# Paying on production for printing



## csnell (Feb 28, 2010)

We print a lot of 25-50 T-shirt orders and many 50-100 shirt orders. My problem is I can't get a grip on my labor cost. My employees are paid by the hour and tend to slow down if work slows down so they can make a full week. I can't just fire them but I would feel better if I paid them per/shirt, per/color, per/side. Does anyone else do this and why or why not?


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## Elzie (Jun 13, 2011)

I have debated your idea of a piece rate system like your thinking of never tested it tho. You would have to keep in mind that in the slow times it would work for you but as the season picked up so would what they make , if this is agreeable to you test it out and please let me know what happens, It's been my experience that if you can forcast a day or two what is going to get printed you can bring in or send home help accordingly. All it takes to operate a press is a Pressman and a Screen department , maybe a off loader depending on number of tees in the job everyone else is a perk. I've visited some really happy shops that just have a pressman , dryer catcher and someone to burn and reclaim and they averaged between 900-1000 tees a day all manual printed. But the problem your facing has been faced by all shops , when work slows down so do the workers it's human nature.


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## thutch15 (Sep 8, 2008)

I am a big fan of commission work. Some time studies would help you out a lot. Then you could back into the rates that you are currently paying. I would suggest picking out a few different "avg" jobs and allocate every second to a group... something like setup time, print time, and cleanup time. The time study categories I use are: Create artwork, prep screen, setup screen, color change, load shirt, print shirt, flash shirt, cure shirt, cleanup.


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## AtkinsonConsult (May 2, 2011)

Csnell:

This debate has been waging for a long time, and there are proponents on both sides of the argument. Whether you pay someone hourly or by the piece, a big factor in maximizing production and gaining efficiency is controlling how the time is spent working. To do that you have to measure the performance.

I recommend using a daily production log for this task for different areas of your shop. Set up, run and breakdown all should be on the log. I've seen it done with exact time and also by increments of five or ten minutes too. The log should be easy to fill out, and you need to be disciplined in getting the information loaded into an Excel Spreadsheet pivot table or a system such as Shopworks. You should set goals for your staff for set up times, run times and breakdown times. These should be fair, and based on the equipment used as not all presses are the same.

Another key component in your measuring is quality. It doesn't do anyone any good to work super fast, and have the defect rate go through the roof. One common complaint with paying by the piece is that the defect rate goes up as the craftsmanship of the work goes down as the crew hurries to get more done. If you can tie the quality performance into your management of your shop that will really help you.

Also, when the work slows down so should the labor....meaning the hours worked. Be open and honest with people. You are boss. Try rotating the hours cut with different people on different days. Knock off early, or change the start time to later in the morning. 

Sometimes a good time to get some training programs going is when the shop is slow. This makes your bench strength of the shop that much better, because if you can train someone else to burn the screens, mix the ink, print, etc...then when someone is out down the road you have someone that knows how to do something and everything doesn't fall in your lap.

Only you know your business and what will work there... Either way you go, make sure you are really controlling your labor in all aspects of their performance.

Good luck,

-M


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## csnell (Feb 28, 2010)

Thanks Marshall. I think a daily production sheet is the way I should go.


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## Elzie (Jun 13, 2011)

Atkinson, well said


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## Babsy50 (Jul 1, 2011)

Excellent information. Thank you.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

Keep in mind that piece rate is regulated by the DOL and can be fairly complicated. The piece rate also has to meet minimum wage which shouldn't be a problem and you still have to pay overtime. In a smaller shop all you need is good supervision. If I had employees milking the clock, I would discuss it with them one on one and make it clear that if that continued, they would be out of a job. Don't forget to ask for volunteers to leave early, or just cut hours back when it's slow. I've found that it's better to have people come in later and leave at the normal time.


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## Zenergy (Apr 14, 2011)

I've got a lot of experience managing hourly employees with a variable work load from when I used to be #2 for a landscaping company. I really don't like to cut hours unless I absolutely have to, as it sets a bad standard for the business. Instead, I'd rather keep them busy with either training or doing all the stuff I mean to get around to but don't have time for. Generally, by not allowing people to slow down they won't get lazy, and will find work for themselves to do. Downtime is also a great time to evaluate employees for management potential - what I usually do is take one employee with a particular skill and have them train the others. I'll peek in discreetly from time to time to see how they are when I'm not in the room.

The other part is not being afraid to do the boss thing. If somebody's not performing up to standard, it's time for a private chat. If they're still having issues and not making an effort to improve, it's time to get rid of them. As much as it sucks to fire people, it does have an amazing effect on everybody else's production for the next couple of weeks.


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