Investing in the little things is a smart move that can pay huge dividends.
Crating a spray booth for shipment is not an easy process. Since virtually everything in a booth is made out of steel, it’s really heavy stuff. In addition, there are many MANY parts. All the panels, ductwork, lights, doors, and all the miscellaneous nuts and bolts need to be packed up safe and secure for their journey out of the plant and to your shops doorstep. This means that a lot of custom-made crating is required, depending on the size of the booth and any additional equipment you purchased.
It’s something that people don’t tend to think about, but crating a product like a spray booth in an effective way is tricky, and if not done properly and with maximum efficiency, can be quite a costly endeavor. It’s important to make sure that all the resources (including labor, materials, and equipment) are used to maximum effect in order to provide the most secure packaging for the product without adversely affecting the price of the equipment or the condition in which it arrives at its destination.
It is for this reason that GFS decided back in April of 2011 to upgrade our crating area to include a massive seven-foot chainsaw. This saw, in addition to being simply awesome to see, allows the GFS crating team to slice and dice an entire skid of lumber in mere seconds. This has allowed us to increase the consistency in our crating as well as greatly reduced the amount of time it takes to get a product packaged and ready to ship.
It may seem like a small investment, in the grand scheme of things, but the benefits really are far-reaching. For example, since the saw was purchased the crating team now spends far less time cutting lumber and more time crating the actual product, allowing them to improve their crating methods to more effectively protect the product. In addition, the consistency of the crating materials is far better. A half inch might not seem like much on an 11′ crate, but that can be the difference between putting four securing staples into a joint or just three. Finally, since the saw runs for only a fraction of the time that the old saws required for the same number of boards, GFS has reduced the amount of electricity used to accomplish the same job, making crating operations even more energy efficient.
As you can see, by looking at the ‘small things’ in your operation like GFS did, you can easily identify key ways to make a big impact with little investment. Every chance you have to be more efficient, more consistent, and more effective is an opportunity to improve your business for the ultimate benefit of your customers and your employees. Everybody wins!
