Our industry-leading Xerox ConnectKey® Technology was one of the stars of the History Channel’s Operation Build television show over the weekend, helping a Ronald McDonald House work better.
Television stardom may seem an unlikely role for a technology that we describe as an ecosystem that combines hardware and a common set of software, solutions and apps developed by Xerox and by our partners to help simplify and improve the way our customers’ work gets done.
But when reality/home improvement show Operation Build undertook an extensive makeover of the Ronald McDonald House (RMDH) in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the team wanted to include an office equipment upgrade. We, at Xerox, jumped at the opportunity to help out with a courtesy, ConnectKey-based office transformation. We saw helping the Ronald McDonald House as a great way to give back—and a great way to show how ConnectKey can go beyond the hardware to build solutions that make work more efficient and productive.
The Fort Lauderdale RMDH is designed to host as many as 20 out-of-town families whose children are receiving medical treatment at Broward General Medical Center next door. Its office technology is critical not only for the staff that runs the facility, but also for the families who stay there and need to process paperwork related to their child’s hospital stay and to stay engaged with their work and community lives at home.
Our technology assessment found many opportunities to improve the way they work. To deliver on the full potential of the technology transformation, we not only installed new printing, copying and scanning devices, but upgraded the house’s computers and networking gear, as well. Several Xerox® ConnectKey® Technology-enabled devices were installed, including the Xerox® WorkCentre® 3655 black-and-white printer, and the Xerox® WorkCentre® 6655 and the Xerox® WorkCentre® 7830 Color Multifunction Printers (MFP).
Along with that, several ConnectKey Apps were programmed on the devices to simplify the day-to-day operations for the RMDH staff and bring new conveniences to resident families. For example, one app streamlines the check-in process, with one-touch printing of necessary forms from system memory and one-touch scanning of completed forms to the proper repository. Both staff and residents benefit from another app that enables printing from any mobile device to any of the Xerox devices, for greater convenience and flexibility.
A team of nearly a dozen Xerox volunteers helped with the installation, led by a local technology partner, QuestingHound, and their president, John Boden, who sourced and installed the equipment and networking gear. The installation took place in late July, and that’s when our segment was recorded. Kara Rayburn of our Office and Solutions Business Group also participated, and she captured our enthusiasm when she said, ”I really like my job on days like today. I’m watching people get excited over things that are everyday for me.”
And the technology is delivering as promised. “With the technology that Xerox has donated, it gives us more time to spend with the families who need us,” said Flora Nwalupe, operations director, Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Florida. “The families are going through a lot. At this moment, Xerox is the angel of Ronald McDonald House.”
The episode ran last Saturday, Sept. 19, on the History Channel 2 (the H2) and also ran the previous Saturday on the History Channel. That episode and the three previous episodes that make up the four-part mini series “Operation Build: Labor of Love a Ronald McDonald House Makeover” can be viewed here. To view the episode’s Xerox segment only, click here.
Like the Ronald McDonald House, there may be opportunities for your office to work better. To learn more about ConnectKey, click here.
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Sid Bhattacharya is the head of Technology Marketing & Competitive Intelligence. Office Systems Business Group, Global Technology Delivery Group, Xerox Corporation. He can be reached at Siddhartha.Bhattacharya@xerox.com, on Twitter and on LinkedIn.
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