Investing in great CNC machine technology is one of the keys to improving productivity, especially if you’ve invested wisely in equipment that provides the best ROI. However, the quest for greater productivity doesn’t begin and end with CNC machines. There’s also the human factor to consider. Are your people as productive as they could be? If not, the first place to look for improvement is in the mirror.
As the boss, you can be a positive role model for your employees by demonstrating good work habits and leading by example. The problem is, we tend to be “get-the-job-done” types which means we sometimes lose sight of the bigger picture.
Do I exaggerate? Or does any of this seem familiar?
- Your operator runs into a setup problem on a new job. You take a look and realize what needs to be done, so you dive in, finish the setup and run the first part yourself. Meanwhile, your operator stands idly by while you do his job. You wanted to get the problem solved quickly and production under way. However you didn’t take the time to educate your machine operator on how to solve the setup problem. You just did it. Mission accomplished. Or is it? How likely is it that this operator will come running to you the next time a similar situation develops?
- The bank deposit needs to be made and the mail picked up. Everyone else seems to be busy, so you jump in your car and take care of it. Pretty soon it becomes a habit and you may even look forward to taking an hour or two to run these errands. After all, it helps break up the day. The problem is you’re no longer in the shop to make sure everything is running smoothly.
- You sat down at your computer to attack a specific task. Hours later you’ve accomplished little, if anything. Why? Emails popped up that you were compelled to respond to. The phone rang and you had to answer. People were constantly poking their heads into your office to ask a “quick question.” You went on the Internet to search for an important piece of information but got sidetracked.
If you recognize yourself in any of these or similar scenarios, consider the kind of example such actions set for your employees, and how much more productive you can be if you modify your behavior:
- We all know that its much better to educate employees than do their work for them, but it often seems faster and easier to do it ourselves. This is, of course, short-term thinking. In the long run the time you invest to better educate your employees will come back to you tenfold. But if you absolutely, positively have to do it yourself this time, immediately schedule a training session to make sure your employees learn how to handle the situation for themselves in the future.
- You are an extremely valuable asset to your company, which means all of your time should be invested wisely. Moreover, it’s important to your health and wellbeing to balance work with time for yourself and for your loved ones. So concentrate your working hours on the most important things, not running errands that can be delegated to a lower-paid person or an outside courier service. Again, the payback will be well worth any expense.
- Distractions are part of our daily work life. However, you can exercise some control over these interruptions. We live in an age of omnipresent communications but that doesn’t mean we must always be available. One way busy people cope with this is to simply block out a period of time each day for those tasks that need our undivided attention, including planning for the future. During this “sacred time” they turn off the email pings and phone ringers, and inform their people that they are not to be disturbed unless it is a true emergency. Not only do they get more accomplished in their hour or two of concentrated time, their people eventually learn to make decisions and solve problems for themselves.
Clearly these steps require us to trust and delegate responsibility to our employees. This can be hard for those who have a tendency to micro-manage, yet the payback, over time, can be a dramatic improvement in your CNC shop’s productivity.
In the same way, if you’d like expert help finding CNC machines and accessories to accommodate your shop’s growth, contact your Torrance Haas Factory Outlet. Call (310) 381-0750, email: jphillips@haasfactoryoutlet.com, or visit www.haasfactoryoutlet.com.