Discipline yourself before searching for discipline outside

Why small companies and factories face failure probabilities even spending more?

The BIS QCO (Quality Control Orders) are soon to be implemented from 2025 onward, if there are no further delays and negative vested-interest building up along the corridors of high offices of the country.

Whether QCO or no QCO, the future is for those companies/factories – big or small – who organize their management and strategy, in tune with –

• Operational consistency.
• Materials &Cost optimization.
• Quality consistency.
• Compliances.

These critical parameters of running manufacturing facilities in the future, requires consistency of mind, decision, and strategy, much more than any other magic expected out of thin air.

The Panic Phase

This is the most painful and sometimes lengthy phase in the process of ‘expansion’ of a small company/factory. The passion to match manufacturing, operational, and marketing efficiencies of corporate manufacturers takes over the mind of ownerships, and initiates the beginning of a series of rushed, hurried, passion-blinded decisions of investments on machinery & men.

In this passion-blinded approach, owners take rapid decisions of picking up ‘managers’ & ‘assistant managers’ from corporates. They are little aware that these positions in corporates define only a very limited area of redundant work, and does not mean managing or handling multiple operations. Corporates may have 100s of Assistant Managers & Managers. Their job is only single-process activity-control. They lack multi-tasking abilities more often than not.

In the “race” to procure such ‘managers’ from corporates, the owners spend on extravagant salaries and perks, in the dream & hope that such seemingly experienced people from corporates can turn around their factories by magic.

REALITY: Whereas, small factories, as well as growing small factories need hands-on multitaskers and decisive staff who can take the works on their shoulders with grit, confidence and perseverance. In the passion-blinded race, owners ‘ignore’ and(/or) ‘look down upon’ the vast experiences, depth of factory-running knowledge, and infinite capabilities of their own tried & trusted management associates, and create hostile environment for them, all of a sudden. Owners risk losing the seasoned talent they already have, in search of an unknown magic.

In the process, they tend to lose their crucial “warriors” of expansion – their own tried, tested, experienced, and wise management associates like GMs & PMs, (General manager or supervisors & plant managers) who have been with them, and know them as well as the factory, in & out. Without these seasoned internal experts, no external expert/magician can come and solve matters.

There is no magic in expansion or development – except well-defined strategy which the owners must stick to, with self-discipline & perseverance.

Lack of Adaptability

Most expanding small factories think that adaptability means – trying to create a mindset for doing what the corporates do.

Reality is – adaptability is the ability of factories and their owners to adapt “manufacturing, and operational procedures & processes” based on their own work style & work culture.

Most manufacturers feel that their factories and workers need to adapt. It is actually the other way around – the owners need to adapt to quality, quantity & operational discipline.

This is a crucial misunderstanding. Investing money does not “produce” adaptability out of thin air. Owners/investors need to adapt first.

Adaptability & Machinery

The above-mentioned adaptability is the key to choice of most appropriate machinery. I have been able to observe that owners who buy process machinery, just because a Green or a Century or XYZ is having and using them, most likely end up failing to utilise the process machinery optimally – investment wasted. And, picking up the guy who is running this machinery in the corporates is never going to ensure that the same equipment is run optimally at your factory. This is Mother Nature’s fact of life.

Misleading Investments

Machinery & equipment investments – especially in future times – should be based on ease of work, quantity-quality balance, and for precise & consistent quality of product. Random machinery investments by chasing an unmanageable dream, is making ownerships lose lot of money and resources during the race towards rapid expansion. Investors & owners must take utmost care and be aware of consequences. Industry is a well-strategized activity, unlike stocking & trading. Choose machinery & equipment that suit your own manufacturing needs. Do not chase what others have done. They are only reference points.

The Glue Kitchen

Most crucial part of plywood manufacturing sector. And the most ignored part of the entire factory. It has been observed that even the corporates, until quite recently, never cared for this part of the plywood world.

Precise measurement tools & equipment, precise mixing equipment, precise transfer mechanisms, precise &top-quality glue spreader machines, almost entirely decides the efficiency of implementation of the QCO, (keeping all other factors as well understood, and taken care of). The glue kitchen and its activities can save huge sums of money for the plywood factory owner. Investing smartly & strategically in the glue kitchen is a fact mostly ignored and arrogantly turned down in the entire plywood & panel industry sector.

For example, invest in larger resin making kettles with more time for cooking, and reduced batch frequency.

Conclusion

Whether micro, small, or large – ownership can always run factories in a well-organized and disciplined manner.

Instead of searching for discipline externally, having awareness and practicing internal thought-consistency and action-discipline can help to keep investments controlled, and overheads/costs low.

• Empower &Enable your own seasoned warriors. Listen to them in depth.
• Invest smartly and in a controlled, timed manner, with patience.
• Search for efficiency within the existing system.
• Do not expect magic from corporate floor level ‘managers’ & ‘assistant managers’. Their stage is pre-set for them in corporates, most often.
• Seek bold, confident and daring multi-taskers for expansion.
• Finally, discipline yourself, before searching for discipline outside.

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