rid of some of our problems. needless to say, it's been a long and difficult road, and one we're still on.

by the way, the younger generation embraced the new technology - no issues.

 

[G_Town]

Re: resistance to new technologies/workflows

"the older the generation the harder it is to get them to accept the new tech"

Nah I've seen plenty of youngsters that don't know or want to know, perhaps being young may make them inherently less afraid of new technologies but that's about it IMHO.

BTW what are we talking when we say "older generations?"

Just curious

 

[insanedave]

Re: resistance to new technologies/workflows

The comment about "spoiling" our customer by making all changes wasn't meant to sound as negative as it came out. We do get paid for *some* of the changes. The problems there are sales reps who automatically do not want to change the customer any addition charges. By spoiling, I meant that now that pdf workflows are becoming more prevelent and useful, nobody wants to send us pdf's because that would mean they would have to make changes and re-submit a new file if something is incorrect. While it is a "value added service", imagine how much faster we as printers would be able to turn work with out having to "re-build" a file on 80% of the jobs we touch. We have one customer, who of course, has rush planning booklets they do each month. It is usually a weekend turn - the problem is we get files in 2 different programs with pages split up all over the place between the 2 programs. We have tried suggestions and training - but the answer we get is: "you are the print provider and the experts, you need to handle it - we need a proof in an hour."
And we have tried to train and explain to many customers. We deal with one designer that on one job we really reamed our lead prep op for changing his files. So, about a week later we got another job in and on purpose, the operator didn't change the color settings becuse he had just gotten his but chewed for doing so. Then the designer said you are the print pro - you should have changed it. About 2 weeks later the designer stopped in and we very politely and professionally confronted him on the issue. And he said, you're right - there is no way you are going to win here. He asked if he could send pdf's and we gladly rejoiced and got him setup with our rip and color profiles and showed him how to use it. We have not seen and pdf's from him and have done many jobs for him since then. you can't make them do it I guess.
And as far as age having anything to do with resistance - I don't see it, sorry. We have a really balanced age group of people working here, and the resistance/acceptance is pretty balanced all the way around. And the younger ones act like "I don't care what it will do, not if means I have to actually do something else."
The "higher-ups" are behind me 150% percent - but I have tried not to get them involved in getting this implemented. I think most people would refuse something even more if were being shoved down their throat by some who doesn't know how things go on a day-to-day basis.
Just my two-cents worth, i guess.

 

[Franknater]

Re: resistance to new technologies/workflows

On a conservative view, we did resist immediate change. We'd sit back and wait a couple of months then start seeing the bug reports from either the application or compatibility. So, that was a pro, not a con.

Age? It has to do with computer literacy and experience. Age is part of the group that has a good amount of experience with conventional stripping/prepress.

Then there's job hunting. The pay scale is dropping.

Frank

 

[G_Town]

Re: resistance to new technologies/workflows

"Then there's job hunting. The pay scale is dropping."

Possibly if you have marginal skills or are new to the business but its been my experience that there are less and less talented people in the business and those folks that have the background and the problem solving skills are becoming more and more in demand.

my 2¢

 

[plategirl]

Re: resistance to new technologies/workflows

MetrixMan. what are your pre-press operator's main issues concerning the change to Metrix? Preps looks complicated, but once I got used to it, it was easy, but still...any new skill or technology that makes my job easier (and faster) is definitely worth using. Perhaps you already explained their specific problems (which might lose me, as I have no experience on Metrix)? Could their resistence be due, perhaps, to time constraints? Would your company be willing to have them in on the weekend, and pay them for it, or would they be expected to squeeze in learning Metrix during their busy day? Just wondering.

 

[Franknater]

Re: resistance to new technologies/workflows

G_town,

The market is flooded with designers and tech school kids. At 52 there's just not much for me. I've been looking for the past 4 months. There's the entry level positions all the time.

One shop, I went for 3 interviews. The third interview was, "Well, we start people off at $18. Will that be a problem?" It was written in previous two shops, $23.50 and $24.

My response was, "Yes. I was making that in 1991."

Perhaps the large shops with 125 or more employees would be closer and I did get a couple of offers to equal my pay for the very reason it would be night shift AND my experience level. The mid size were going near the $18-20.

 

[insanedave]

Re: resistance to new technologies/workflows

We are not actually asking these guys to learn how to use Metrix - yet. right now i am planning the the job and either exporting a preps template(so they do not have to back and recreate what I am looking for), or export the jdf imposition. The jdf impo works directly with the RIP, the page map just has to be edited.(right now) So basically, i don't know why they are resisting using this. it would seem easier to me to edit one big page map in the RIP(which has to be used anyway) instead of breaking the pages out to use in the run lists of multiple preps templates. We had one this morning in which the designer built the file with the OBC(or pg56) as pg1 of the document - OFC (or pg1) being pg2 in the document. The argument i got was "See, this jdf thing will never work until people start building their files right." I in turn asked - "Well, don't you still have to reorder the pages to make it work in a standard preps template?"
The answer was - "well, yeah - but you don't see what i'm saying."
come on - give me a break

 

[G_Town]

Re: resistance to new technologies/workflows

"G_town,

The market is flooded with designers and tech school kids. At 52 there's just not much for me. I've been looking for the past 4 months. There's the entry level positions all the time.

One shop, I went for 3 interviews. The third interview was, "Well, we start people off at $18. Will that be a problem?" It was written in previous two shops, $23.50 and $24.

My response was, "Yes. I was making that in 1991."

Perhaps the large shops with 125 or more employees would be closer and I did get a couple of offers to equal my pay for the very reason it would be night shift AND my experience level. The mid size were going near the $18-20."

Well to be fair I did have to relocate to increase my salary after 20 years at my original company. My home state is bad now for jobs, anyway best move I could have made.

Good luck, have you tried a headhunter?

Worked for me (actually at the time I wasn't looking).

 

[plategirl]

Re: resistance to new technologies/workflows

Hmmm. Tell you what, seems to me as if your people think that if in the end, they have to fix the designer's files anyway, what's the whole point of using a new software in the first place.

My take on the situation is this: they won't know until they try. Can you get a liscense for 30 days, train maybe one of your more open-minded emplyees on Metrix, then set up and train your pre-press people up so that certain jobs are done using Metrix, say, on one single smallish, easy-sih job at first, then working the complexity scale up? That way they can get some experience without it being shoved at them whole-scale. Just an idea. Frankly, their level of resistance is a little baffling.

 

[neotrog]

Re: resistance to new technologies/workflows

30 trials have come up a couple of times. Unrealistic with the Big Box guys like Agfa and Esko. Hell, it takes 30 days to configure a system to work right and issue the license files. Typically what you'll get is some vague contract that actually translates to " We're buying this, however, if it DOESN"T WORK after 30 days we'll take it back." Who defines what "doesn't work" means creates a big problem? Also, if people don't want something you can bet the trial will fail.

If there's compelling business reasons to automate management needs to go that way. One of the problems you can run into with people selling to the executive branch is that they really don't know how things work. They can't spot potential problems or ask pertinent questions. You can end up with something that just doesn't work in your environment. The comments about "fixes to customer files" is an all important one. If it's really that front part of the business that's responsible for the bulk of the operator time, you could end up with a half million dollar investment, the same payroll and no ability to get more paying work done. That's a disaster of the worst kind. What other bottlenecks exist. We bought $60,000 worth of workflow. It hasn't really increased capacity because the engines are still slow. It did, however, reduce our drop-dead minimum process time from finished art. Used to be 2 hours to RIP and 1-1/4 to image. Now it's 10min. to RIP and 1-1/4 to image. It's the difference between making Fed-X and not so the service advantage was worth it. Sometimes the best way to get people on the boat is to yell SHARK! "Management is going to buy SOMETHING in 30 days. Your life can get very un-fun if you don't actively participate in the decision."

 

[kenthekid]

Re: resistance to new technologies/workflows

Whoa! Of all I read here on this subject sir, yours was the one that made the most sense!! It's called diplomacy and general
RESPECT. If you don't know HOW to use your people, I guess it's always just easy to "clean house". Kudos to you sir, as that
was the best response/attitude I've read so far.
KentherKid (ex-stripper/color analyst and corrector/prepress operator AND troubleshooter)

 

[Davo]

Re: resistance to new technologies/workflows

MetrixMan,

We're doing a few things that may assist you in your plight: We're very soon releasing Metrix3 which will run native on Windows and now Mac. Prepress folk often resist using anything on Windows, and for this very reason we put the effort into Metrix for Mac - it really is sweet. We have also introduced a bunch of new features that make the whole Metrix experience a lot easier, quicker and friendlier for our Prepress friends. As someone who's taught hundreds of Preps operators over the years, I can fully understand their desire to just keep on using Preps, but I really think when they're exposed to Metrix3 on the Mac, they'll start to change their mind.

We're also introducing some new automation features in Metrix3 specifically for Rampage. Contact me offline and see if I can help your cause ;-)


Davo
LithoTechnics Inc.