Your mission and operation plan
very business needs
a mission no matter what its size or scope. Without a mission a
business does not know its purpose, scope, destiny,
achievements and ultimate successes. A simple mission statement
should be made before the foundations of the business have been
started. This statement should state the goals to be attained,
and it should be followed by a detailed operation plan
patterned after the US military “Operation
Plan.”
 | ||
First of all, we need an “Estimate
of the Situation” which is a detailed review of the enemy
(our competition) and our allies (our customers) to include
strengths, weaknesses, composition and operational data, etc.
This equates to our survey of the area from where our customers
are derived to include all the demographics and other pertinent
information. Knowing, also, as much as we can about the
competitors in our area of operation: Their prices, quality and
service offered, hours of operation, attractiveness of their
customer service area, appraisal of their customer service
representatives, etc.
Second, the operation plan must set forth
the amount of personnel needed to sustain the organization.
Each job must be described, and each employee must have a
detailed job description to ensure that there are no mistakes
as to what the employee’s job entails.
One important job that is usually omitted
from the job description is the requirement to keep the work
area neat and clean. The operation plan must describe the
organization structure of the business from the owner/general
manager down to the lowest echelon. All matters pertaining to
personnel management must be clearly outlined.
Note: These personnel matters can be
incorporated under separate cover as an “Employee
Handbook.”
Third, the operation plan must state how
the mission is to be carried out including all the details of
operations: store hours, service offered, procedures for
receiving and delivering orders, marking, dry cleaning,
spotting, finishing, inspection, assembly and packaging, etc.
Laundry services are detailed in a similar manner; and
tailoring, formal wear, household, etc., are described as
necessary. This also includes the types of initial equipment to
be installed.
Fourth, the operation plan must encompass
all the administrative and service support required for a
successful operation. This equates to “Paragraph Four of
the Operation Plan (Military)” which is titled
“Combat Service Support.” The use of utilities,
supplies, maintenance procedures, insurance, banking,
advertising, transportation, etc., are detailed here
Too often, a business is sold to an
inexperienced person who fails to delve into the total
management of the operation and fails to take notice of the new
mission and all that it encompasses. If the business is
successful, then don’t try to fix something that
isn’t broken; but if you see that there is room for
improvement, then a whole new mission statement should be made.
Remember that our industry has two major
assets: people and equipment. You need the best of both to
ensure success and good profitability. People must be managed,
today, with utmost skill and diplomacy. The company must have a
training program in place to ensure a continuous flow of
education. As they say in the military: “Training never
stops.” Reinforcement is as important as basic training,
and this is most important to us in our cleaning and finishing
operations as well as customer service.
Our equipment must be complete and include
all “the bells and whistles.” All presses must
include a hand iron, water gun and sleeve ironing board, and
our puff iron sets should include fabric head and vacuum. I
mention these because I find that most plants do not have these
essential items.
A maintenance management program must be
implemented to ensure uninterrupted service of the equipment. A
supply of critical spare parts should be on hand for immediate,
emergency repairs, and a complete set of tools must be on hand
for service and repairs. After all, you can’t call in a
mechanic for every little problem that the equipment may incur.
Finally, you must communicate with your
employees either through supervisors or directly by the owner
or general manager. Have occasional meetings with all
departments to discuss the operations and listen to the
comments made by the workers. As the Japanese would say:
“Who knows how to tighten lug nuts on the wheels better
than the one who does the job.” In Japanese
manufacturing, the manager must have worked “on the
line” before he/she can be in charge of that operation.
Let the employees know what there is to
know. Do not keep them in the dark nor let them wonder what has
to be done and how to do it. Praise good work in public but
reprimand privately.
Note: My spotting video, “The
Caplan Method of Stain Removal,” which includes my
comprehensive text and handy spotting board reference available
in English, Spanish and Korean (video only in Korean) from the
Golomb Group, c/o Dennis McCrory, 7664 Plaza Court,
Willowbrook, IL 60521, phone (800) 679-5856. A lecture and
demonstration are presented similar to my classes over the
years at IFI and SDA. This video and text are ideal for
training inexperienced spotters as well as a good review for
experienced spotters. Digesting with enzymes, bleaching,
oxidized oil stains and caramelized sugar stains are discussed
and demonstrated. An article on “Removing Spots in the
Cleaning Machine” and an article on “How to
Increase Production in the Spotting Department” are
included in the comprehensive text book.
Also available from the Golomb Group, in
English and Spanish, is my video on step-by-step shirt
finishing which includes my comprehensive text in loose-leaf
form outlining each procedure for single-operator and
two-operator cabinet shirt unit using a cabinet sleeve press.
Proper forming of the collar using heated collar formers is
demonstrated. Each lay is demonstrated for top quality with
very little effort by the operators. Attractive detailing and
packaging of the hangered shirt, padding, steam pressures and
timing are all discussed. A unique wash formula for whiter
whites and brighter colors and removal of grease and body oils
is included in the loose-leaf text book.
My experience with shirts spans over 55
years with US Army as a principal laundry and dry-cleaning
concessionaire at Ft. Meade, MD, where average shirt volume was
approximately 10,000 per day. We were constantly
“sampled” for excellent quality in both finishing
and washing in laundry and drycleaning and in tailoring. We
operated our own 40,000-sq.-ft. plant for over 35 years.
Stan Caplan has over 35 years experience
in his own high volume dry-cleaning, laundry and tailoring
plant and two package plants with adjoining coin-operated
laundry and drycleaning. Stan is the former chief instructor at
the International Fabricare Institute, the Southwest
Drycleaners Association and various other trade
association-sponsored schools throughout the US and courses in
Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Singapore and Hong Kong. Stan
offers consulting, training and engineering services in all
areas from customer service area to the boiler room since 1981.
His complete system withtotal quality management will produce
maximum efficiency, economy and product excellent quality. Stan
can be reached at 7341 Amberly Lane, Suite 310, Delray Beach,
FL 33446, phone/fax (561) 496-2548. His e-mail address is stancap100@aol.com.
 |