So, you are the owner of a small shop, you read about lean manufacturing and think, “Is this only for the big guys?” Let’s just say, the big guys do it because it works! 

And what works for them, I promise, will work just as well for you.

The key is to really internalize the principles, understand them and most importantly experiment. All the manufacturing greats like Henry Ford, Taiichi Ohno or Shigeo Shingo didn’t wake up with concepts like the assembly line or single-piece flow. They experimented relentlessly until they uncovered something that seemed to work, then exploited it. 

The real key to success at any level is to track your performance, try something new and see if it was better or worse? It if was even 1% better, run with it. 

Then repeat the experimenting. if you can find 20 improvements that yield 1% or better in a year, you just added 20% to the bottom line. Now thats nothing to sneeze at. 

However, I’m happy to save you some troubles along the way from some of my experiences both in my own factory and working with companies all over the world. There are principles that better lend themselves to operations with many employees than for the shop with just a few. 

Small shop flow
Let’s first explore flow. Flow is the movement of raw materials being transformed into parts that are part of an assembly and eventually a finished good at your shipping door. We use the word flow to exemplify movement, we don’t want any of that stuff stopping along the way. 

When you have many people you can line them up at work centers, whether its machines or benches, and move parts between them for processing. But if you’re a one man (or woman) show, then it’s not so simple, or is it? 

When we have more than one person, it seems so logical to have more than one bench or work cell. But when we are working alone, we tend to try to make everything happen from one work bench. This I believe is a mistake. 

Henry ford said, “No building is big enough to build two things.” I would say, “No bench is big enough for two tasks.” Particularly when you’re trying to create flow. The challenge is we start to get so many tools and jigs all on one bench it’s just cluttered, not to mention it makes it almost impossible to post standards for every step along the way.

Sure, you can absolutely combine a few steps on one bench, but you will have to use your judgment when it’s time to set up another work cell. Then it will look almost the same as a big factory where you’re passing product down the line, the only difference is, you will be moving with it. 

Small operator batch size
The principle of connecting processes works just as well for one person as one hundred.   And believe me when I tell you more people have this wrong than have it right.  As companies expand, they tend to just build more multi purpose benches and put people at them,  wrong, wrong, wrong.  The most successful cabinet shops we have seen and worked with have created flow.  And please don’t tell me “but were super custom, it can’t be done”.  Here is the reality of that statement, everyone thinks they are super custom, right up until I ask if they are building boxes with doors on them.  Inevitably, the answer is yes.  

Let’s discuss batch size as a small operator. One of my favorite sayings I have heard lately on our Quantum Lean WhatsApp group is, “Batch work is like gambling, sometimes you get lucky, but most times you lose.”

In a perfect world, where mistakes didn’t exist and you weren’t concerned with flow, a case could be made for large batches. We don’t live in a world like that, however. 

As a smaller operator, there is a greater chance you are the expert, you have seen the project through from start to finish. 

Creating actual flow is difficult with only a couple people, and it may not be feasible for you to be running between stations if your processes have not yet been connected. 

Given you are the expert, mistakes may be a little fewer and farther between. Generally speaking, order releases in the cabinet world should be around 15 boxes.
 
Then the minute one is ready it starts to flow down a line (or staged in a work buffer). As a smaller operation, you could talk me into cutting all 15 boxes and parts, then machining them all, then assembling them all.

If you made a mistake, well, your fault, you fix it. Depending on your set up, remember, the smaller the batch the faster the flow, but that must be weighted against the motion and transportation of your set up. 

Sweep, sort, and standardize
The next two major considerations to increasing the overall throughput of your business are all too often overlooked, and your small but mighty organization definitely pays the price. 

First, are you taking time each day to do the Three S’s (Sweep, Sort and Standardize), and are you making a daily improvement?

When it’s just us doing the work, we tend to open the door, fire up the compressor and get to work. 

You know the saying “time is money.” But I would urge you to consider the residual benefits of those small improvements over a month, a year or 10 years. Trust me, it will pay off big time.  

Don’t over look the power of creating standards for yourself, or implementing a robust kanban system. 
If you could trade all the hours of purchasing and looking for tools into building cabinets, I bet it works out to more than one kitchen per year. Thats big bucks. 

Automation
Don’t overlook automation. I hear it all the time, “I’m just a small shop, I can’t afford that fancy machine.” But when you are the only one generating revenue, your time is the most valuable time in the building. If you don’t do something to buy back your time, you will never have enough of it. You might want to reconsider that widget maker that could save you a few hours a week. At the very least, your family will thank you. Nah, if you’re like me, you will just find something else to build :) 

Small can be big
Last but not least, don’t ever find yourself talking about your business and saying, “I’m just a small shop.” Small business is the heartbeat of North America. If you’re taking home a decent paycheck, and you’re happy, that’s all that matters.

I have had the pleasure of running my business from two employees and $300,000 in sales up to 40 and $5 million-plus in sales. Wanna know a secret? Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone, but, the most money I ever made, and by that I mean a paycheck with my name on it, was when it was myself and two employees. So don’t always think bigger is better. Remember: sales is vanity, profit is sanity! 

If you need help on your journey, some advice or just a shoulder to cry on. Give us a shout, we’re here for you.