Keeping track of setup/ breakdown/ printing times.?

[jvieira]

I find this is also the only way you can have a real sense of how much it costs you to run a job. No only setup/breakdown/printing but also pre/post press stuff, we track as much as we can to know:

1. How much it costs us to run a job
2. How long it takes us to run a job
3. What part of the job is taking the longest and how to improve it

I found that for our price list this was invaluable but the best part has been optimising the entire department. It's easy to optimise when you have data.
We noticed we are way more efficient when we wash 10 screens than when we do 15/20+, so we're washing 10 at a time. It cut our costs by 25% (chems, water, personnel). It's a saving per screen on all jobs.


It takes your guys understanding it's also for their benefit. For the screens part I told my guys "why spend 2 hours washing screens, beating your body, not being efficient, if you can do less screens in 30 minutes and in the end you'll save time and your health?". If they just don't care, you won't get anything done.

They enter numbers on their computer or tablets, it all goes on an excel chart and every month I give them a chart on how they improved. It's fun to see their faces when they see a 2 minute decrease on a 24 shirt run or a 30 minute decrease on a 250 shirt run. It motivates them (and saves us money).

[Atownsend]

Very "timely" that this came up. We just started timing / recording data on all jobs in an effort to have our pricing structure based on real numbers (Kitson's model). I have made a spreadsheet which includes each qty range on our pricing matrix. Run times for jobs in each range will be averaged out, then multiplied by our per min shop rate (yet another spreadsheet calc), and divided by the number of shirts. This will give us the per print charge for the first color. 2nd & subsequent color charge has its own data collection and calculation. Its a start... but I'm starting to feel like we need 500 different qty ranges to really nail pricing, which would be a real headache if we continue with a matrix style / cost accounting system.

I recently saw the printavo interview with Mark Cordray, where he makes an argument against price matrix style pricing, but I'm still a bit confused about the whole derivative calculus thing. In either case, timing our jobs and recording data that is easily plugged into our matrix should bring a whole lot of clarity to our biz. I just hope that we can follow through and stay on it so that we see some real benefit. 

As for the actual timing, we have been using Siri via my iPhone to set a timer. Simplicity seems best at the moment, so I think i'l pick a kitchen timer and see if we cant start training and delegating this to the press op / catcher. Times will be recorded on the work order and inputted to the calculator by the front of house gal after they are invoiced & shipped.

Also, Jvieira how is it that breaking up tasks is more efficient? This is somewhat anecdotal, but usually when I have a large number the similar tasks (burning screens, post exposure, taping, remeshing etc) I find it most efficient to group like tasks together. When making screens, we'll pre reg all of them, burn all of them, and then wheel out one rack at a time to the post exposure dip tank and pop 7 in at a time, pull two out and rinse pop the next two in etc. about 60-90 seconds for two screens unless we're talking halftones. A little north of 100 screens / week right now using that method. I feel like each time we switch tasks and change gears we lose time recalibrating our brain to the next task.

[jvieira]

Also, Jvieira how is it that breaking up tasks is more efficient? This is somewhat anecdotal, but usually when I have a large number the similar tasks (burning screens, post exposure, taping, remeshing etc) I find it most efficient to group like tasks together. When making screens, we'll pre reg all of them, burn all of them, and then wheel out one rack at a time to the post exposure dip tank and pop 7 in at a time, pull two out and rinse pop the next two in etc. about 60-90 seconds for two screens unless we're talking halftones. A little north of 100 screens / week right now using that method. I feel like each time we switch tasks and change gears we lose time recalibrating our brain to the next task.

It definitely depends on the task but when it's a physical task (washing screens), people get tired after a while and become less efficient and takes them longer. We give them a chance to change pace and do something else. All our data suggest improvement.
If it's burning screens, etc, it makes sense to do all at once.

[CBCB]

Sorry not to derail but I love the batch work vs. one piece flow idea.
Doing things in batches is slower than doing them in a ‘one piece flow’ method because it’s more work to do it in batches.
There’s a super boring video on YouTube of someone naming five paper airplanes. In batches you fold each one, then do the front, then the wings, etc.
In the One Piece Flow version you just fold one plane at a time. And it’s way faster because you’re not picking up and putting down the airplane between each step so there’s just less work to do. Less wasted motion and transport.
And for defects, if you make a mistake you may not catch it until further steps and all the planes are ruined instead of just one.
And if another part of the process is waiting they get the first plane sooner than getting all five at once later.

I see this a ton in our shop. A simple example is mixing a Pantone colour. Some guys will get five ink knives out and then clean each one.
We use one ink knife. That gets wiped when that part of the recipe is done. So it never gets put down for any cleaning and it can be used to mix it up and the kept in the container as it goes to press.

Simple stuff like that adds up. Just gotta learn to see the waste.


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[IntegriTees]

I just got on Printavo for a shop management software. You can have a job status for SETTING UP, PRINTING, JOB FINISHED and it will time stamp those changes for every job for you to go back and see. This is how I’m going to tackle it.