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outdated and inefficient.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.

”‘‘