Proper Teardown procedures for auto shops

[tonypep]

This can apply to single or multiple auto shops and perhaps multi manuals as well. I can't tell you how many times I watch press ops stand by the print head, remove the squeegee, scrape the excess ink into the screen, remove the floodbar, etc etc. scrape the ink out of the screen; taking up to ten minutes per screen. The way we look at it, this is extremely wasteful. First off press ops make money printing. Anyone can tear down a press. We want the printers to focus on setting up the next job. We show new hires how to tear down a press in less than thitry seconds per screen, using a teardown cart. Floodbar is removed and set to rest at the back of the screen. Squeegee in front. Screen is removed. Step and repeat. The teardown cart is immediately removed to a separate area and the unloader or dryer op finishes the dirty work while press ops are lining up next job.
I know this can't apply to all shops but it should to many IMO. Obviously this pic was not staged! Those carts have been abused for 15 ys. (Hey we all have our dirty side)This one is waiting for cleanup. Each press has its own area for this although at OATS and Harlequin everything was sent to the ink department. Cleanup would be their responsibiliy.

[inkman996]

Hey you have the same chiller as us. Just had to say that.

[bimmridder]

I agree 100%. That's the way we tr to do it also. Get the just finished job out of the press ASAP! I have a "utility" person or people that scrape in from squeegees, floods, and screens. They do the dirty work so set up people can get the press going. Change overs in 10-15 mins usually.

[tonypep]

Thats the goal here to Dave.....Proceduralize!

[bimmridder]

We try to cross train everyone to be able to do most everything, but every employee has an area they need to excel in to keep things flowing.

[ebscreen]

That video for PMI tape awhile back showed a shop and a guy was de-taping/inking
and they had this table especially for it, basically an almost upright table like an architect or
painter might use. Seems like a good idea.

Anyone use anything like this?

I will toot the S-Type horn here and mention this is one area that they excel in. You can lift the head
and pull the squeegee/flood before/without touching the screen. No fear of popping screens and you can
card them real

[ebscreen]

quick.

[cvreeland]

Yeah, I bet that hustling, I can remove a screen, squeegee & flood bar from our Challenger II in about 10 seconds. I show the moves to all the press helpers, & the screens & squeegees go to a table where they can be ignored while the next job is getting set. We keep enough squeegees to almost always have a clean set ready to go, too. I get tense when I see a press operator wiping down a squeegee instead of registering a job.

On the cleanup, I train my folks to clean the squeegees first and worry about the dirty screens last. The helper helps get the next job's worth of screens set in the heads, squeegees clamped in & ink loaded, then while the press operator is running test prints and fine tuning, they can clean up the last job until it's time to run.

I timed a run last week with two of us taclking it --including  tearing down a 6-color job & setting up another 6-color job, we were at about 6.5 minutes a color from last shirt to first shirt.

[Spreading Ink]

Hi Tony - yes this is the way we do it as well - nothing irks me more than to see an operator cleaning squeegee's or screens - this is not the money side of the business and I don't need my most skilled employees doing this job.

[Evo]

I'm reading this thread and nodding my head and trying to keep from banging it on my desk.

I (kinda) like the new shop I'm at but holy jeebus I'm going nuts. I could fix so much of what's wrong but lack of seniority/authority prevents it. Don't know if I'll last long.