Use and Maintain Office Equipment

Business Administration Level 2

Use and maintain office equipment

Office equipment

Equipment

Work in an office relies heavily on a range of (mostly electrical) equipment.

It is important that you know how to use it correctly and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Printers, scanners, photocopiers

May be combined within the same machine, ie a machine that can perform all three tasks and is linked to the computer system.

Printers:

·  high output are usually mono (black ink only) laser printers

·  ink-jet printers suitable for low output or as individual printers.

·  Scanners enable paper documents to be converted into computer files.

Photocopier features

·  two-sided copying (duplexing)

·  collating (sorting)

·  stapling/punching

·  reduce/enlarge

·  multiple paper size, eg A4 and A3, and auto paper tray select

·  different media, eg envelopes, card, transparencies

·  scanning

·  zoom and cropping to adjust ‘wonky’ originals

·  brightness/contrast adjustment.

Telecommunications equipment

·  telephone

·  fax

·  answerphone machine

·  email.

Telecommunications equipment features

·  An answerphone machine takes messages out of hours or over busy periods when all operators are busy . It will require someone to listen and transcribe the messages every morning.

·  Fax machine for sending immediate written messages has largely been overtaken by the use of email but is still useful for sending diagrams or documents containing a signature

·  the original paper document is retained by the sender.

Miscellaneous equipment

·  Binding machines – to bind papers into a booklet.

·  Jogger/collator – a jogger shakes pages into a straight pile for punching or binding, while a collator sorts pages into sets.

·  Laminator – enables documents to be sealed in plastic, therefore preventing damage.

·  Guillotine or paper trimmer – incorporating a measure to accurately cut paper to size.

·  Shredder – to shred confidential papers.

·  Audio transcription machine – to use for transcribing recorded dictation.

Mail room equipment

·  franking machine

·  weighing scales

·  letter opening machine

·  folding equipment

·  addressing and labelling machines

·  wrapping and rolling machine

·  labelled trays or pigeonholes

·  date stamp (manual or automatic)

·  remittance book

·  special items book.

Using office equipment

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998

·  All equipment needs to be cleaned and maintained to prolong its use and also to meet health and safety requirements.

·  Equipment in use must be suitable, safe and properly maintained.

·  Required training on its use must be given.

·  All electrical portable appliances like a fax machine or PC require to be tested on an annual basis.

Good practice for use

·  When using any shared equipment, it is important to leave it in a good condition for the next user.

·  Always leave the equipment/work area in the sort of condition you would want to find it in yourself.

·  You will not foster good working relationships with your colleagues if they have to clear away your mess before they can carry out their tasks.

Uses of equipment

·  communication

·  document production

·  reproduction and copying

·  document binding

·  distribution

·  document destruction

Factors to consider when selecting equipment for use

·  suitability

·  training

·  availability

·  cost.

Problems

Your organisation is likely to have procedures for reporting equipment faults, and perhaps, in the case of computer equipment, an IT help desk to contact for help.

Any faulty equipment should be put out of service and reported.

With any electrical equipment there is a danger of overheating if the vent is covered or allowed to become blocked with dust (dust is attracted to the heat).

Common problems when using equipment

Printers, scanners and photocopiers:

·  jams where paper has not been ‘fanned’ before loading, or not loaded straight

·  running out of toner/ink

·  connection problems, going off-line

·  lack of memory capacity for storing large jobs.

Telecommunications equipment:

·  connection problems such as being cut off. In the case of this occurring during the sending of a fax, you should redial and resend the last page as well as the pages not already sent.

Mail room equipment problems

·  Mail jams can occur on the franking machine when the mail is not loaded into the hopper straight.

·  Lack of postage credit – credit has to be purchased for the franking machine from the post office.

·  Running out of franking ink.