ImagesMagUK_Digital_Edition_Feb18

www.images-magazine.com FEBRUARY 2018 images 33 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Howmuch more work could your shop push out with an extra ‘free’ business day to print? Marshall Atkinson is a leading production and efficiency expert for the decorated apparel industry, and the owner of Atkinson Consulting, LLC. Marshall focuses on operational efficiency, continuous improvement and workflow strategy, business planning, employee motivation, management and sustainability. He is a frequent trade show speaker and article and blog author, and is the host of InkSoft’s The Big Idea podcast. atkinsontshirt.com Here are some quick tips: 1 Be organised. Stage tomorrow’s work today. Bring all shirts, screens, ink, documents, samples, etc and line them up in the order they need to be printed. Try to have this handled before 1pm. 2 Your print crew should never have to go anywhere. Every time they wander off to get a new squeegee, some ink or to have a question answered is another moment that you aren’t printing shirts. They are the centre of your production universe. Everything goes to them. 3 Each press has its own set of tools. Tape gun, scissors, razor blades, markers, tape, a T-square, etc, including Pantone books. When each group has an identical set of tools they don’t have to waste time looking for something. Get them what they need. 4 The opportunity cost for running the press is usually based on about ten times the labour rate for the crew. So if the press operator calls an artist or manager over to approve the job and they have to wait a moment, it’s okay. Their time isn’t as valuable as the press time. Most set-ups get delayed because the crew has to wait for an artist or a manager to review the work. This can cause significant delays overall. Prioritise your time here. 5 If you have enough throughput, invest in a computer-to-screen (CTS) system with an on-press registration system. Your screens will improve in quality, and also each screen will be already registered to the other ones in the edition. With a good crew, you should be able to get a job set up in well under five minutes a screen. If you are changing jobs over constantly, this can significantly impact the amount of work you can produce a day. 6 Avoid using spray platen adhesive if you can. Use a water-based adhesive, and put it in a condiment bottle. Apply it with a plastic applicator used for vehicle wraps. A good trick is to place a magnet on the applicator with some tape. This allows it to stick to the metal press arm by the operator for easy access. If you want better workflow in your shop, one great way to always improve is just to observe. What’s in the way of doing something faster? Is it a tangible thing you can buy? Maybe some training for a staff member? It could be just the way you place the shirts on a cart by the press. Seconds add up to big savings. Finally, when in doubt, just ask your staff: whatever they are complaining about is usually what needs attention. Photos courtesy of i-Sub/Roq