Mid sized shops and growing pains

[tonypep]

Some observations based on a conversation with a colleague. The one auto/manual shops tend to have it rather easy. Not that they don't work hard but they don't necessarily need to run full speed 24/7 and may perhaps have a couple of employees often whom are family members. Although there is the stress atributed to being in control of your own destiny with it comes the pride of not having to work for another. The larger shops with say six or more autos, multiple shifts, and dozens of employees have their issues of course but they can usually be attributed to sales volume, cash flow, and HR issues.

It's the midsize folks that I find are most often upside down.  Often they have grown sales and volume rapidly and have not had time to step back and really put things under a microscope to see whats really going on. One shop in particular hired an old family friend from the food supply business to run the shop. They had/have three autos and six manuals with sixt heads of embroidery. The business mix was a rather healthy mix of local ad specialty, golf and tennis, and and a recently acquired successful pre-print line. The pre-print line was a private label custom dyed blank using discharge print techniques. Since there was fresh capital and this new acquisition a consultant was brought in to aid in designing a new building and assist in hiring and training new staff.
There were five full time sales staff, four people in "support", a creative director, an art director. four artists, eight screen techs, two ink techs, plus accounting etc. And then ther are the press ops, dryer folks, embroidery staff.
All this to support a factory with one shift three autos etc.
When I first accepted an invite to come up and "look around" it was pretty scary. Actually very scary. Turns out most of the production staff had no experience and were trained very briefly before the consultant left for another project. The production floor was total chaos. Screens and inks were pulled for jobs that had no stock and vice versa. The presses were from three different manufacturers and had different image limits which caused huge setbacks. The dye house orders were based on projections rather than actual sales.
Theres more and a part two on how we "right sized" the company but that will have to be in a part 2 if anyone is interested. I actually need to go run this place as that is where I actually earn a paycheck!

[alan802]

I'm interested in reading more about your findings.  I don't know what we would be considered as, a small auto shop I guess, and depending on how the rest of the year goes, we will probably surpass 1000 jobs this year which isn't much compared to some.  Our first full year printing we only did 600 jobs so we are growing.  I'd sure like to have a second auto back there one day.

[GraphicDisorder]

Id be a smaller than small, small business I am sure but love to hear more.

[tonypep]

I'd like to think most of you regular visitors here stand much less of a chance of getting into trouble as you grow because you "get it". The problem there was too many people hired from outside the industry. They have survived a 30% management and labor force reduction, several acquisitions by company turnaround specialists that could not turn it around and much more, and "business coaches" who gave bad advice. One of the first things I had to do was trim some of the management layers and implement scheduling software.
More on those business coaches later.
tp

[Lizard]

Tony

I feel what your talking about.  We are kind of in that size now and some days are very tough.  Limited experience on the floor really stretches the guys who are capable of supplying the answers and quick resolutions.  And keeping enough work on the floor to maintain cash flow and pay the bills, its a real challenge.  Then through in a bunch of bad luck and you really have problems.  Like two broken glasses on the exposure unit in a month, transformer burned out on the exposure unit twice in 10 months, thats nearly
3 days of down time this month.  Then add in some misprints, scorched poly shirts, etc...  Can we just have one good day?  I don't even need a week, just a day would be great.

Life would be boring if everything was easy.   

[tonypep]

That's true Toby life would be boring but........when you start work at 7:00 and break at 9:30 without printing a single shirt that's a problem. What would happen is that the upstairs management put out a schedule based on due dates.
Sounds rational but when you don't grasp the importance of co-ordinating the interdependant sub assemblies then everything falls apart. The order might be due today but if it has not been approved or the blanks haven't hit the building whats the point?
Back to the print floor. Screens would often be shot with image limits for one press but when the schedule hiccuped and a job needed to be moved it often needed to be re-shot with different image limits. By re-programming two of the machines so that all of them printed towards the center of the press this was resolved. Next two "parking lots" were established at opposite ends of the shop. On the pre-press side we had carts containing all the parts necessary to run the job including screens, inks, squeeges, floodbars, and print instructions. Back on the clean side carts containing garments were staged and flagged. I picked an assistant to help monitor these areas to ensure they were working in relative synchronicity. Production meetings began at 9:15 sharp and it cost a dollar if you were late.They lasted exactly 15 minutes and bickering was prohibited.
Job descriptions for every function were eventually scripted and revised. Signs and instructions on various tasks were posted everywhere even for some of the simple stuff. We began to track production rates for all machines and manual printers and record progress. Misprint ratios and causes were tracked as well.
All obvious stuff but not easy to implement all at once. Real progress achievement was not truly realised for nine months.
So my friend Toby I feel for you. But know that strong leadership, solid structure and yes, some patience, will eventually get you there.
best tp

[inkbrigade]

This is a great topic. I'm not sure what our size is. We're pretty unorthodox i know that. My wife does the sales and printing. We have another employee that does folding, stacking, press setup / tear down, deliveries. We just hired on an employee to do reclaiming, and general cleaning a few days a week. I usually come in nights and help out a bit, fix stuff, do art and the website.

We have a 6 color sportsman, and are getting a 10 color sportsman in a few weeks. We have a vinyl cutter for names, numbers etc. We're kicking around the idea of getting a 1 head embroidery machine. I know nothing about embroidery though.

We're pretty much internet only. No customers come to the shop which is nice. We try to automate most of our functions, or at least do them with the least amount of human effort. Dip tank, rollermaster, mesh panels etc.

Seems to be working pretty so far

[mk162]

How did you get your wife to do the printing?  I have to learn this trick.

[Sbrem]

An excellent topic for sure. We've been a midsized shop for some time, with 2 autos, 1 really good manual, and a couple of so-so manuals for simple overflow. Though we do OK, I'm particularly tired of it being so effin' hard all the time. To quote Roseanne Rosannadanna, "It's always something." Our biggest issue is help, reliable help. Out of 9 right now, 5 can be counted on every day, and 2 of them are me and my partner, and we average 60 hours a week. So we're always shorthanded, and the workforce out there is not to be commended, everyone is on their phone or has something to do today. Where is the commitment to a job while you're there? Frustrating, but it's still better than working for someone. Anyway, please keep it going Tony, it's good to have the advice from experienced people.

Steve

[tonypep]

Well you are of course on track when you ask yourself why it's so hard. The real issue is what are the answers. I've counseled some Production Managers/Supervisors at times to try reverse engineered thinking. The premise is that the most expensive thing in the shop is downtime. When the press is down chase the cause. Go back in time and examine what caused the press to become idle. Then put that cause under a microscope and see how or if it can be prevented. There is changeover downtime and interruptive downtime. Then theres the just plain stupid stuff.

For sure a pre-registration can typically speed up job changeovers although I can assure you some employees will distrust it and make it not work. Making things not work is easy. What's difficult is change. Many of us have seen demos of these systems at shows and they pretty much work flawlessly. But often you see them tucked away under the dryer in a production facility.
"It takes longer!" is a common response. So is it the employee(s) or are there some technical issues? The answer is commonly both. Often the press itself can be a culprit. Loose carraiges, platens micro locks, etc can often be found to contribute to failure. Careless pinning and warped frames as well. When it comes to the employees well....good press ops can be a proud bunch. I've seen so many claim that they are quicker. And screen techs may grumble about having to take extra steps.
Entire books have been written about how to hire, train, manage and motivate employees but that would be another thread. Suffice to say that often we are faced on dealing with dealing with a troublesome but somewhat skilled individual or moving on with someone new. There is no set in stone answer. The same goes with hiring a skilled employee or someone with no background. All I can say is use as much positve enforcement as you can.
"Waiting for stuff!" OK one of the more stupid reasons for changeover downtime. Sure, stuff happens but whenever possible the next job to be printed should be staged at the press before the end of the preceeding one. Keeps the people at their stations.
Pinholes? Well again chase it backwards its not rocket science.
Have to go now but I'll continue the thread as lon as there is interest........it could go for weeks.
best tp

[blue moon]

Well you are of course on track when you ask yourself why it's so hard. The real issue is what are the answers. I've counseled some Production Managers/Supervisors at times to try reverse engineered thinking. The premise is that the most expensive thing in the shop is downtime. When the press is down chase the cause. Go back in time and examine what caused the press to become idle. Then put that cause under a microscope and see how or if it can be prevented. There is changeover downtime and interruptive downtime. Then theres the just plain stupid stuff.

For sure a pre-registration can typically speed up job changeovers although I can assure you some employees will distrust it and make it not work. Making things not work is easy. What's difficult is change. Many of us have seen demos of these systems at shows and they pretty much work flawlessly. But often you see them tucked away under the dryer in a production facility.
"It takes longer!" is a common response. So is it the employee(s) or are there some technical issues? The answer is commonly both. Often the press itself can be a culprit. Loose carraiges, platens micro locks, etc can often be found to contribute to failure. Careless pinning and warped frames as well. When it comes to the employees well....good press ops can be a proud bunch. I've seen so many claim that they are quicker. And screen techs may grumble about having to take extra steps.
Entire books have been written about how to hire, train, manage and motivate employees but that would be another thread. Suffice to say that often we are faced on dealing with dealing with a troublesome but somewhat skilled individual or moving on with someone new. There is no set in stone answer. The same goes with hiring a skilled employee or someone with no background. All I can say is use as much positve enforcement as you can.
"Waiting for stuff!" OK one of the more stupid reasons for changeover downtime. Sure, stuff happens but whenever possible the next job to be printed should be staged at the press before the end of the preceeding one. Keeps the people at their stations.
Pinholes? Well again chase it backwards its not rocket science.
Have to go now but I'll continue the thread as lon as there is interest........it could go for weeks.
best tp

excellent thread Tony, thank you VERY much for taking the time to post it. Obviously, I know I am speaking for many others, please keep it going!

pierre

[mk162]

speaking of waiting for stuff, I need to find out where that stupid freightliner is.

[ebscreen]

Yes, please do continue. It all seems so obvious once you hear someone else say it but I'll be damned
if I would have ever thought of it.

[tonypep]

Thanks Pierre. Just an FYI the genesis for this was born from a conversation with a press manufactuer. I've mentioned before there seems to be a certain amount of over attention to press mfgr and options. Not that this isn't a good thing but I think there appears to be quite a bit of underattention when it comes to the day to day challenges we all face that can cause even the shiniest and fastest presses to remain idle. These are real issues!

I've also mentioned before that saving a few bucks on raw materials can more often than not cost you money in the form of downtime. I've tried inks that saved me $60 per five which; while it made the accounting people happy; in turn caused slower flash times. I kept rather elaborate production rate tracking at the time and noticed after a few months we were experiencing a consistent drop in throughput. Sure enough I put two and two together and noticed the drop off occured almost exactly at the same time when we switched inks. I went out to a press and observed it's cycle rate. The flash dwell was excessively high. Thinking I had case of the lazy press op I dropped from 7 seconds to the normal 4. Immediately the tacky shirts picked up on the successive screens and we had a real mess. The look on my press ops face was priceless and was quite humbled but lesson learned!
This is called unrealized loss of revenue. Sure I eventully did realize it but the folks upstairs and the "Business Coaches" missed it. Even then after presenting the facts I had difficulty in convincing the powers that be to switch back. Turns out business coaches don't like to be proved wrong.
I have to do this in installments and might be jumping around a bit so let's try something: Post some of your specific challenges; downtime and otherwise and we can review together
Best tp

[GraphicDisorder]

Our biggest challenge is lack of extra hands.  So its often hard to shift gears from embroidery to screen print to design all in the same day often.  When possible we schedule days all embroidery, or all screen print or all design and so on.  But its tough at times to do that.  So thats our biggest struggle.  We are just two people so it is what it is I guess.  I think a lot of our issues would go away with another employee and I struggle often about when to do that.  Gut keeps telling me not yet so I listen.