So how did we gain this so-called edge on the competition? Well, it was a family business for one. What made the difference I believe, was that we were all hands-on.
This was the key!
My mom came from an accounting background and knew nothing about sewing. She learned and was always at the sewing machine sewing. She would help in the order of operations and figure out how to sew things faster.
My dad came from being a manager in a bus factory in Hungary and knew nothing about furniture but started cutting and pattern making. Developing better patterns, better fit, and better designs and products. Hands-on meant they were involved and time was money, but so was waste. Waste management was born prior to waste management being a thing in Kaizen and other manufacturing methods.
Waste On the Floor Was Money.
I hated and to this day I hate the term, It’s in the cost so it does not matter.
If it’s on the floor, it’s money!
If you have waste on the floor because your sofa was made with 13 meters of fabric but you say it’s in the cost… Then imagine if the other components such as staples, fabric, and foam were scattered around the manufacturing facility. Imagine it being in the cost but then tweaking each process cutting that waste and saving 2-5 percent of that “in the cost” material. Suddenly you save fabric, foam, and labor, less cleaning, less waste, less disposal costs.
Whatever was on the floor, was money!
Yes, boys and girls, most furniture factories to this day are filled with garbage and that garbage is money. Plus it is a great way to trip and fall and cause injury. We learned this on the fly, we learned this by sweeping the floors and seeing where this or that part came from. One or two pieces were ok, yeah sure. However, after analyzing the scrap pile at the end of the day and seeing the mountain of trash or $$, we redesigned things. This also cut down the time an upholster wasted cutting off the extra bits. Learn by doing right? Look at your facility, look around, and see what is where and what you are pissing away as far as money. Once you see garbage as money… Oh, you got it? Good for you. Many people don’t and therefore don’t understand the root cause of the problem. Usually, it is the poor design, poor planning, and poor processes you have in place. It is fixable but you need to change. Often this means sitting down with individuals and having long, hard conversations. It is your business and it is in your hands.
