For many in the structural building components industry, the past few months have been quieter than usual. This has been caused by a combination of factors including economic, regulatory, and operational. I was talking to a customer recently and he put it like this: “where we’re normally running through the factory trying to get work out the door, now we’re walking through the shopfloor and not having to rush.”
Although being less busy can be unsettling, it also opens up an opportunity—one that’s easy to miss when you’re sprinting from job to job, from deadline to delivery. These quieter times offer the ideal moment to pause and look inward. If you’re finding yourself in this situation at the moment, I suggest that you stop and take the time to answer all those questions you haven’t had time to address, such as:
- where are the pressure points or bottlenecks in our operation?
- what slows us down?
- what frustrates our team?
- what hold us back from running at full potential?
- what process or machinery changes can provide more efficiencies?
- are there manual tasks that would be more beneficial to be automated?
- is our factory layout and placement of machinery helping or hindering our flow of lumber?
- what can we do to streamline the processes in our factory?
At Spida Machinery, we’ve been having a number of these conversations lately with manufacturers from factories of all sizes. It’s encouraging to see many factories using this time to reflect and refocus, because when the market changes again and “walking” goes back to “running,” the businesses who have used this time wisely will be in an advantageous position.
I’ve outlined a number of things for you to consider in these quieter periods when you have a moment to breath!
Find the Bottlenecks, Before They Find You
Now’s the time to walk your floor with fresh eyes. Talk to your team. Where’s the manual double handling happening? Where’s downtime creeping in? Whether it’s software that doesn’t quite fit, machinery that’s due for an upgrade, or workflow gaps that cause friction, identifying those bottlenecks now will pay off big when things speed up again.
We’ve helped a number of frame and truss manufacturers tackle exactly these challenges—and not just with our machinery alone. Our personalized approach means we’ll work with you to understand the challenges unique to you and your factory. We’ll recommend machinery that meets your needs AND support you with factory layouts to ensure you’re getting optimal results from the placement of your machinery. Effective material handling and flow from one workstation to another is essential in achieving positive results, and we want to help you maximize your efficiency and ROI.
Assess Your Machinery to Make Sure It’s Working for You
This is truly an opportune time to assess the machinery in your factory! Ask yourself is it still fit for purpose? Does it require a service or an upgrade? Or, is it reaching the end of its serviceable life and a replacement machine or new alternate machine is needed?
What are your production needs now and what manufacturing goals do you have in the future? Your responses to these questions may be different to what they were a few years ago, so take stock of your current machinery to see if it still aligns with your requirements or if changes should be made.
Review Your Factory Layout
My April article, “Importance of Factory Layouts and Investing in the Right Machinery!,” discusses how factory layouts allow you to simplify and streamline workflow processes as well as assist you in maximizing your productivity and improving overall efficiency—and I need to I stress these points again. When you have this quieter time, I recommend you look at your current factory layout and be honest: are their improvements that can be made to your
- space utilization,
- workflow optimization,
- material handling,
- worker safety, and
- future proofing?
We’ve been in this industry for over 40 years, so have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to factory layouts and supporting you to ensure your layout is set up just right for your operation and your team.
Make the Most of Now
This industry never stands still for long, so I’d encourage you to take advantage of the quieter days. Ask the hard questions. Make the upgrades you’ve been putting off. Reach out for that consultation you’ve been meaning to schedule. It’s these kinds of moves that set high-performing factories apart from the rest.
We’re available and here to help you as you need.
Partner With Us for the Complete Solution
When you work with Spida Machinery, you’ll benefit from the following:
- From Cut to Completion - Everything You Need
Whether you’re producing floor trusses, roof trusses, wall panels, or managing your cutting operations—we have you covered. Our full suite of machinery is designed to support the entire frame and truss process. That means fewer integration headaches, faster setup times, and the luxury of working with one partner who can provide machinery for all your manufacturing needs. And not only do we have over 70 products in our range, but we specialize in providing full truss cutting, wall frame, roof truss, and floor truss solutions where different machines work together to achieve streamlined processes, increased productivity, and lower labor costs.
- Cleverly Designed Software
We’re involved in all areas of software from the design and development, through to the support and continuous improvement of the software. This independence means we’re free of third-party software suppliers, allowing us to be agile and responsive.
Our initiative software has been cleverly designed to strike just the right balance between being simple to use (and easy to be trained on) and offering flexible configuration.
- We’re With You For the Journey!
We’re much more than a machinery provider. We partner alongside you throughout the entire customer journey from initial requirements, through to factory layouts and manufacturing, installation, training, service, and support. Our journey with our customers does not stop once the machinery is inside your factory, because we partner alongside you to ensure you’re getting the most out of the machinery, now and into the future.
Act Now, Get in Touch
I’ve personally been working with customers within this industry for nearly 30 years and I’ve seen the market change multiple times. I totally appreciate how disconcerting it is when the humming in the factory is not as loud and isn’t lasting for as long each shift, and there is not as much rushing around the shopfloor. However, I strongly recommend you use this time wisely and to your own benefit. Take stock of your current situation: your pain points and bottlenecks, your factory layout, your machinery, and how each piece of equipment is performing.
If you’d like to explore whether improvements can be made, then please get in touch. As I’ve mentioned, at Spida Machinery we offer a range of products for all your frame and truss needs and happily share all our expertise and knowledge when working with you to make sure we’re providing the best solution tailored to your requirements, your factory and your people.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s talk, Wendy