Marine Fabricator July/August 2021 - 44

Shop Talk Business
Increase your effi ciency
Seven steps every business can take,
from organizing more to doing less.
by Laurie F. Junker
N
" Written orders
are a recipe for
delays, mistakes
and ineffi ciency. "
o business owner wants to
waste time and money, have
frustrated employees, and risk
customer relationships with mistakes and
delays. But the truth is that all of these
things happen when businesses operate
less effi ciently than they could be.
Sometimes this happens by default-
for example, when managers and
employees fail to actively look for better
ways of doing things. Ineffi ciencies also
result from a lack of follow-through,
when areas for improvement are
identifi ed, but no one engages in the work
necessary to make new ways of doing
things a part of the daily routine. Some
steps toward better effi ciency require
precious time and resources up front,
while benefi ts aren't realized immediately.
This is especially true for industries
in which products are manufactured
to order, every project is unique, and
processes are honed over years of trial
and error. Unlike a factory that perfects
the effi cient repetition of tasks to produce
a single product thousands of times,
custom manufacturing brings a unique
set of challenges to shop effi ciencies. But
there are actions that companies can take
to improve workfl ow, quality, profi tability,
customer care and employee satisfaction.
Here are seven steps to consider.
1. Ditch the paper, go digital
Written orders are a recipe for delays,
mistakes and ineffi ciency. Time is wasted
tracking down paper forms (which
are sometimes off-site in a vehicle or altogether
lost), and sloppy handwriting
can result in mistakes and loss of profi t.
44 Marine Fabricator | July/August 2021
Imagine this scenario: a salesperson
wrote 3'6 " , but the shop employee read
the order as 36 " , and now the product
needs to be recut. Digital processes,
such as a digital order tracking system,
can speed up production, improve
effi ciency and minimize mistakes.
2. Centralize information
Even if a shop isn't ready to dive into a
digital order tracking system, it can take
steps to become more effi cient by keeping
information in one place. This can
be a spreadsheet or a whiteboard, either
online or centrally located, that shows all
jobs, what stage each job is at, and who's
responsible for what. This can eliminate
a lot of " steps " to answer questions.
A centralized job tracking system
like a whiteboard can help, but it only
works if every single person keeps it
up-to-date. No matter what system
is adopted, following through and
having everyone use it takes discipline.
It can be hard to get employees to
adapt to new ways of doing business.
3. Know job costs
Many company owners can't accurately
answer the question, " Did we make
a profi t on that job? " Many owners
may know the cost of materials and
have a general idea of employee hourly
rates, but are less accurate when
calculating indirect costs, such as
taxes, insurance and other overhead.
Getting a better understanding of
those costs creates a clear picture,
makes prioritizing and planning
easier, and drives lasting effi ciencies.
Marine Fabricator July/August 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Marine Fabricator July/August 2021
