Impressions - March 2018 - 28

STANDARDIZATION
Another great trick is to standardize the language and processes you
use in your shop.
For language, there should only be one "right way" to refer to
anything in your shop.
For example, how you name your image locations is important.
Perhaps, a "full-front" location means that it is 12-inches wide and
3 inches below the bottom of the collar hem on an adult shirt. The
art staff can then be trained to mock up the art this way and the production crew can set the jobs accordingly. Just using two standardized
words - "full front" - sets all of this in motion.
Standardized language also applies to how you name your stock
colors, turn-times for production, what machine the job will run on
- virtually anything in your shop. Think each thing through and
get input from you staff. Set the language, and then train everyone
on what each thing means and how it works.
For standardizing processes, it's important to spend time in the
work environment and talk to your crew. Where are the bottlenecks?
What is the biggest challenge, especially downstream from the work.
For example, one standardized process could be that customer art
files are saved to a special folder either on your server or in Dropbox.
The folder could be designated by the work order number, which
would allow for quick retrieval. This way, when an order comes in,
the customer supplied art file is already pre-checked.A quick review
determines that both the fonts were converted to outlines, and the
PMS colors were labeled.
The work spent checking to see if the customer supplied art file is
correct saves time later. If something is wrong, action can be taken
before it shows up in the artist's queue. The idea behind standardizing processes is to prevent problems from happening.

The Biggest Challenge
One of the most significant challenges of order
entry is quoting orders. Let's say four members
of your staff can either quote or put orders
in the system. Will all four individuals quote
the job and arrive at the same final price?
Here's where quality and speed can come into
play. There needs to be only one way someone
can build a price.
Use a standardized pricing matrix. If you need
to add items to the quote, such as rush fees, art
charges or upcharges, do so correctly. If you
can, lump in costs together. For example, when
screen-printing polyester performance shirts,
instead of adding a fee for performance ink,
increase the mark-up on the garment instead.
Make quoting orders simple and easy to understand.

CHECK ACCURACY
The best thing you can do for your shop to increase your overall speed
is to have accurate work orders, and the easiest way to achieve this is
to use a checklist and probe for common mistakes.
Is everything spelled correctly? Did you specify a Saturday delivery
by mistake? Are the quantities for each shirt size listed correctly?
Entering information incorrectly is forgivable; passing incorrect
information onto others is not. Doing things once, but slower, is
always faster than redoing the work - especially when other departments depend on the quality of the order entry process.
When you review a work order, try to imagine how another person
might read the page. Are there any blank fields? What could someone misinterpret? In the past, what type of challenges have you faced
when producing this type of order?
Eliminate those challenges at the order entry step, if you can. Your
effort here will have a tremendous impact on other departments downstream. That's the first step in building more speed for your shop. 

Standardizing language
simplif ies communicaiton
between employees.

Marshall Atkinson, owner of Atkinson Consulting LLC, is a decoratedapparel industry production and efficiency expert who focuses on operational
efficiency, continuous improvement, workflow strategy, business planning
and more. For more information or to comment on this article, email Marshall
at marshall@marshallatkinson.com.

P.28

i m p r e s s i o n s m a g . c o m MARCH 2018

Make sure your team
double-checks shirt orders to
ensure the correct quantity
of each size is listed.

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Impressions - March 2018

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