We are Missing Deadlines! What Should We Do?

If you listed what your most likely problems are, missing deadlines would be close to the top of the list. There are three likely root causes:

• Demand has exceeded capacity in one step of the process and there is a bottleneck
• There is a quality issue creating rework which is ongoing and slowing down everything
• The workload has simply increased, and you are overwhelmed

When Demand Exceeds Capacity

Demand can exceed capacity in any area. Most often, we see this in the front end of the process in estimating, job ticketing, and the end of the workflow in finishing.

Often the root cause in the early part of the workflow is redundant time-consuming tasks, such as writing the same information over and over again in the estimate, job ticket, and sometimes special instructions.

The solution for this problem is simple – inexpensive Print MIS software that offers estimating and job ticketing.

Bottlenecks in finishing can be addressed in two different ways:

Option 1) The least risky and most expensive is staffing the equipment longer or a second shift. A best practice we see all the time is a split shift in which someone comes in early (6AM-2PM) and then turns the equipment over to someone who comes in later (2PM-10PM).

Option 2) A more expensive option, which can be a better solution if this occurs frequently, is in-line or near-line finishing equipment. This is a better solution because it automates finishing, but it is risky because it is a costly option. Therefore, most companies try to determine if it can be cost justified. If the data is available, the calculation is easy. Generally, we calculate the cost of overtime for the staff for a year. Once the overtime cost exceeds the equipment cost, it is a no brainer.

Quality Issues

Typically, about once a year we work on an assignment in which the root cause of the problem is a quality issue. What is most surprising is that all too often it is a complete surprise to the client. If you suspect you have a quality issue, the best approach is to measure waste. Traditionally 5% is considered standard, 1.5% is considered world-class, and anything over 10% is considered a problem.

Overwhelmed with Work

If your demand suddenly increases and it is not due to a production issue, then, after you celebrate, you need to think carefully about your options. These options include:

• additional shifts
• additional staff
• optimized layout (e.g. moving equipment to allow one person to run two at once)
• more of the same equipment
• faster equipment
• outsource to a trade printer

In addition, more than one of these options can be considered.

We recently performed an analysis for a company. Their metric was average turnaround time, which they called SLA (service level agreement). Their demand increased, and their SLA shifted from a 3-week to a 6-week SLA. They asked for all the options, which are listed. In this table, FTE stands for full time employee, ppm stands for pages per minute, and on-call staff refers to identifying and calling additional staff into work as needed.

Source: Howie Fenton, proprietary formulas

The Hawthorne Effect

Ironically, there are few operational metrics in the printing industry. We are fans of measurement and believe that the act of measuring alone improves performance. Whether you suspect you have a problem or not, if you simply start to measure it, the act of measuring will improve what you are measuring. Simply measuring paper waste, on-time delivery, or plate remakes and posting a chart of those measurements in a publicly available area will prompt staff to ask about it and try to improve it. This phenomenon is known as the Hawthorne Effect, which describes how performance improves when people know that you are watching it.  

What are some strategies that you use to help you meet deadlines? Share them with us below and let’s learn from each other.