How to increase workshop productivity?

[Ryk]

Although i agree with having your own tools. Sometimes the employees cannot afford to even buy basic tools.
Having a van or ute loaded with the right tools is always better (investing in your employee and company)
Having your employee pay for anything that breaks or goes missing.
This way, everything is treated as their own. They know if it breaks, they buy a new one...
For example, i would have every vehicle have identical tools. for example: 2x shifters, 1x screwdriver set, 1x drill bit set, Cordless drill, 3x batteries etc ect im sure you get the drift.
Have all the tools listed and accounted for. Once every month or so, go though the vehicle & tools. See what's missing. Replace and take it out of your employees paycheck.

It seems like a good idea than asking them to replace things if they go missing. I found some company hired a facility staff who kept track of everything that came in and went out.

 

[Ryk]

We have 10 employees
3 - sales
2- designers
1 - IT & Print Tech
1 - Production/Vehicle Install
1 - Production Off site installer
1 - Accountant/Sales
1 - Owner Operator/Sales

We use trello to track jobs and we use antiquated accounting software for invoices and such. Manual time punch clock.

We've only been using trello for a couple of years and everyone agrees that the speed has increased 10 fold.

We have 3 HP Latex printers, an old beast of a laminator, a separate Mimaki plotter.

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to google some Trello info to see if it works for us.

 

[Ryk]

i have been involved in a similar situartin

a large client of ours had a similar situation with signing out wireless scanners.
the company didn't want to have an employee give up enough time to manage the handing out and taking back over 60 wireless devices
it's amazing how many people lose a gun in a busy warehouse. an employee hides a gun in the top box on a pallet & is used to taking it in the morning (they do this because they want to have the same device each day) one day the pallet is gone, along with the device. i wonder how many of you have had this type of issue?

We're having a similar problem too.

 

[Ryk]

At home all my tools have pink electrical tape wrapped on them. My sons have orange and blue. It was really easy for my older one to grab all his stuff when he went to college. It also created a few fights..."stop using my wrench! you have your own!" Maybe you could mark the guns with colors and everyone has their own color? If you're employees fight like my kids do, it makes it easier for you to referee.

This method worked for me in the past. We have two floors in our work office, and the tools on the ground floor are green, and the second floor is red. It worked for a few days, but as soon as the paint started peeling, it'd be a mess again.

 

[Ryk]

I was going to do the same when I setup the new tool boards but with heat shrink.

If my staff doesn't peel the heat shrink, I think this is a good idea. Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely consider it.

 

[Ryk]

If I was an independent contractor and was asked to bring my own tools, I'd say, "Of course." If I am a regular employee and my employer asked me to buy my own tools I'd tell them to pound sand.

I will answer the same as well

 

[Ryk]

doing

A) Training, training, and having good role models.
B) Lean Manufacturing. 5S will bring organization to the shop and sustain it. Kanban will help you not overspend on supplies/tools.

Check out a membership at Gemba Academy for training on Lean. Well worth the subscription. (https://www.gembaacademy.com/)

Our business of about 60ish employees saw a big turnaround in productivity and cash flow because we weren't sitting on mountains of yet unused paper and ink. We ordered only what we needed when we needed it. Less time was wasted looking for tools (a place for everything and everything in its place) and we spent time daily sustaining the improvements we'd made.

That's the super condensed version of it.

Thanks for the advice. Let me do some research.

 

[Gino]

Ryk, if all you're missing are a few squeegees and some other minute tools...... that sounds too silly to be worried about putting some system into effect to track down a few dollars. Your people will waste more time, filling sh!t out then you'd lose to begin with. Just have all your tools cataloged and numbered and have people sign out when taking them and sign back in when returning. As for scheduling, for 8 people, all ya need is a white board with the jobs, who is assigned which job and do the same thing as you do with the tools. Also, a daily morning meeting for maybe 15 minutes will help deter some of the empty-headed ways of your present system.

Make people responsible for themselves. Employees are paid for their bodies, mind, arms and legs. If they have trouble doing their job, then have them write it down and sign/date it all. There is no honor system if I foot all the bills and the employees are scatter-brains.

 

[Ryk]

Ryk, if all you're missing are a few squeegees and some other minute tools...... that sounds too silly to be worried about putting some system into effect to track down a few dollars. Your people will waste more time, filling sh!t out then you'd lose to begin with. Just have all your tools cataloged and numbered and have people sign out when taking them and sign back in when returning. As for scheduling, for 8 people, all ya need is a white board with the jobs, who is assigned which job and do the same thing as you do with the tools. Also, a daily morning meeting for maybe 15 minutes will help deter some of the empty-headed ways of your present system.

Make people responsible for themselves. Employees are paid for their bodies, mind, arms and legs. If they have trouble doing their job, then have them write it down and sign/date it all. There is no honor system if I foot all the bills and the employees are scatter-brains.

You're right, Gino. I initially thought to bring in a system to monitor them because I wasn't always in the office, and I might have to meet with clients out of state, so by synchronizing the system using the cloud, I can track and monitor their progress.

But you're right. I should seriously think about it now.

 

[Gino]

If you were a large company, monitoring this way would make sense. However, for a few little tools and only 8 people, I hardly believe you need all that red tape. Not like you have a huge factory with 100's of people all doing something different. If you are outta town and the mice play while the cat's away, then you only need to hire a second in command..... or make your lead person the next in line. Try delegating. I know I'll get flack for this, but there's no need to overthink and over complicate things. Not really necessary to re-invent the wheel.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Systems are great but they take money and a lot of time to maintain as you make them more complex. We use a dry erase board and I micromanage the entire day with it. It's not good enough to just make a list of things to do, set time allotments for each job and tell each person that this is what is expected to get done. I like to talk to them quickly at the end of the day this way they can get going in the morning while I sleep in. I know how long some things should take and I also ask them how long they need to do something. If they tell me 2 hours and it takes them 8, then we need to find out why.
As far as tools, I like shadow boards and stations. When you throw everything into a box, it takes longer to find what you need and you can't see what is missing. For the more expensive tools like a drill, make a station and give each employee hanging tags like a token. When they take the tool, they hang their name in the spot. As long as you can get them to do this, you will always know who has what. For little things, assign each of them their own stocked tool station and walk by it every afternoon before they leave.

 

[Proofread People]

If I was an independent contractor and was asked to bring my own tools, I'd say, "Of course." If I am a regular employee and my employer asked me to buy my own tools I'd tell them to pound sand.

Hire only conscientious employees who take pride in their work, their workspace and work place. I'm going year 19 with the same company. Tools and machinery do break down over time but if tools have a space and place, put it back. It's not rocket science.

 

[MJ-507]

Although i agree with having your own tools. Sometimes the employees cannot afford to even buy basic tools.
Having a van or ute loaded with the right tools is always better (investing in your employee and company)
Having your employee pay for anything that breaks or goes missing.
This way, everything is treated as their own. They know if it breaks, they buy a new one...
For example, i would have every vehicle have identical tools. for example: 2x shifters, 1x screwdriver set, 1x drill bit set, Cordless drill, 3x batteries etc ect im sure you get the drift.
Have all the tools listed and accounted for. Once every month or so, go though the vehicle & tools. See what's missing. Replace and take it out of your employees paycheck.

What if more than one employee used that vehicle in between inspections? How do you determine who is at fault for missing/broken tools so the correct employee has their paycheck docked?

 

[MJ-507]

Not sure at this time. I've been out of that environment for over 15 years.

I would think a private entity would have more flexibility in that regard.
e.g. A shop owner doing high end restorations was finishing a Rolls Royce.
One morning he came in to do the final prime and blocking. Noticed a rather large dent on the hood that wasn't there the day before.
Asked whoever did it to come clean and he wouldn't say another word about it.
Nobody stepped up so he fixed it himself and docked everyones paycheck for the hours it took for the repair.

If I was one of those employees, I would have been on the phone with the Dept. of Labor in about 3 seconds. I'm fairly certain it is illegal to take money from a person's check w/o proof that they did anything wrong. Using the "logic" of docking everyone because no one admitted fault, the owner could pretend damage occurred whenever he wanted and make himself a few dollars on his employee's backs. I would bet money the employer wouldn't like it if his customer noticed a scratch on the car that could have come from the body shop, the landscaper, or the house painter - so he just deducted money from payments to all of them to cover the cost of having it repaired. Sometimes a business owner just needs to absorb charges whether he wants to or not. It's the cost of doing business.

 

[Gino]

Again, by making them sign out and back in. You can't across the board blame everybody if no one speaks up. If you have employees and they have a favorite tool not in your arsenal, let them buy it, but it's their responsibility. In the past, I had people who preferred this over that. I paid for it, but I did not replace it. It was mine for them to use or abuse. They lose it, I don't get a second one. One strike method.

 

[rjssigns]

If I was one of those employees, I would have been on the phone with the Dept. of Labor in about 3 seconds. I'm fairly certain it is illegal to take money from a person's check w/o proof that they did anything wrong. Using the "logic" of docking everyone because no one admitted fault, the owner could pretend damage occurred whenever he wanted and make himself a few dollars on his employee's backs. I would bet money the employer wouldn't like it if his customer noticed a scratch on the car that could have come from the body shop, the landscaper, or the house painter - so he just deducted money from payments to all of them to cover the cost of having it repaired. Sometimes a business owner just needs to absorb charges whether he wants to or not. It's the cost of doing business.

Can spin it any way you want but it's his business, his rules. Maybe the workers should have read the fine print of the employee handbook. It also has nothing about making money off of employees backs.
Someone F'ed up, didn't admit it and the whole crew got punished. Can you say peer pressure?
If that was "not by the book" what would stop him from temporarily reducing wages or laying off the crew? Absolutely nothing. There are many ways to turn the screws.

Hell, I worked in a UNION shop for years and watched the insidious ways management got rid of trouble makers. There are no protections. You are either worth what they're paying you or you're out the door.

Boils down to this. If you apply for a job and accept that job you are an at will worker. Nobody forced you to accept the job or terms of employment.
As an at will worker unless there has been some egregious violation of labor laws you can be fired/laid off without warning and have absolutely zero recourse.

 

[MJ-507]

Can spin it any way you want but it's his business, his rules. Maybe the workers should have read the fine print of the employee handbook. It also has nothing about making money off of employees backs.
Someone F'ed up, didn't admit it and the whole crew got punished. Can you say peer pressure?
If that was "not by the book" what would stop him from temporarily reducing wages or laying off the crew? Absolutely nothing. There are many ways to turn the screws.

Hell, I worked in a UNION shop for years and watched the insidious ways management got rid of trouble makers. There are no protections. You are either worth what they're paying you or you're out the door.

Boils down to this. If you apply for a job and accept that job you are an at will worker. Nobody forced you to accept the job or terms of employment.
As an at will worker unless there has been some egregious violation of labor laws you can be fired/laid off without warning and have absolutely zero recourse.

I'm well aware of what at-will labor laws are and what they allow under law, but I'm fairly certain they don't cover an employer arbitrarily deducting money from an employee's paycheck, which is for hours that have already been worked and not for any future hours that the employee can/will work, without a legally justifiable - and proven - reason. That is, of course, unless it's written into the employee handbook that the employer will do such a thing and the employee signs an acknowledgment of receiving, reading, and understanding the contents of the handbook. Even then, I'm not sure of the legality of the practice as, if there is no evidence of an employee having committed such an offense, deducting money from their paycheck after hours have been worked is tantamount to stealing from the employee.

If the employer wants to fire his entire staff because no one will stand up for what they did, that is an entirely different ball of wax. That would be legal though, to combat any issues regarding unemployment and/or unfair dismissal claims, it would help to have documentation & proof of any wrongdoing by the employee(s). However, I think an employer who did resort to such practices would have a hard time acquiring and retaining any skilled labor once word of their actions hit the streets. I don't know of any person who would want to go to work every day in fear of being terminated due to someone else refusing to own up to their mistake(s). Same for an across-the-board lowering of wages. No one would want to work for a company that reduces everyone's pay rate because of one person's inability to stand up. Sometimes a company just has to eat the costs involved for an employee's f-up and move on.

Perhaps there is some form of liability insurance for these types of matters? I can't answer that one myself as I'm not versed enough in all the various types of insurance that are available to a business.

 

[netsol]

If my staff doesn't peel the heat shrink, I think this is a good idea. Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely consider it.

they have that stuff you can dip tool handles in.
i would imagine we have the technology to tint it differently, especially those of us with bulk ink

 

[Stacey K]

Has anyone considered missing tools might not really be missing but stolen instead?

I'm always fascinated by the stories of theft from my business owner friends. My sister has fired more people than I can count for theft at her daycare over the last 17 years, including her #1 employee and good friend.

Just a thought...

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I have only worked for one place where he would ding you if you damaged something if you were being blatantly stupid. Anywhere else they would fire you which makes me really wonder if any of this is even legal. We get mystery damages here and there but I do have a reliable shop tattle-tale. I would never back charge, legal or not, if an employee accidently damaged something. We all make mistakes and it's fine as long as you tell me. If your employees try to hide these things then chances are that you are an A-Hole and they don't want to listen to you belittle them over it. Lost tools are what irritate me. Some of that is to be expected but it is usually the same repeat offenders that are being lazy or disorganized.