Will Sampson talks about how some people look at dramatic business change as magic, but it’s really something else. His guests are Brad Cairns from Quantum Lean and Jim Allen, operations manager at River City Cabinets in Austin, Texas. They’re talking an amazing lean transformation that happened at River City Cabinets in just one week.
This episode of the Woodworking Network podcast was sponsored by Wood Pro Expo Florida. It’s really easy for woodworkers to stay stuck inside, focused on their shops and production. But over the last couple of years, the pandemic has forced them to be even more isolated than usual. Now it’s time to get out of the shop and resume life in the outside world, especially when it’s a chance to network with your woodworking business peers. That opportunity is coming April 12-14 in West Palm Beach, Florida, as the Wood Pro Expo joins with the Closets Conference and Expo to offer an unparalleled opportunity to boost your business with intelligence on techniques, tools, and technology. Let’s get face to face again. Learn more at WoodProExpoFlorida.com. See you there.
Woodworking Network is a home for professional woodworkers, presenting technology, supplies, education, inspiration, and community, from small business entrepreneurs to corporate managers at large automated plants.
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Intro music courtesy of Anthony Monson.
Intro:
Welcome to the fourth season of the Woodworking Network Podcast and a new episode. Join us as we explore the business of woodworking big and small and what it takes to succeed. I’m Will Sampson.
Today’s episode is sponsored by WoodProExpoFlorida. Today our guests are Brad Cairns from Quantum Lean and Jim Allen of River City Cabinets in Austin Texas with an amazing story of a lean transformation, but before I get to that, I want to talk about:
It’s not magic but it can feel that way!
Lots of things in business present themselves as “solutions” that will instantly cure all ills and launch you to the stratosphere of business success. There’s the new machine that will multiply your productivity by some amazing factor or the business consultant who claims to have the secret sauce to smooth out all of your bottlenecks.
I think we are all familiar with the expression, “If it seems too good to be true, it likely is.” There’s no silver bullet, no magic wand, but in reality, some changes can seem that way. I’m fond of science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke’s dictum, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Sometimes the magic happens when your eyes are opened to new possibilities that might come from new technology. Yes, sometimes a new machine can be transformative. But let’s be realistic. As many gains in productivity that can be had from a new machine, it likely still will just move the bottleneck elsewhere in your production flow. And not all production problems can be solved with a new machine or a robot.
Sometimes the magic involves people. Are they doing things in a coordinated fashion? Is everybody on the same page with how they do things, so you achieve consistent results? What would happen if you reorganized jobs, processes, or procedures? Are you listening when your workers tell you there’s a better way to do something? The “magic” of some consultants is really no secret. It’s that they have been to enough plants to quickly see some of the problems that you might be too close to for your own good.
It is often stunning what can happen with a few changes in procedures, shop layouts, or just getting teams and individuals to more effectively coordinate with each other. Sometimes you find there are as many ways of doing something in your operation as there are people doing it. What happens when they finally get together to compare notes and jointly develop a standard procedure that everyone follows for maximum efficiency?
Is that magic? Maybe so. But it doesn’t take a top hat and a magic wand to get it done. It does, however, take a willingness to open your eyes and try new things.
I’m convinced that one of the reasons business owners and production foremen are so easily convinced that the solution to their problems is new machinery is because they can see the machinery in action, doing what they want it to do. It might be in a video, on a showroom floor, or in a trade show booth, but it’s real, and it’s working. It’s a lot easier to sign on the dotted line for that shiny piece of metal and electronics than it is to visualize how a change in people (if you can find them!) or procedures will work out. For that matter, there’s no guarantee such a change will work out at all. Compare that to the recorded speed rate on a machine.
The magic is in the vision and the magic words are, “Open your eyes and open your mind.”
I want to get to our interview with Brad and Jim, but first, let’s pause for a word from our sponsor:
It’s really easy for woodworkers to stay stuck inside, focused on their shops and production. But over the last couple of years, the pandemic has forced them to be even more isolated than usual. Now it’s time to get out of the shop and resume life in the outside world, especially when it’s a chance to network with your woodworking business peers. That opportunity is coming April 12-14 in West Palm Beach, Florida, as the Wood Pro Expo joins with the Closets Conference and Expo to offer an unparalleled opportunity to boost your business with intelligence on techniques, tools, and technology. Let’s get face to face again. Learn more at WoodProExpoFlorida.com. See you there.