Wasted Stock & Time!! Please Help

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coyboy_24

New member
I noticed today as I was leaving our office, boxes and boxes of new material sitting out in the elements. That got me adding up the thousands of dollars of material we have scattered between my house , our shop, two storage buildings and 4 service trucks. I don't want my guys wasting time digging around searching for something we may or maynot have. As a result the problem just gets worse with everyday that passes. I tried hiring a laborer to organize and inventory but that didn't help much. I just started this whole "Management" thing a few months ago and am looking for ways to eliminate waste and streamline productivity. Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks
 

bphgravity

Senior Member
Location
Florida
This really is an intersting topic. I have visited many electrical shops over the years and found many to be quite unorganized. I know of at least one local contractor that has been in business for over 40 years that has a warehouse so full of misc. materials and equipment that it would take months just to figure out what is what. I heard a rumor that one of his employees recently found a brand new Zinsco Panel in a sealed box from the 70's.

When I worked as a contractor, I did not keep a stock of materials. The supply house and big box stores were my warehouses. I was fortunate to have an account supply house within 5 miles of every geographical area that I worked.

There are obviously some things you simply have to keep around, but I find that most contractors could really get away with not having a warehouse and storage at all.

Just something to think about.
 

WinZip

Senior Member
One way would to get it all organized then log all items in a computer program,when something is added or removed from the shop add or remove from computer program.
 

PetrosA

Senior Member
If you're going to keep your own stock, I would recommend having your guys do the organizing instead of a laborer. That way they'll know what's there and where it is. Whatever you decide to stock, you'll have to keep in stock, so it'll require coming up with ways to track it, whether it's computerized or just a tablet type "re-order" list of what's low. I've seen shops with no order to them, and shops where you could get whatever you needed fast. The second type is a pleasure to work out of and saves a lot of trips to supply houses and hardware stores, but it takes a lot of work and organization. The only danger I see in a well stocked shop is that it can be tougher for you and your guys to keep up-to-date on new tools, materials etc. because no one is going to supply houses or seeing promotional materials, but that can be worked around.
 

sameguy

Senior Member
Location
New York
Occupation
Master Elec./JW retired
Start by making joints in all your scrap wire.
Use the supply house ase your ware house, return unused mat. @ 20% restock fee could still be cheaper than invintory, shown on tax,etc.
 

sii

Senior Member
Location
Nebraska
We run a maintenance shop rather than an electrical warehouse but we still maintain alot of spare parts. My experience is that you have to get EVERY ONE of your guys committed to getting things organized and keeping it that way in order to make it work. To me, that is the first step. If you have one guy who's not on board, it's surprising how much of a wrench that can throw in the works.
 
good laugh

good laugh

We run a maintenance shop rather than an electrical warehouse but we still maintain alot of spare parts. My experience is that you have to get EVERY ONE of your guys committed to getting things organized and keeping it that way in order to make it work. To me, that is the first step. If you have one guy who's not on board, it's surprising how much of a wrench that can throw in the works.



ESPECIALLY if you're an unorganized ONE MAN SHOP like myself !!!!
 

dbuckley

Senior Member
If you're keeping stock you need someone occupying the role of stock manager. Its not a labourer's job, or indeed an electricians job. The role may not be a full time role, but its as role that needs fulfilling well.

If you can operate without stock, you'll almost certainly come out better off than keeping stock badly.
 

stevenje

Senior Member
Location
Yachats Oregon
1- Put one person in charge of the stock.

2- One item per bin or location. This is the key. One quick look at one location and you instantly know that you do or don't have it in stock. This is where shops loose tons of money and they don't even realize it because it is one dollar at a time.

Here is an example. You have a journeyman looking to fill an order for a job that he is working on. It is 8:00 AM. He starts off by trying to find three L6-20R receptacles. he goes over to the device area of the shop and starts looking around. There is no specific bin or location for the L6-20R receptacles so he generally starts looking at everything. He can't find any. So now he starts going through all of the boxes and bags which have an assortment of various new and used receptacles and switches trying to locate the three L6-20R's. He still can't find them. He now goes up to the front of the shop and announces that he can't find any L6-20R's. Another journeyman and the sometimes shop boy/apprentice think that they have seen some back where the devices are at. So now all three repeat the process of looking at all of the devices that he just when through and sure enough they found one he had missed, but he still needs two more. Next they all start to go through the vans that are parked in the yard which now can involve more journeyman or apprentices. No luck. He still need two more devices. He finally realizes that he will have to order two more. It is now 8:30 AM. He still has to fill the rest of his order. Will he repeat this all over again for other items? Maybe not today, but surely in the near future.

Add it up. Every minute that the journeyman is not installing the bid work is now money lost. If you are making let us say $30 an hour on each journeyman, it just cost you $30 to $50 or maybe more, with everybody that was involved in trying and find something you did not have. This should have been a simple yes or no answer. This is just bad management, plain and simple.

3- Use minimum-maximum quantity stocking. This means each bin will have a minimum number of this items in stock. When it drops below this number you order up to the maximum number. Each bin will be marked with the minimum and maximum numbers. Each bin will also be marked with the item order number.

4- Hang a clipboard at each end of each shelving unit. This makes it real easy for the person pulling stock to quickly right down items that falls below the minimum. When it is time to put in a reorder you simply tear off the top order sheet form each clipboard and reorder.

There are many other things that a shop can do to get inventory under control. I think I have make my point. Thanks for listening.
 
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gadfly56

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Professional Engineer, Fire & Life Safety
1- Put one person in charge of the stock.

2- One item per bin or location. This is the key. One quick look at one location and you instantly know that you do or don't have it in stock. This is where shops loose tons of money and they don't even realize it because it is one dollar at a time.

----------------snip---------------------------------

3- Use minimum-maximum quantity stocking. This means each bin will have a minimum number of this items in stock. When it drops below this number you order up to the maximum number. Each bin will be marked with the minimum and maximum numbers. Each bin will also be marked with the item order number.

4- Hang a clipboard at each end of each shelving unit. This makes it real easy for the person pulling stock to quickly right down items that falls below the minimum. When it is time to put in a reorder you simply tear off the top order sheet form each clipboard and reorder.

There are many other things that a shop can do to get inventory under control. I think I have make my point. Thanks for listening.

I couldn't agree more. To assist with inventory contol, you can use Quick Books. It has a feature that allows you to enter stock items. You then debit your inventory via your invoices. You can set a stocking level reminder as well.

Someone has to have "the keys to the kingdom" and the authority to enforce the stock room rules. Have your employees fill out "pull sheets" for each job, maybe separate ones for truck stock. If they use truck stock on a job, add it to the pull sheet.

Whatever system you develop is going to take real effort from the top to make it work. If you have a requirement that your employees generate some of their own sales, make it clear that if it doesn't make the invoice they don't get credit for it. "Two receptacles, 40' of 12-2" isn't going to cut it.

Don't forget that every box piled up outside is material that's not making you money. Apply the 80/20 rule; about 80% of what you use during the year is covered by 20% of your inventory items. Stock them well and minimize the rest.
 

laketime

Senior Member
Don't keep stock!! Just don't do it. The time you take entering and tracking will cost you more than the material is worth. I am a small shop and have learned well from larger shops I have worked for. I have seen these larger shops toss a lot of material because it is cheaper to throw it away then it is to take it back to the shop, organize it, inventory, stock it, then deal with getting back out to jobs (not to mention adjusting your inventory in Quickbooks when you take it out). Find a wholesaler that will deliver to you or just will call what you need. My wholesaler takes back anything I buy that they normally carry (which is like 99% of the things we use) with not restocking fee.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
Don't keep stock!! Just don't do it. The time you take entering and tracking will cost you more than the material is worth. I am a small shop and have learned well from larger shops I have worked for. I have seen these larger shops toss a lot of material because it is cheaper to throw it away then it is to take it back to the shop, organize it, inventory, stock it, then deal with getting back out to jobs (not to mention adjusting your inventory in Quickbooks when you take it out). Find a wholesaler that will deliver to you or just will call what you need. My wholesaler takes back anything I buy that they normally carry (which is like 99% of the things we use) with not restocking fee.

Those of us that live 45 miles or even more from the supply house and the big box stores have no choice but to stock items that are commonly needed.

When I have done work in city where supply house is located I have found that a trip to the supply house often kills a lot of time unless you either call your order in ahead of time or have it delivered, and especially do not go there at 8:00 am or right after lunch, that is when everyone else is there and you definately will be there a while.
 

jmellc

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
Occupation
Facility Maintenance Tech. Licensed Electrician
Good points everyone. I have to keep a certain amt of stuff, service work being a large part of my small market at the moment. I'm a 1 man shop too, my work truck broke down last year and I'm using my pickup, harder to organize. Working some projects, trucking kids around, doing family errands, etc. Sleep apnea & narcolepsy complicate matters too. Exhaustion is more or less a permanent condition each day. "I'll straighten that stuff out tomorrow". I've never been the best organizer but I have done better in the past than the present.
 
Location
NE (9.06 miles @5.9 Degrees from Winged Horses)
Occupation
EC - retired
Our shop is not as well maintained as it could be but we do try to keep an inventory on Quickbooks with an optional field bin location that gets you to within 3'. Even the bookkeeper can find widget B#.0035 if you get her close enough.

We are a small shop so when those rainy or slow days happen, no one goes home for lack of something to do...shop time.
 

GUNNING

Senior Member
Get organized.

Get organized.

If you need to stock parts maybe you could plan your jobs better. Ive seen guys plan the job down to the locknut and tapcon. The parts you have and you don't need, try selling online or get the supply house to take off your hands. If you have already invested in the parts, you need to get something back for them. Otherwise they call that a loss. Cull out the junk, broken parts, couplings with out set screws and lock washers without connectors. You will find out most of the stuff is trash you are sorting through over and over again. How many times are you going to move that broken panel without a cover to look for that 10 foot piece of 4/0.

A wise man once told me if you are buying water mellons for a dollar and selling them for .99 , the solution to your problem is NOT to buy a bigger truck.


Systems and procedures. Get them in place now. Work orders, Purchase orders. Invoicing. Collections.

Let the customer pay for waste not you. Figure on a standard used disposable waste charge. Hold the help responsible for not getting a PO before ordering a box of connectors when they need 2. Hold the help responsible for not having the job planned out. Increase your markup on parts to cover the waste. Base the markup on the difference between used parts and not used parts. Sell whats left over on e bay. Did I mention get rid of the trash?
 
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