Lean practices like 5S and daily huddles help small shops build a foundation for sustainable growth
Not all small welding shops have a formal plan for company growth, but they need to be ready should more customers start throwing work their way.
Luckily, one-shift operations with a handful of employees can start doing some basic things to prepare to successfully add new people and take on larger-volume jobs down the road. In essence, small welding shops can plant the seeds for a culture that fosters employee engagement and empowerment—having everyone working together to fabricate quality products that are delivered on-time and in a safe manner.
The process involves some basic lean manufacturing principles that are practiced in larger organizations to maximize the value they deliver to customers and do so efficiently. While this may seem intimidating to small weld shops, they are likely already using these principles in one form or another—just not as routinely as needed to make business growth as painless as possible.
Getting Things in Order
In many aspects of life, a thorough cleaning can do a lot of good. The same goes for shops.
A lean expert would consider this reorganization a part of 5S, which originated in the Toyota Production System. The five-part framework is tied to creating a space for everything and putting everything in that place.
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