It's a Team's Life

Down Time

Down Time

Last week we took some time off to attend our annual family camping trip. We have gone to the same campground for over 20 years. Over the years we have gone over different weeks during the summer; however, in each case we seem to struggle with mother nature. This year was no different. Fortunately, the weather was more cooperative than expected making for a most enjoyable time.

As I wrote in last week’s blog our truck was in the shop while we were taking time off. As business owners it is important to utilize time as much as possible. A type of multitasking, if you will. As the old saying goes: time is money. In order to be as efficient as possible, timing is everything. While most reading this will be owners of businesses in logistics, the concept of efficiency can be applied to any business. 

As an employee I applied efficiency concepts to meet and exceed productivity requirements. I had worked in several departments that required piece work. In one department I was unloading trucks. The fastest way to unload a trailer is by moving pieces as efficiently as possible. How is that done? In some cases, it can be done using tools such as forklifts or clamp trucks to move full pallets or stacks of shrink wrapped products. In another department I was processing items that were being returned. In this case, efficiency happened by using as few motions as possible to process the items. In this department I was asked to help train people that came in to help decrease the volume of returned items. The people had already been trained by another coworker; however, they were not meeting productivity minimums. I was asked to watch them work and then give them tips on how to improve their numbers. I did as I was asked and within a day the helpers were reaching and exceeding productivity standards. 

All this to say that no matter what type of work you are in, efficiency equals productivity and productivity means profits. We are all in business to be profitable. If we were not, we would be considered a hobby. Regardless of the size of the business, profitability is always the goal. No one wants to be in business to lose money. What do you do to create efficiencies in your business? What steps have you taken to be the most profitable that your business can be? For us, one step is to plan our time as efficiently as we can. Last week, that meant putting the truck in the shop while we were enjoying some time off with family.

One final comment is that while we are home we try to schedule appointments such as doctors, dentist, vet and any other things that we prefer to do at home. This helps us to be efficient while on the road so that we can focus on being profitable.

Here’s to millions of safe and profitable and EFFICIENT miles.

Kelly Plumb