Work flow and production control begins with an efficient equipment layout.
More new plants are springing up than ever before. Equipment sales are high and plant installations are in great demand. A large number of older plants have grown by placing additional equipment, purchased to handle increased volumes, in any corner or nook that was open or just available. No great thought was given to efficient work flow and saving precious steps in the production process.
Let's look at the basis of efficient work flow and production control: an efficient layout of plant equipment. How should the impetus flow? Should it be from back to front, or from front to back?
Sometimes a peculiarly designed building requires a special work flow and even good unit finishing layout cannot be accomplished.
In a typical package plant which does not service branch (dry) stores, the most efficient location for the drycleaning, spotting and wetcleaning area is directly behind the customer service area.
Since wetcleaning is different from laundry, it should be integrated with drycleaning due to the many garments that require wetcleaning after drycleaning as well as those that are usually placed on the same invoice as drycleaning. Also, wetcleaned garments are always finished in the drycleaning finishing area.
This location has the following advantages over the usual placement of the drycleaning, wetcleaning and spotting area at the rear of the plant:
In a typical production plant which services several branch (dry) stores and routes, etc., the ideal location of the receiving and mark-in area would be in the rear or side, whichever has the large garage door and receiving/delivery dock, etc.
Location of the drycleaning, wetcleaning and spotting area is obviously positioned along side, in front of, or in back of the receiving and mark-in area, in close proximity.
Spotting boards
Next, the spotting board should be placed perpendicular to the front of the drycleaning machine and at its right end. This allows the cleaner/wetcleaner/spotter to directly feed the unfinished work to the finishers and also service the drycleaning machine easily.
Ideally, a slightly tilted, square board should be placed opposite the right front of the drycleaning machine and parallel to it. This is the inspection board, and it should have a four-tube daylight fluorescent light fixture over it with, also, a rack for storage of hangers and pants trees.
At a right angle to the back of the inspection board the regular spotting board (steam, cold water, volatile dry solvent gun, air and vacuum) would be positioned.
This spotting board would be equipped with an extra long steam hose to permit the operator to press his or her right foot onto the steam (left) pedal of the spotting board to produced a wide mist of dry steam. This mist of dry steam is used to bring up any hidden protein or tannin stains to the surface of a silk, rayon, acetate or cotton fabric.
This procedure, along with careful inspection of all garments before they are finished, would greatly decrease the number of rejected garments for spots. After all, it is very unproductive for a presser to have the garment 75 percent finished and then find a removable spot, or to have an inspector send back a completely finished garment for spotting, re-cleaning and re-finishing.
With this inspection board and spotting board set up, the spotter can pivot to the right of the inspection board and work on a spot using the necessary spotting agents, bleaches, etc., and utilize the steam, cold water, volatile dry solvent gun, air and vacuum.
If the garment is a "pass up," or the spot is removed immediately, the spotter will take off a hanger from the bar over the inspection board and hang the garment on the finishers' unfinished rail or conveyor for distribution to the appropriate finishing units. Pants and slacks are hung on a pants tree by belt loop or hook.
While the cleaner/wetcleaner/spotter is inspecting the cleaned garment for spots, or prespotting heavily soiled or stained garments, he or she can easily see the finishers to determine how the work should be fed to them.
Finishing units
The finishing (pressing) units are positioned so that the garments coming in are located near the beginning of the operation.
Care must be exercised in the placement of each piece of equipment so that an absolute minimum of steps are taken, and the unit layout must provide for easy placement of the finished garment onto the finished rail.
Pants unitStan Caplan has over 35 years experience in his own drycleaning/laundry business and over 20 years experience teaching and consulting. A former chief instructor at IFI the SDA school in Denton, TX and the ISFA school in Illinois, he offers consulting services on work flow concepts, lot systems management, call-office efficiency studies, production studies, plant equipment layout, engineering studies and specifications, equipment specifications, TQM, training programs, cost analysis and accounting and general plant management. He can be reached at 3601 Clarks Lane, Suite 307, Baltimore, MD 21215; phone or fax (410) 358-0870. His e-mail address is: stancap100@aol.com
Of all the successful drycleaners I know and have visited, nothing succeeds as well as an established Route.
We don't have to look too far to know why this is so, and we don't have to possess a doctorate in economics. We do have to remember why we chose our present location. We knew that if we watched our work carefully and kept our quality high and consistent, we would never fail. It would also help to remember the words of some of the mavens and experts in our industry.
I quote from Bill Seitz "I never heard of anyone going out of business from too much quality!"
And there is a host of advice from Stan Golomb in his informative book, "How to find, Capture, and Keep Customers," which should be required reading for anyone in our industry.
Now I'll offer a little more advice on why I advocate routes.
To begin with,"it's a changing world!" I like to think I'm mature enough (notice I never say old!) to see changes constantly around us. I remember from my childhood all those men coming around the house -- milkmen, icemen, bread men, etc. We even had a guy who would yell in the courtyard for old clothes: "I cash clothes!" We had of course, vegetable wagons, and someone who sharpened knives and scissors.
You can call it progress that suddenly women were no longer at home, and got out in the working world. Now words like "Au pair" and day nurseries are in vogue.
Yes, what goes around, now comes around. In my town in just the last few years we have a multitude of convenient delivery services. We have a service called "The Red Chef" who will deliver any dinner you want, or you can order a pizza or Chinese food or something from your favorite French restaurant and a hot meal will be at your door in a heated delivery cabinet. In a separate package may be bottle of chilled wine and two glasses.
I counted last month over 24 sales catalogs of various merchandise, from shoes to bedding, lounge wear, home furnishings, etc. I don't have the figures to know what the TV, info commercial or home shopping and Internet have done to department store sales, but I'm sure it's taking a big bite at their bottom line.
Like I say, it's a changing world and more and more items are being sold and merchandised to the home -- and delivered.
Why routes? Because the old rule "Location, Location, location" no longer applies. Now it has become "Convenience, Convenience, Convenience!" That's why many stores have installed clothes depositories and drop boxes for dropping clothes during off hours, and are now offering evening routes or early morning for delivery and late night or Sunday openings.
Next, we have learned that many times your probable best customers do not always live within the 21ˇ2 mile radius of your store. Perhaps the neighborhood has gone through a traffic change, making your two-way thoroughfare a one-way street.
If you are astute enough and have been watching your area's growth pattern, you have discovered the now more affluent part of town is now somewhere else, or your store now has a parking problem or the road is too crowded.
That's where your route comes in. It simply knows no bounds; there are no limits! That's the why and the where in a nutshell.
It's a fact: "The most affluent people are the best drycleaning customers!" They are seldom involved in economic downturns and can maintain their style of living no matter what. The area in which a route can function is unlimited and only governed by your imagination.
Just think about the possibilities! All those multiple dwellings including college, fraternity and sorority houses, nurses quarters, hotels, valet service, stage and TV studios, displays and draperies in furniture stores, country clubs, and catering halls, smoke and fire restoration, department store referrals, wedding gowns and seamstress referral, tuxedo rental outlets, office personnel and on and on.
When should you start a route? Perhaps never, if you have all the business you can handle and if you have no room to expand.
Furthermore, it would be foolish to take any steps toward increasing your volume, when you don't have complete control over your present quality and production.
So the first step is to clean-up, shape-up or ship-out as my brother, the sailor, would say!
You should also explore every possible avenue of service that your present customers can utilize, and within the bounds of competition, such as shoe repair, reweaving, fur storage, carpet cleaning, monogramming, pillow restoring. Tailoring and shirt laundering can be wholesaled out, if little room is available.
Once you have exhausted these possibilities at diversifying, then and only then should you start to prepare your attack on this profitable segment of your business with growth unlimited.
How to start a route?
How to get started? How much to reward a driver? Whom to hire? How to advertise? How much to invest?
Unfortunately these important questions can not all be covered in one article. Although most of the details are simple procedures, they should be covered with full understanding.
Sales training, how to solicit, sales letters, how to buy an existing route etc., require full comprehension, or the results could at best be mediocre.
For that reason I ask that you send me $10 for a complete training manual with an easy to follow step-by-step program. (The cost covers my shipping and handling.) You'll get timely tips, from painting your vehicle to action-getting sales letters, and it will save you from many costly mistakes.
It's your first step on the "Route to success!"
Ray Colucci, a consultant to the fabric care industry, has three booklets available that cover key topics. The titles include: "Up Front is Where it Counts," which tells how to train people to work at the counter and contains a pre-hiring personality test; "The Route to Success," which tells how to start, hire, train and sell routes; and "Pressed for Perfection," which ends the dilemma of hire and fire in the finishing department and provides a quality control final inspection color coding system. The booklets are available for $10 each or all three for $25. He also has a slide presentation seminar entitled "Management and Motivation" and he is available for speaking engagements. For information, contact Ray Colucci, 410 Warren Ave., Mamaroneck, NY, 10543.
Chenille fabrics continue to plague the drycleaner even with the most careful handling.
Many retail stores and manufacturers have admitted that they have received numerous complaints. Pulling and snagging of the yarns as the most common complaint. Sometimes the pulled yarns are noticeable before the garment is even sold.
Despite complaints, chenille will continue to be popular because it is pleasing to the consumer.
Chenille yarn fabrics
Chenille refers to yarn structure. It can be used in woven fabrics but is currently used more often in a knitted construction, primarily for sweaters.
Chenille yarns give a bulky and soft appearance. Fabrics made of chenille seem to be sturdy but they may not be.
Chenille yarns are made by cutting a specially-woven, ladder-like fabric into warp-wise strips. The cut ends of these softly twisted yarns loosen and become a fringe with the appearance of a pile.
The chenille yarn is sometimes called a caterpillar yarn or pipe cleaner yarn because of its resemblance to both. Some manufacturers have tried intertwining a support yarn such as polyester to stabilize the fabric.
The soft pile chenille yarns will easily pull, shift and separate during normal wear and in routine drycleaning procedures. The short pile fibers which give the fabric its pile appearance are easily moved by mechanical action from the warp yarn leaving a bare or partially bald area.
Because the fabric is a loose knit construction, it will easily stretch, become distorted or the yarn will separate.
If the fiber shrinks because of moisture, heat or loss of sizing, the fabric will obviously shrink.
The fiber content of the chenille yarn may produce other problems. For example:
The pile of acrylic chenille will also flatten and distort from the heat and mechanical action of spotting.
Examination
The following precaution should be observed when accepting chenille: Examine chenille knit garments for pulled, snagged or broken yarns at the counter.
Also, examine the garment for bare or partially bald areas due to mechanical action and friction such as the arm and underarm. Look for matted pile and shine caused by flattening of the pile. It can be seen as a change of light reflection on the fabric surface.
Even a slight damage before cleaning will be accentuated during drycleaning. Note any damage on the sales slip and bring it to the attention of the customer.
Drycleaning
When drycleaning, place chenille fabrics in a net bag and run for one to two minutes in a moisture-free load. Use a high solvent level in an under-loaded machine to reduce mechanical action. Tie the net bag tight to reduce movement of the garment. Dry at 120 degrees F and remove immediately when dry.
Remember: It is difficult to explain fabric problems and damages after the problem has occurred.
Dan Eisen is chief garment analyst for the Neighborhood Cleaners Association Inter-national. He can be reached at the NCAI office, (212) 967-3002, ext. 243.This article is being written right after the celebration of our nation's 223rd anniversary.
I received an e-mail from David Aldrich, a drycleaner who sends me uplifting ideas. I appreciate his keeping me in a positive mood with his frequent upbeat messages.
This particular one I want to share with everyone.
I'm aware that we often forget our heritage in our day-to-day battles for survival in the business jungle. This is all the more reason to be aware of our history and nothing is more important than "The Declaration of Independence."
The story I'm about to relate is about 56 true American heroes and the fate of those brave men who signed the Declaration of Independence.
I feel like a patriot in that I volunteered to serve my country right after Pearl Harbor. It was a different time and a different place but our country was under attack and I felt the personal need to do my bit. I enlisted in the U.S. Marines and served in the South Pacific for most of the war.
Whenever I see the Stars and Stripes waving in the breeze, I get a lump in my throat. I know most of you feel the same way and maybe even more will share our view if they read this.
The signers of the Declaration of Independence were the true heroes of our great country. Their deeds and great risks were unknown to me until I read this story from David Aldrich. My special thanks to him for sending it to me.
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured.
Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they?
Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.
Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution.
These were not wild eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more.
Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." They gave you and me a free and independent America.
The history books never told you a lot of what happened in the Revolutionary War.
We didn't just fight the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government!
Some of us take these liberties so much for granted. We shouldn't. So, take a couple of minutes while enjoying your holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.
The same gentleman who sent me the story about the "signers" also sent me this inspirational message of the day. It's about one of the most famous and infamous baseball players of our time.
Pete Rose was being interviewed in spring training the year he was about to break Ty Cobb's all-time hits record. One reporter asked him, "Pete, you only need 78 hits to break the record. How many at-bats do you think you'll need to get the 78 hits?"
Without hesitation, Pete just stared at the reporter and very matter of factly said, "78." The reported yelled back, "Ah, come on, Pete, you don't expect to get 78 hits in 78 at-bats, do you?"
Mr. Rose calmly shared his philosophy with the throngs of reporters who were anxiously awaiting his reply to this seemingly boastful claim.
"Every time I step up to the plate, I expect to get a hit! If I don't expect to get a hit, I have no right to step in the batter's box in the first place!
"If I go up hoping to get a hit, then I probably don't have a prayer to get a hit. It's a positive expectation that has gotten me all of the hits in the first place."
And now, I'd like to share one of my favorite quotes from the great Teddy Roosevelt in a speech he made in Chicago in April of 1899, 100 years ago.
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."
Stan Golomb is president of The Golomb Group Inc., a firm that designs marketing programs for drycleaners. Contact him at The Golomb Group Inc., 7664 Plaza Ct., Willowbrook, IL 60521; phone (630) 887-7339. His e-mail address is: sgolomb@ix.netcom.com
The Americans with Disabilities Act was designed to prevent employers from discriminating against individuals with disabilities that substantially limit at least one major life activity.
Some of the more obvious life activities are walking, seeing, and hearing. No one would quarrel that the ADA protects the crippled, the blind, and the deaf.
In addition, the ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities. If accommodating a disability would create financial hardship, for example, an employer can refuse to employ a disabled individual.
On the other hand, if an employee needs some minor equipment to accommodate his condition, the ADA normally requires that the employer pay for it. The Professional Golfers Association was required under the ADA to waive its "no cart" rule for a professional golfer whose disability made walking the course virtually health threatening.
The ADA, however, like many laws, has become a weapon for employees who may be under consideration for discharge for performance reasons but have some arguable disability.
For example, employees have claimed all sorts of physical conditions as disabilities that were never contemplated by Congress at the time -- body odor, impulse control disorders, bad teeth, and many more.
Some courts have been sympathetic, giving the ADA a liberal interpretation to prevent employers from taking into consideration any physical or mental defect, no matter how difficult to accommodate, or how much it interferes with job performance.
The Supreme Court, in an uncharacteristic pro-employer decision, has given the ADA an interpretation that keeps its basic principles intact, but gives employers more flexibility to deal with the wide variety of physical and mental defects their employees have. The case involved an airline that required pilots to have 20/20 vision with corrective lenses, but no more than 20/100 without those lenses.
An applicant with 20/200 vision correctable to 20/20 sued, claiming her poor eyesight was a disability that could not be used to discriminate against her to get into the pilot's program.
The Court decided that a person who has a physical or mental condition that might qualify as a disability does not have an actual disability if the condition is corrected or correctable. In other words, the female candidate for pilot had no disability because her eyesight problem was corrected with eyeglasses. If a person takes medication or uses a device that corrects a physical or mental condition, he or she is not really disabled.
The Court's ruling introduces common-sense back into the ADA. An employee with high blood pressure who controls it with medication does not have a disability. If he is fired, it will now be more difficult for the employee to claim that he was the victim of evil high blood-pressure discrimination. In the future, employers will be able to consider whether an employee or applicant has a disability based on the "corrected" condition, not the hypothetical uncorrected condition.
The Court also dealt with another facet of the ADA in its decision. Under the ADA, a person with no disability is protected against discrimination if he or she is perceived to have a disability. Consequently, an employer who mistakenly believes that an applicant has a disability can be sued if he acts on that belief. One example of this kind of discrimination would be an employer who does not employ homosexuals because he believes all gay men carry the HIV virus, a recognized disability.
Using this ADA provision, the applicant for the pilot's program argued that the airline perceived her to have the disability of poor eyesight. Thus, even though she had no disability because of the corrective lenses, the airline believed she was disabled because of her poor eyesight without them.
The Court rejected this argument, although admittedly with less force than the argument that she was "actually" disabled. The ADA says that a disability must "substantially limit one or more major life activities." Drawing a distinction between conditions that "somewhat limit" and "substantially limit," the Court said:
Accordingly, an employer is free to decide that physical characteristics or medical conditions that do not rise to the level of an impairment -- such as one's height, build, or singing voice -- are preferable to others, just as it is free to decide that some limiting, but not substantially limiting, impairments make individuals less than ideally suited for a job.
Poor eyesight was deemed not substantially limiting.
The Court went on to discuss whether a disability that caused a person not to be able to work was "substantially limiting." The Court said that it was, but only if the ability to work in a "broad class of jobs" was involved.
If only the ability to work in the particular job was in question, the disability or perceived disability was not "substantially limiting." A wheelchair disability would interfere with many jobs while poor eyesight might interfere with hardly any, especially if correctable.
The ADA is still a potent law that can affect your ability to run your business.
Now, however, some sanity has been introduced into the equation.
Frank Kollman is a partner in the law firm of Kollman & Sheehan, PA, in Baltimore, MD. He can be reached at (410) 727-4391.
Mending cuts and tears on leather, suede and fur articles is easily accomplished by utilizing the Perma Hold Glue. Tears and cuts are mended by gluing a suede or leather patch to the backside or underside of the torn or cut place in the skin.
The glue is ideal for this type of repair as it will not dissolve in drycleaning fluid or in wetcleaning water used in leather cleaning and will not come loose when the garment is recleaned. The glue will not bleed through the skin being mended and it does not get brittle and stiff when dry.
This type of mending can be done by any drycleaner or launderer for any customer quickly and easily for an extra charge.
Simply apply the glue with a spatula or brush to one side of a patch piece of suede or leather that has been cut out slightly larger than the cut or tear that is to be mended. Inexpensive pieces of scrap suede or leather can be obtained from the scrap bin of any leather craft store.
After applying the glue to one side, place the patch on the underside of the torn or cut area of the suede or leather. Take care not to get the glue on the outer surface of the garment being mended.
Next push the cut or torn sections together using finger action. Then let the glue dry thoroughly. Once the glue has dried, the garment may be pressed and/or brushed.
If the garment is a suede, brushing after the glue has dried will raise the nap so the cut or torn area usually cannot be detected by the untrained eye.
If the garment is leather, it may be possible for the layman to see that a mending was done. However, the garment will be serviceable, the customer will be pleased and the drycleaner will have extra income from the repair work.
Mending scuffs
Scuffing is a fairly common type of damage to the surface of smooth leathers like dyed naked leather, cuir savage leather and even painted leather. Scuffing usually occurs when the surface of the leather comes in contact with a sharp edged object or abrasive surface like brick, stone or rough concrete.
The scuff mark usually looks like triangular shaped pieces of the surface of the leather have been pulled up by contact with the abrasive or sharp material.
The triangular shaped flaps are usually pulled loose from the surface of the skin on two sides. The third side remains attached. As long as the surface of the leather is just pulled loose on two sides it can easily be mended by using a specially formulated permanent glue that does not dissolve or come loose in drycleaning fluids or in water used for wetcleaning.
Apply the glue using a double ended Q-Tip as follows: Moisten one end of the Q-Tip with the special permanent glue and then apply a very light film of the glue to the underside of the flap.
Then use the dry side of the Q-Tip to apply pressure to the topside of the of the flap and with a rolling motion, press the flap down to its original position flush with the surface of the skin and allow the glue to dry.
Once the glue dries, the flap will remain fastened to the surface of the skin because the glue forms a permanent bond that will not dissolve or come loose in drycleaning fluids or water in future cleanings or in wearing.
Care should be taken to be sure that only a very light film of the glue is applied to the underside of the scuffed flap. The light film of the glue is all that is needed to glue down the flap.
Warning: If a heavy amount of glue is applied to the flap with the Q-Tip, it may soak into the skin and the flap and cause a dark spot to form in the area repaired, This is not only a waste of the glue but is also an excellent way to make the customer unhappy.
Mending holes
Suedes and leathers may require mending for holes caused by cigarette burns, punctures, pinches and pulls on weak areas.
Holes in suede and leather can be mended by using a patch made of matching suede or leather cut out with a punch-out tool to match the hole.
The patch is then glued in place with glue applied to a larger back up patch made from any piece of suede or leather skin.
Punch-out tools with various hole sizes are available through leather craft stores. They come in tool kits similar to the way socket wrench set kits are sold.
The hole and patch are both punched out with the same size hole punch so the patch will fit in the hole exactly. A larger back-up patch is glued to the back of the hole punched in the garment using the Perma Hold Glue. Then the hole patch is placed into the hole that matches perfectly.
Once dry, the patch will remain in place and not come loose through subsequent wear and future drycleanings or wetcleanings because the special permanent glue is specifically formulated to resist dissolving in any drycleaning fluids or in water used in wetcleaning.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Do not attempt to use products that are not specifically formulated for use on suede and leather. Royaltone suede and leather products are specially formulated to process suedes, leathers, furs and trimmed cloth. Other brands may not give the same results when used as described in this article.Frank Lucenta is president of Royaltone Co. Inc., a firm that manufactures products for drycleaning and wetcleaning suede, leather, fur and cloth garments. He also teaches plant owners to identify, accept, spot, wet clean, dryclean, press and recolor suedes, leathers, and furs at the two-day training academy. The next training session will be held Sept. 16-17 in Tulsa, OK. For information on training sessions or the subject covered in this article, or information on handling suedes, leathers and furs, or for a free three-ring binder to hold copies of these articles, or for information on the Royaltone Instruction Book & Spotting Charts, call (800) 331-5506 or send e-mail to royaltone@royaltone.com . Information is also available at the company's website: www.royaltone.com<
Employee retention is a hot button with concerned employers all over the country.
Learning how to identify and reward your "keepers" is an invaluable business strategy. It costs you three times more to hire a new employee than to retain a current staff member.
One-third of a new hire's annual salary is spent bringing them up to speed. That equates to $4,000 for an employee earning just $12,000 per year and $8,000 for an employee earning $24,000 per year. That is a big chunk of your bottom line disappearing with each employee who walks out your door.
These figures are even more alarming when you consider the fact that 53 percent of U.S. workers expect to quit their jobs within the next five years. Figures are not available for the turnover ratio in the cleaning industry alone, but experience tells us that it's much higher.
Turnover rates for all businesses in 1998 were the highest in a decade. Attrition figures jumped 22 percent between 1996 and 1997. And experts predict the trend will continue into the new millennium.
With the current unemployment rate at a rock-bottom three percent, employees know they can leave an unsatisfactory situation with confidence. They know that another job, possibly with higher pay, air-conditioning and shorter hours, can be found less than a block away.
If you're not retention-minded, the status quo in your plant could quickly be turned upside down. Not only do good employees go out the door, but employee morale takes it's leave as well. Those left to pick up the slack become stressed out, overloaded, and unable to efficiently handle the increased amount of work.
There is a domino effect. Customers' clothes are not handled with the same level of care. And managers and owners become preoccupied with interviewing and hiring.
This is the main reason a Pre-Employment Screening Process, such as the one I've developed, is so important to business owners, both large and small. Even if you are currently using another pre-packaged process this kit deserves a review. At only $18 it comes with a money back guarantee, that you will be completely satisfied. Call 1-9800-6461-5736 PIN# 4615 today. And I'll send it out to you by Priority Mail.
Americans spend approximately 25 percent of their week working (Unless you're the business owner. In which case that figure becomes something like 75 percent). People want to enjoy themselves while they work. That's why it's crucial to build a working environment that's fun and productive.
So, how can you create an environment where people want to come to work? Salary increases are an obvious answer, but may not be good enough. To retain your employees, you have to foster a caring, family atmosphere in your plant.
Listen to your employees and find out what they want. Perhaps coffee and donuts in the morning. Or a weekly lunch brought in to the shop would make them feel more appreciated. The answers are really simpler than you think.
As an employee retention consultant, I can tell you that high retention is created by treating employees as equals, respecting them, and giving them the tools they need to do their jobs independently.
Keeping your employees challenged is vital to avoiding turnover. Listen to your employees' suggestions. Let them know that you appreciate the work they do, and their ideas. People naturally associate challenge with growth. Avoid letting your employees get bored with their work. They want to feel that their talents are being noticed.
Go directly to the source. Ask your employees what you can do to make their jobs more rewarding. Take a survey and offer an incentive for the most creative and feasible idea.
The bottom line is, that hiring is at the core of running a great business. If you're experiencing a lot of turnover, it may be time to reexamine your hiring strategy. Formalize your hiring process or get a new one. Determine interview questions and update job descriptions. Find the right person to begin with, and retention won't even be an issue.
Dennis McCrory offers several programs and products to assist drycleaners. For more information or to place an order (credit cards accepted), call (800) 646 5736, PIN 4615. Identify the package you are interested in as follows:
Package A: Pre-employment Screening Kit, $18.
Package B: "The Caplan Method of Stain Removal," video tape and handbook. Produced by Stan Caplan and Dennis McCrory, $174.
McCrory writes for several industry publications, both here and abroad. He also speaks and does consulting on marketing and management. In addition to the phone number above, he can be reached through The Successful Management Group, 3925 Lake Trail Dr., Kenner, LA 70065.
Every business owner I talk to is having a great deal of trouble finding employees.
The economy is booming and unemployment is at record lows. To make this situation even more challenging, the low unemployment rate is creating pressure for higher wages while demand for drycleaning services remains flat.
This flat demand coupled with low-priced competition is making it difficult for many drycleaners to raise prices.
What a revolting situation this has turned out to be!
There are two ways to deal with these conditions. You can work harder by starting earlier and staying later, or you can make your operations more efficient.
A more efficient operation allows for fewer people working fewer hours while producing the same volume.
Sounds good but can it be achieved in this industry without new technology?
For the answer to that question, let's look at a couple of companies in other industries to see how they became more efficient with what they had.
An article entitled "Rust-Belt Factory Lifts Productivity..." appeared May 18, 1999 in the Wall Street Journal. Timothy Aeppel reported on the Westinghouse Air Brake plant located on the south side of Chicago. This plant produces air brakes for trains, trucks and buses.
In 1991 the company introduced the Japanese approach of processing known as kaizen, which means "continuous improvement."
Today, this plant produces 10 times more per day than it did eight years ago. The company's Chairman and CEO, William E. Kassling said that "most of the changes in the plant involved no investment in equipment, but simply rearrangement of existing machines."
Who knows best?
The rearranging and process improvements weren't made by an outside engineering firm. They were made by the "...managers and workers. The managers and workers pick apart each step of each operation and work on how to streamline production."
The point is that the people who do the work on a daily basis know more about improving methods and procedures than anyone else.
Every time I go to a plant and get the key production people involved in developing methods and procedures for improving efficiency they always respond in a very positive way.
My experience is that the average drycleaning plant is operating at 70 to 75 percent efficiency. This means that they have one extra person for every four people on the payroll.
Another company in another industry is Consolidated Diesel which was formed in 1980 as a joint venture between Cummins Engine Co. and J.I. Case Corp. In the July 1999 issue of Fast Company magazine there is an article by Curtis Sittenfeld entitled "Powered By the People."
Mr. Sittenfeld states "There is nothing novel about the plant's assembly line."
He goes on to say that the company "...poses a deceptively simple question: will granting people an extraordinary level of responsibility allow them to achieve an extraordinary level of performance?"
After 19 years, the same answer keeps coming back: YES.
Jim Lyons, general manager of Consolidated Diesel states: "In the right environment, people at all levels of an organization can make contributions. The people who are closest to the work are the ones who typically understand that work best."
This company uses a team-based system.
The writer goes on to say "Researchers found that when people have a say in determining how they work, they are both more satisfied and more productive."
The company's human resources director puts it this way: "Being part of a team creates a different sense of accountability. Everybody expects more from everybody else."
The article continues "...Consolidated Diesel listens to its employees and involves them in designing solutions to problems in the plant. In the fall of 1998, for example, customer demand was so high that the assembly and process teams had to work huge amounts of overtime. 'We added a third shift skeleton crew, but there was only incremental improvement,' says Lyons. 'Then we got our team leaders involved, and they asked their teams: How should we handle this?'"
The teams designed new schedules that allowed for more flexibility. Shifts suddenly decreased in length from nine or ten hours to eight hours -- and no one was working Saturdays anymore.
"Sometimes the fact that it's the teams' plan, and not a plan dictated by management, means everything," Lyons says. "'The teams will make it work'."
Creating your teams
The big question is: How does a small drycleaning company go about creating teams?
Furthermore, how do you get these teams to work more efficiently? Start with your drycleaning department. Typically, that consists of your drycleaner/spotter, pressers, and IAB (inspect, assemble & bag).
Your drycleaning department should cost you between 16 and 20 percent of drycleaning sales.
It is very important to note that drycleaning labor as a percentage of drycleaning sales is a function of three things:
Also, it is very important to keep in mind that these percentages reflect quality work -- the type of quality your mother would be proud to wear.
To calculate your drycleaning labor costs as a percentage of sales, take total drycleaning wages for last week and divide it by total drycleaning incoming sales for last week.
If the answer is greater than .20 then there is room for improvement in your plant. Please do not waste your time trying to calculate how many minutes it takes to process a piece. That is a real exercise in futility!
If your drycleaning labor costs are greater than .20 you must determine where the inefficiency is.
On average, your drycleaner/spotter should process 70 pieces per hour; finishers 30 to 32 pieces per hour per operator; and, at IAB you should process 65 pieces per hour per operator.
If your employees are not producing at these levels you must meet with them as a group. Explain to them what the company goals are. Ask them for their help. Most importantly, you must reward them when they reach the goals.
Case Study
Recently, I did a survey for a company in the southeast. This company was processing 1,600 drycleaning pieces a week and had four pressers working an average of 36 hours per week. When I asked the owner, Why so many pressers?, he explained that "We do a lot of washed khakis and starched jeans and most of my pressers don't speak English."
Each presser was averaging less than 12 pieces per hour. The owner was paying an average of $7 per hour times 36 hours for each presser times four pressers a week -- at a cost of $1,008 per week.
I met with the woman who does the assembly and also acts as the interpreter for the non-English speaking employees. I explained to her that we must increase productivity and that I needed her help. We discussed several options and she said she would talk it over with the pressers.
The next day we met again and we decided that if we could get the four pressers to average 25 pieces per hour each we would pay them a $1 per hour bonus. Not a raise -- a bonus. It was also decided that they would have to average 25 pieces per hour for every hour they worked each day.
Today, this company has two pressers earning an average $8.18 per hour and they each work about 35 hours a week. The production standard has been lowered to 23 pieces per hour but the company is only spending $573 per week (8.18 x 35 x 2 = 573). This is a savings of $435.
Your employees can produce and they will produce. It is your job to find out what motivates them and you can only do that by talking and listening to them -- open up the lines of communication.
Remember, in the game of business the more you know the better you can play the game.
Alan Robson is a private consultant dealing with the specialized needs of the drycleaning industry. Readers are encouraged to contact him with questions or comments by telephone at (508) 753-6619 or e-mail at: agrobson@ma.ultranet.com
Date created:Aug 3 1999 Last modified:Aug 3, 1999 Copyright © 1999, National Clothesline Maintained by: Hal Horning Hal Horning