OT shop improvments

[DavidB]

Hi all,

 

What would be the single best improvment you have made to your shop to improve your business?

 

With so much work going OS we all have to get smarter.

 

 

Thanks

[crazy^millman]

I would say orginzation, planning, and scheduling would help alot of compaines. I think alot of comapines would be supired how much better they could do stuff with better planning and structure. I have seen alot of compaines doing some pretty amazing work but yet how support systems that are not controlled, not used or under mangaged. Just becuase you make a product does not mean you make money at and do it the best way just mean you can do it. I wonder how many comapnies have time studies and serious look at lean management, 5S and other things that though hard to implent do mena profit and help in achieving profit which help in lowering cost meet deliveries yet they cost money take time to get going anf require a 90 to 95% commient of the upper managment and people on the floor. Anything less in my opinion is setting it up to fail. Alot of people would say capital investments like machines and that would probaly be 9 out of 10 to say that. Maybe 1 of those 10 may be justifed but look it this way. If you do not have a tool crib or pre stagging ability at your comapny and could increase set-up time by 50 to 75% and did 2000 set-ups a year using a standard shop rate of $65 and average 2 hours each then you are looking at a $130,000 to $195,000 is saving there alone. Now if you have 20 machines and can cut just 2 minutes off each part and got 1000 minutes a week cut off(50 minutes a manchine) through the shop you then have gained 866 hours of lost time but really gained 1733 hours of time and at $65 an hour have $112,667 of profit for time you did not lose and time you could put on another job. They seem some what impossible but are they really. I see so many companies happy with something that is working just fine but if you pushed yourself and the company in that direction what do you gain.

 

Now to say something that sound oppisite of that is I tell me guys all the time take an extra 5 mintues or take an hour but do make a mistake and do it right the first time. The time lost fixing or reworking a part is always 5 to 20 times greater than taking that extra time. Sorry to go on but working smarter and doing things more efficent are the keys to surving in today gobal economy. I know we all feel that certain countires have it in their favor becuase of cheaper labor rates but the more cost go up due to shipping, crappy products, and serives that is just not there. The companies that remember quality comes along with making a profit will make it. Keep it competive by working to the best of the facuility and doing it by gaining as you go will reep rewards that allow you the ability to be the competive, allow you the captial for new equipment and prepare the company to move into next direction.

 

Ok I know Crazy talk but just my 2 cents worth.

[Lars Christensen]

quote:

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Ok I know Crazy talk but just my 2 cents worth.

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Hey I pay $5, can I print that out and give it to managment?

[Bill]

Ron's been reading all of his management books.

 

Very true though.

[crazy^millman]

Well here is the Crazy Part this is what I have tried to do since starting in this industry and always called crazy for it. I went to work at one comapny that had been doing the same parts for 15 years. They had no records of prints rev changes what print went to what customers or back-up of any of the programs. The kept all of their blue prints in stacks next to the machine. They could have oil, be missing half the pages what ever no back-up just what was there was what you had. I started keeping records, run times, making set-up sheets the whole nine yards. I was alway the a$$hole wasting time doing this but worked circles around everyone else.

 

One day they had an long time customer show up with parts I had made that were pretty trick. He goes on about how they are wrong and we need to remake them and all this crap. The owner calls me in the office ripping me a new one. The customer knew they did not keep prints so he came in with a different print like it seems he had done for years. I came into the office seen the print and asked the customer why did he had a different print than what was supplied to us. He starts off calling me a lier and the owner is getting madder at me why I would say that. I then precced to explain myself, but I am just making everyone madder so I stop and say let me go get the print you sent us. At that point the customer turns white as a ghost and says what you got the print I say oh yeah. He start putting the pirnt behind his back as I am leaving the office and starts singing a different song to the owner as I come back. I pull out the apporved print with the date on it and the customer start with well I guess we sent you the wrong print and well guess we should pay for these part. "Damn right you will" again pissing everyone off. Come to find out the owner went back and he found over 40 parts they had done that on in the 5 years previous.

 

Here is the bad part just about everyone of their customers were doing this to them. It came to a halt once I started point these thing out but everytime I did I was crazy and such an a$$hole for trying to protect the company.

 

It all goes hand and hand business is businss and as much as we try to do our job without checks and balances we can not get there or do it without them. Reading my new books has been great becuase to have other's ideas that support my craziness are great.

[Slepydremr]

Hiring me as the programmer.

 

 

Sorry I couldn't resist.

[mayday]

quote:

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What would be the single best improvment you have made to your shop to improve your business

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ZERO overhead, all 6 of us work on the floor. sure we have our days where someone has to take care of the paper work but thats a temporary job. get it done and your back on the floor. besides that

Beer

[Jeff the haas_guy]

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What would be the single best improvment you have made to your shop to improve your business

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Removing the involvement of management in the processing of jobs. They can keep their positions, but we can make the company more money with them out of the office and out of our hair.

[DavidB]

Thanks for the replys guys.

 

quote:

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Reading my new books has been great becuase to have other's ideas that support my craziness are great.

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Crazy have you got Book names and authors?

 

Paper work is a killer here too but it has to be done. Quality is number one here, all parts we do gone onto planes and having paper work is part of making and keeping track of Quality parts.

 

What I'd like to know and to help others with there shop is proven improvments implamented into the shop floor that improved setup times, quality and production of parts.

 

Thanks

[DavidB]

bump

[crazy^millman]

I will send you my emial confirmation for Amazon so you can see where I got them from.

[Jeff the haas_guy]

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What I'd like to know and to help others with there shop is proven improvments implamented into the shop floor that improved setup times, quality and production of parts.

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All sarcasm aside...

 

The problem I see most of the time is not improvments in the shop process...what we need are people that care about getting their work done. Not just the quality of work. I'm talking about a sense of urgency. Workers on the floor always seem more concerned about what they did last weekend or what they are doing next weekend or everything else except work. Work just happens to fit into their schedule if they have nothing else to do.

I work on the floor and see what is going on all the time. Some workers seem intent to do as little as they possible can and still get paid.

 

I know this does not answer your question, but if you think you can fix shop operations without improving the employees attitude, it won't work.

 

Attitude is everything.

[DavidB]

haas_guy,

 

I myself could not agree with you more.

 

I did my apprenticeship where I would get a kick up the xxxx if my head was not down and my bum up.

I have guys here that read papers and magazines all day between cycles, wont setup a machine to leave it run at night.

But these guys also are the best on the shop floor. If I want something done right the first time I give it to them.

 

I myself would not tolerate this care free attatute at work, but when I raise this point managment told me, this is not a sweat shop David.

Really why do I bother?

 

So what I was wondering how can I improve the shop without making the guys actually work harder just smarter.

[Jeff the haas_guy]

Let me think about that and get back to you tomorrow...and when you say improve the shop, what exactly is wrong with it that does not have to do with employee attitude?

 

Sounds like the guys you work with are smart workers already.

[jeff]

quote:

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Attitude is everything.

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Exactly!

having people working for ya that like working there is a must. And finding a way to motivate them without being an a$$ is the key!

I worked 17 yrs for a complete a$$hole who never gave compliments,we worked at least 55 hours each week, and he was always there to crack the whip,well the workers on the floor started hearing "white noise" everytime this guy opened his mouth, so all that whip crackin and b!tch!ng didn't really do any good.

They hated working for him, but never had the balls to stand up for themselves because the pay was good.

hope I didn't babble too much. lol

[flippinjig]

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having people working for ya that like working there is a must. And finding a way to motivate them without being an a$$ is the key!

_________________________________________________

 

Amen. How to motivate? We have started Profit Enhancement Projects, PEP, where groups of management and workers get together and come up with ways to make jobs more profitable. People take ownership and really work hard to make it successfull if it is their idea. Organization reduces search and rescue missions, always looking for steel, tools, etc. Programming techniques and tweaking posts to reduce operator edits and increase "unattended" spindle time. General housekeeping (some call it 5S) to reduce clutter, just to mention a few things.

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

[rant]

Post Tweeking... I tell you what... Companies can save THOUSANDS of dollars OR MORE per year by having their post processors tuned up. Many tweeks would cost a paltry $1,000 or less and the ROI would be 6mos or less. To me, it is shameful that companies neglect to do this one thing that could make their CAD/CAM systems "Post and Run" capable (provided the Programmers have done their job adequately). Granted, feeds/speeds will need to be tweeked at the machine in many cases but still. Feeds and speeds ARE NOT what is being edited usually.

[/rant]

[DavidB]

Very true James.

But you have no idea what it's like trying to get a post clocked in for your needs Down Under.

It seems you guys in the USA have a reseller just around every corner.

I tell you I asked my reseller 2 years ago for help,phone call after phone call email after email. I'll be there this week, I'll do it tonight and email you.

I don't bother anymore.

If I didn't have this Forum and Im sure I can speak for more than myself who come from down under we would still be wondering why why did we purchase MC?

 

 

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

We are fortunate here in North America though. The wealth of knowledge here is tremendous with regard to that.

[Bruce Caulley]

I agree David. I know the reseller is streched a bit thin, I don't blame him for that. No emastercam in OZ = no mastercam in OZ.

 

Bruce

[Kevangel]

quote:

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Attitude is everything.

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Haas guy is sure right there, hard to figure things, "one top guy with a poor attitude can poison the whole shop" and make it miserable for everyone. One of the biggest things I will be lookin at as I try to push on in my shop this year. Attitude including my own.

[d00d]

I used to do production consultation is the masonry industry. One of my larger customers and I came up with an Idea that worked. To put it in simple terms , say if he bid a job and figured time and a good profit margin would clear 10,000 bucks. He would share this estimate with his crews and the time frame he figured and hours per week (or blocks in the wall per hours) per week to acheive this goal(thus putting money as the motivation). Then he shared all profit over the estimate 50/50 with the entire company right down to the shop janitor. so if he made 20K profit he kept his 10k and half of the additional 10k and 5k was split evenly thru out the company. He rarly EVER did not split additional profits with his workforce from then on. He is now one of the largest masonry contractors in the southeast and was a mom and pop operation when he started this.

[jeff]

Good point.

Never had a boss that shared the wealth

Or even put the $ back into the company instead of into his pocket.

There is a shop by me that (from what I hear) the owner puts $ back into the company and he always has the newest machines and tooling.

If all you have to work with is machines that are 2o yrs old or so, you are constantly doing maintenence AND the newer machines can produce better finishes FASTER.

[Jeff the haas_guy]

mhzones...I want to work with you...organization, housekeeping, and unattended machining...Words I live by.

 

Kevangel...you are right. One guy with a bad attitude will drag everyone down.

 

 

Motivation...everyone is motivated differently. Whether its money, challange, by example, or compliment, you have to find what it takes for each employee. I used to supervise a machining dept, but would rather program and run my 2 Haas's and leave the babysitting to someone else.

 

Seize the day...

 

Everyday is a good day...Some are just better than others...