Comments on: When good employees quit

By: Megan

Megan — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 20:33:27 +0000

I’m one of those sick sorts of people who ENJOYS cutting fabric. lol My mom would always have me cut out her patterns so she could sew them. Since I’ve moved out…how many things has she sewn? None. lol

Sorry you’re short staffed. I’d hire on short term if I were near you! ha! =D

By: Karen Wilhelm

Karen Wilhelm — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 19:15:12 +0000

Talk to Kathleen Fasanella about lean manufacturing – there are a number of capabilities you can be working with your employees to develop that will make you more flexible and able to deal with unexpected absences.
One is the Toyota concept of “standard work” and the other is “visual work instructions.” They take the concept of documentation several steps further and rely on a disciplined application of each principle. Lean principles are subtle and it is hard to see how they are different from related ideas that are typically used in traditional manufacturing.
Kathleen has said that eyes glaze over every time she brings up lean manufacturing (or she said something to that effect), they could save companies that otherwise are going to disappear. (E-mail me offline if you want more information and resources.)

By: J C Sprowls

J C Sprowls — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 15:59:56 +0000

Do I smell a resurgence on the topic of CMT houses?

I don’t have an issue with outsourcing a segment of my core business if it makes sense. My personal criteria are :

* it must improve the quality of my operation,
* it must improve the cost of my operation, and
* it must fill a void in my operation

Some operations only need to plan for overflow, which is a temporary state. And, others need to plan for semi-perm (i.e. until I grow to X level) and permanent solutions (i.e. I can’t manage it).

In the tailor’s world, CMT was very much an integral part of life, which enabled him to scale his operation, smoothly. Sadly, this sector of the garment industry is shrinking quickly. Which is disparraging, considering that large factories who downsize should be feeding this sector, at least, theoretically.

I set up a thread in the forum on this subject, I would appreciate if you folks would come contribute your ideas on the subject.

By: Miracle

Miracle — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 01:59:23 +0000

I’m convinced that one of the reasons that companies turn to outsourcing is because they get frustrated with the constant treadmill of employee turnover. Especially with small businesses that don’t have a lot of resources to be shifted around, losing an employee can turn a smooth running operation into total chaos overnight.

Mike, this is a great point and I have known of several examples, with friends, where that is true. One of the things I look at is trying to find a backup solution for each thing that requires an employee or outsourcing.

For example, a while back I wrote a few posts on fulfillment centers. I have not finished becuase the bitterness of my experiences is too fresh in my mind. Anytime I speak to friends about my issues they ask if it’s possible for me to get warehouse space and hire someone. Which is great, but honestly, you trade one set of problems for another, you don’t really eliminate them.

Because, the shipper could call in sick and I would have to ship packages. It’s more difficult to adjust to unpredicted surges in work, then you have peak seasons and having to train temp employees. Whereas a fulfillment center has more of a hold on that.

You’re in a location where this might not be possible, but for people in more garment production areas, it’s feasible for them to turn over work to a cutting service, temporarily, while they find and train someone new.

And I find that the issue you speak of is a real one for small businesses and there will become a greater need for outsourced services where a company either can’t justify hiring someone or can’t afford to hire the caliber of employee to perform the task.

And you will see some of the focus shift from managing in-house employees, to creating synergy between the different outsourced arms of a small business.

By: Mike C

Mike C — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 22:40:16 +0000

On the front of deciding which software package to invest in, did you perform some type of comparative analysis of what’s on the market? For example, did you consider using TukaWeb? The price appeals to me.

As far as we could tell, Optitex was the leader in the 3D visualization space, so that was where our focus was. We took a look at PAD as well, but their 3D system was very rudimentary. I didn’t spend much time looking at Tuka (I’m not sure their eFitting stuff was available when we bought Optitex), though every time I’ve been to their website, its made my head hurt. They really need to invest some resources into creating a sensible, comprehensible site.

If I weren’t so far away, I’d offer to come pick up some of the slack in your cutting room for a couple weeks – just to be a friendly neighbor.

I’d probably have taken you up on it!

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 22:31:12 +0000

I just got my copy and was all excited to see the article. It’s like I know a celebrity or something .

Sorry your cutter quit, I hope you can find a good replacement soon.

I definately second the comment that each owner needs to be able to step up to the plate for all things that need done.

Good luck to you guys and congratulations on the write up. The 3D software sounds super cool.

By: J C Sprowls

J C Sprowls — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 21:10:03 +0000

Congratulations Mike & Amy on the article in Apparel Magazine! I got my copy last week and was impressed. I like that the software permits you greater flexibility and affords time savings. I’m married to my manual process; but, I might start exploring my options with technology.

On the front of deciding which software package to invest in, did you perform some type of comparative analysis of what’s on the market? For example, did you consider using TukaWeb? The price appeals to me.

If I weren’t so far away, I’d offer to come pick up some of the slack in your cutting room for a couple weeks – just to be a friendly neighbor.