Author Howie Fenton: Biography and Authored Content

See all content authored, presented, or sponsored by in-plant consultant Howie Fenton.

About the Author

Howie Fenton

Howie Fenton is an independent consultant and trusted advisor to in-plant printers. He recommends equipment, best practices and workflow automation tools to streamline operations. To learn more about measuring performance, benchmarking to leaders, and improving your value e-mail Howie@howiefentonconsulting.com. 

  • Blog Post
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  • Howie Fenton
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  • 04 February 2021

5 Ideas To Support In-Plant Awareness

Inspired by in-plant awareness month, this post talks about the often-overlooked importance of understanding product and service awareness and offers five ideas to help you increase your in-plant’s awareness.

  • Blog Post
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  • Howie Fenton
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  • 09 December 2020

Planning Your 2021 Post-COVID Recovery

Howie Fenton's latest RSA blog suggests three areas of your print operation to inventory and strategies to strengthen your print shop's 2021 recovery.

  • Blog Post
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  • Howie Fenton
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  • 16 November 2020

Manual Data Collection- The Worst Data Problem in the Industry

In this the second article in a two-part series about print shop metric issues we focus on four issues with manual data collection: unreliable data, staff productivity loss and dissatisfaction, and the inability to compile and analyze manually collected data.

  • Blog Post
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  • Howie Fenton
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  • 15 October 2020

Are you Collecting Bad Print Shop Metrics?

First in a two-part series about issues with print shop metrics. This article discusses bad metrics such as vanity metrics and suspect metrics and how on-time delivery and cost estimates may be a bad metrics.

  • Blog Post
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  • Howie Fenton
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  • 18 September 2020

The Evolution in Printing Metrics

In-plant print center metrics that best predict success and evaluate performance have changed. In this post, Fenton discusses several metrics, relates how in-plant vs. commercial printer metrics differ, looks more closely at newer metrics like equipment utilization and offers evidence of the metric that may be the most predictive of in-plant success.

  • Blog Post
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  • Howie Fenton
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  • 11 August 2020

Technology's Increasing Importance for Engaging Staff

A recent Harvard Business Review survey concluded overwhelmingly that technology has a greater impact on employee engagement than it did three years ago and will continue to be a major factor. Utilize the latest technologies in your print shop and ensure your staff has an active role in using, remaining current and fully employing these technologies as part of an overall employee engagement strategy to foster engagement and attract and retain staff.

  • Blog Post
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  • Howie Fenton
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  • 17 July 2020

Software Dashboards and New Trends in Data Collection

The idea of business dashboards is not new. What is new is that dashboards have become a mainstream management tool and now upper management may request access to dashboards. Business dashboards typically provide a graphical display of critical information such as day to day data, key performance indicators (KPIs) or benchmarks. One of the main problems, however, is the lack of availability of dashboards. One of the few companies that offers a dashboard is RSA.

  • Blog Post
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  • Howie Fenton
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  • 13 May 2020

How to Estimate Staffing Needs as Workload Changes

Howie Fenton shares a method to estimate staffing needs as your revenue changes using your current sales per employee ratio (SPE) and anticipated revenue changes. Adding automation and shifting and cross training staff can address workflow gaps and bottlenecks that result from staff imbalances.

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Since 1986, thousands of production print centers have turned to Rochester Software Associates to improve their workflows, increase their productivity, and delight their customers. Our software solutions for transform and conversion, output management, and web to print Turn Printing Into Productivity™. Above all, what really sets us apart is our intense focus on customer satisfaction.

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