Every business faces cycles of busy and slow times. However, the construction business can bring those swings to extreme highs and lows. Everyone in the business is challenged with balancing the ability to serve customers with the costs of doing business. Those who succeed in the long run are willing to look at new ways to squeeze the rat through the snake.
We are in the middle of the first summer of our tenure at FabTech. We are very busy with both current work and backlog. Our customers all want product faster and faster. I noticed that Wausau featured a new program offering shorter lead times. Their announcement specifically called out the shortening build cycle. While Wausau specifically calls out their strategy, all of us are trying to squeeze timelines while still putting out quality work.
So, what can you do? Bottom line, the time to attack the busy season is during the slower times. If you talk to your people and customers about pain points ahead of time, you will have time to implement some solutions in small steps (think lean manufacturing or Kaizen).
OK we are all too busy to spend any more time now. GET BACK TO WORK – YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE WAITING!
PS – With the Olympics in the news, I have seen some of the chatter on the blog boards about China. I traveled to China last year on business. It is a fascinating place. It is a land of contrasts. I saw very modern factories with huge investments in automation and technology. Really world-class stuff. Then, across the street is an ox cart or even corn drying in the middle of a 4-lane highway.
I saw raw sewage in the gutters of Guangzhou. This is a city of 9 million plus. Massive advances and wealth alongside ancient sites and immense poverty. Contrast, contrast, contrast.
My take is that the central government of China is still very controlling and doesn’t care about the health and safety of workers. Also, the wealth being created by the West’s appetite for cheap goods is not being used to improve infrastructure beyond the large cities.
That being said, they will host a hell of an Olympic games. When "the man” controls everything, the big things will run smoothly. Just don’t look behind the scenes—the backstage is very messy.
