“Oops…” Those are words you never want to hear when you are getting a haircut or during a countertop job. Every time this phrase is uttered, it usually means it’s going to cost some money to fix it. And there’s nothing worse than having to use more time and resources to … Read more
By Katherine Gifford of Moraware For years, hiring has always been a huge challenge for the stone industry. Shops are busier than ever, and the labor pool is smaller than ever. We can’t fix that, unfortunately. But, we can try to help by sharing some best practices when it comes to hiring … Read more
By Katherine Gifford of Moraware We’ve been diving deep into lean manufacturing for countertop fabricators over the last few weeks. And because lean manufacturing is all about boosting efficiency with an emphasis on cutting waste, that’s what this whole post is dedicated to! Think of manufacturing waste like that extra poundage you pick up … Read more
By Katherine Gifford of Moraware Have you ever thought about how you can maximize productivity and minimize waste? Of course you have! That’s how you create a profitable countertop fabrication business. However, what you might not know is that lean manufacturing is actually a tried-and-true manufacturing ideology used by countless businesses all … Read more
By Katherine Gifford of Moraware There never seems to be enough time in the day. It’s true for our personal lives, and for countertop fabricators, it’s especially true in the office. Luckily, with some fancy scheduling, you can save some time here and there throughout the day. It might not seem … Read more
As if finding help wasn’t hard enough for busy fabricators, once you find the employees you need, you have to train them! While it might take time out of your very busy schedule, training is a vital part of keeping your business running smoothly and efficiently. If you look at employee retention … Read more
By Katherine Gifford of Moraware Goals are critical for any business, including the fabrication industry. Without them, it’s like playing a game of darts in a pitch-black room. You keep aiming and throwing, but you have no idea if you’re ever going to hit the bullseye. That’s where KPIs come in. … Read more
By Katherine Gifford of Moraware Not another person to hire! This one is different, I promise. To fully understand how your business is performing—whether it is weekly sales, material usage, or employee efficiency—analyzing the data is incredibly crucial for success. If you don’t know where your bottlenecks are, you can’t make the adjustments … Read more
By Katherine Gifford of Moraware Money! There never seems to be enough of it, right? Just when you think you’re in the black, someone drops another slab or a customer complains about a job and you have to rework it for free. Now you’re actually paying to install countertops instead … Read more
By Katherine Gifford of Moraware Have you ever heard the saying “garbage in, garbage out”? It’s the perfect description for when you overlook the information input part of your process. If you aren’t thinking about how and why you are entering job info into your job management system, then you … Read more
