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[previous article] [next article]The ECN printer maintenance organization is responsible for the upkeep of almost all network hosted devices that place text or images on paper. This means maintaining 75 printers in a variety of models from 15 different manufacturers located in 8 buildings. The various types include: chain and band (Data Printer, Data Products); dot matrix (Printronix, DEC, etc.) laser printers (Imagen); and plotters.
The printer maintenance "staff" consists of one hardware engineer and one assistant (but the term "technician" is more applicable than is "engineer") working out of room 55 in the basement of Electrical Engineering. Supplies consists of two cabinets of spare parts, one cabinet full of pieces that may be salvageable, a filing cabinet of service manuals, and the usual bins of common electronic parts found in any repair shop. I determine the type and quantity of spare parts to keep on hand by the known failure rate for a given part, the number of identical printers in service, or the maintenance schedule for a printer. The relatively large number of Printronix printers, for example, requires a larger spare parts inventory than does the one of a kind TI Omni 800. Laser printers require parts replacement at regular intervals, and the dependence on them by the clerical staff (who actually keep the University running) demands a well stocked parts inventory.
Most printer failures are mechanical in nature. While electronic failures may be corrected with common components, mechanical parts are generally very specialized and useless once they are worn out. The price of a part is also a determining factor in deciding how many of each part to keep in stock.
Once a trouble report is received, it is queued up for service. Priority is determined by the severity of the problem and the number of users being inconvenienced. For example, the EE building has four printronix printers, so when one of these goes down a user merely has to travel a few hundred feet to use another printer, but the failure of the single printronix at Grissom puts a more serious strain on users. Laser printers get high priority for the reason previously mentioned! And, of course, a trouble report mentioning smoke rolling out of a device generates prompt attention.
After sending a "trouble" report you will receive the standard reply stating that someone will investigate the situation within a week. Don't be alarmed. Generally, someone will be checking into the "trouble" report within a few hours. Although we may not always be able to fix everything immediately; we do keep moving in the forward direction.
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