Managing desktop publishing technologies at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

Despite the pronounced emphasis upon incorporating desktop publishing technologies into technical publications and communications environments, the Publications and Procedures (P&P) section at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) had not ventured into any form of desktop publishing by mid-1988. The author outlines the planning, decision, acquisition, implementation, training, and various problem-solving steps involved with shifting the P&P documentation environment from dedicated word processing workstations to a PC-based system with capabilities to support all standard desktop publishing software. To date, the P&P experience is that desktop publishing capabilities do allow for increased document quality and, therefore, positive departmental visibility. However, expanded support functions also result from the implementation of this technology, and these functions can be negatively impacted by a number of factors, including the lack of adequate vendor support