Well, it's been a while since I've been here..guess that's a good sign. (no pun intended) since it means I'm too busy.
The shop I work for has grown to the point where it's no longer okay to do a site survey with a crayon and a napkin or the back of an interac receipt.
We need to develop a form, but an all encompassing one, that covers anything we might be called upon to do. Since we have several departments (fabrication, vehicle graphics, silkscreening, painting, and digital printing) this is not going to be a simple form.
I was thinking a long list down one side of the page itemizing things like welding, wood fab, paint/airbrush, electrical, vinyl, excavation, etc. and at the survey, one would only check off those that would apply to a particular job. Then there would be space on the rest of the page to expand on whatever was checked off. Things like dimensions, rough diagrams, materials, hazards, etc.
I figure several hundred thousand heads are better than one..
Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Posted by Joe Rees (Member # 211) on :
Do you mean SITE as in job site? A form to use in the field for taking job notes that will eventually become a work order for the fabrication depts?
<added> I don't know if one form can serve both those needs well. My SITE form is mostly an open page for doodles and notes, with the clients vital contact information. The WORK ORDER is far more detailed, and filled out separately from the info gathered on the SITE form. One stays in the office area and the other goes out to the shop area.
[ August 20, 2003, 11:26 AM: Message edited by: Joe Rees ]
Posted by Rob H (Member # 384) on :
Yes, exactly. But we need to design it so as to be idiot proof, since there are sales reps who have more knowledge of how to sell ice to Eskimos than how to make a sign.
We're trying to come up with something that you would just follow along and fill out.
But it wouldnt only be for the fab dept. This form would be used whether it was a newly constructed strip mall that needed wraparound signcans, or just a mom & pop small candy shop that wanted a crezone panel sign, right down to the kid who wants a skateboard logo on the window of his Datsun.
We're already inundated with a form for this, a form for that, etc. I'm hoping to come up with a document design here that would make one form adaptable to whatever we might run into.
Posted by Rob H (Member # 384) on :
Oh, yes, of course. Our work orders are a totally seperate form. It's just that right now, guys are visiting a site with a scratch pad and a pen and tape measure. We wind up with bits of paper with measurements scribbled here and there. We're trying to streamline the bottleneck created from deciphering those scraps of paper into a workorder that the production floor can follow.
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
I’ve never managed to get to idiot proof, the best I have attained so far is idiot resistant. Never underestimate the resourcefulness of an idiot!
I have a form I use when making site surveys for apartment complexes that incorporates securing the information I have often wished I had for the last several years. The form takes up about 7 pages. The form grew out of MY wants and needs. You may find you have to custom build your own to serve your unique market, capabilities and requirements. It may be a combination of all the forms you presently use.
It is possible a chronological approach may work. After the initial customer demographic info and request, the sales rep enters pertinent jobsite specs upon his visit, the design department gets their say, sales gets approval, design, sales and fabrication fill in the production request, materials are listed and secured, manufacturing notes are added, etc., all the way to completion. There is also job tracking software that helps.
One common issue that I’m as guilty of as any is trying to keep too much of the info “up here” in an already overloaded cranium, rather than taking the time to use the form for what it is there for and filling out all the spaces. Also, when doing very customized jobs, it is hard to figure out a specific form entry that fits for everything. Often, the highly creative parts are “seat of the pants” things, not conducive to describing in a box.
With the above and another $3.98, you can get a latte at Starbucks.
Posted by Joe Rees (Member # 211) on :
quote:Originally posted by Rob H: sales reps who have more knowledge of how to sell ice to Eskimos than how to make a sign.
I feel that pain. Good freakin luck. You'll never solve that one with a form in my opinion - they're not familiar enough with the mechanics of production to start specifying processes of how a job should be built.
Posted by Bob Stephens (Member # 858) on :
More important than a check list, I cant imagine going out to do a site survey and not having a digital camera. A picture is worth several thousand idiot notes.
Posted by Rob H (Member # 384) on :
I think what I'm going to try is get each department head to make a list of everything they would be writing down and measuring and taking digipix of if THEY were onsite, and see if we can consolidate that data.
For example, our fab department double as the installation department. So excavations (post holes, etc) hammer-drilling (for mounting signcans to buildings) also fall under their jurisdiction. If a customer called wanting a new signcan, these boys would want to know: a) Size of proposed can b) Height of installation (ladders, scaffolds, or bucket truck?) c) Building construction (stucco on wood, concrete block, corrugated metal cladding, etc)
This info is also going to be essential to quoting the job properly. At the same time, it lets the boys know if they are going to need to haul, rent, or buy and special tools/fasteners, etc.
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
id start with firing the ice salesman...and hire one man who knows the business!!!!! cost more but less paperwork......
