Problem guide
Jobs wait in the shop for missing information
Jobs wait in the shop for information because they get released to the floor before every answer the shop needs is in hand, and the open questions then sit in someone's inbox. Check each job for missing information before it is released, keep one visible list of every job on hold and what it is waiting for, and give each open question an owner.
What it usually looks like
An order for twenty guard panels reaches the shop with a drawing but no finish called out. The cut and brake work goes fine. At the powder coat line the lead stops, because the customer has used two colors in the past. He texts the salesperson, who is on the road. The panels sit on a cart for three days. When the answer comes, it goes to the office manager, who forgets to walk it out. The lead finds out on Monday when he asks again. The ship date slips by a week.
Signs you have this problem
- Parts or material sit staged at a station with a note that says waiting on info
- Supervisors walk to the office several times a day to ask the same question
- Nobody can list every job currently on hold without walking the floor
- Questions go to salespeople by text and the answers never come back to the shop
- Jobs get started on a guess and then have to be redone when the answer arrives
What usually causes it
- Jobs are released to the floor before the order is complete, so the shop finds the gapsThe handoff gap
- Open questions sit in one person's inbox or phone where nobody else can see themThe invisible queue
- Answers need a customer or manager to approve something, and nobody chases itApproval drag
What to try this week
- Log every hold for two weeksEach time a job stops for information, write down the job, what was missing, who was asked, and when the answer came. The log shows which questions come up again and again.
- Find the questions you could ask up frontLook at the log for questions that could have been answered when the order was taken, such as finish, quantity, ship date or revision. Those belong in the order, not on the floor.
- Add a release checkBefore a job goes to the floor, one person checks it against a short list of what the shop always needs. If anything is missing, the job waits in the office, not at a station.
- Keep one visible hold listPost a board or shared sheet of every job on hold, what it is waiting for, who owns the question and when it was asked. Review it at the start of every day.
Where do-it-yourself stops
These steps cut the number of holds and make the rest visible. They do not carry questions and answers between the floor, sales and the customer on their own, so the hold list still depends on people updating it and chasing answers. A lasting fix is a tool built around your own order and job systems that stops incomplete jobs from reaching the floor and tracks every open question to its answer. That is what a Workflow Spec designs.
Questions people ask
Why do jobs reach the floor without the information the shop needs?
Because there is pressure to release work quickly, and nobody checks the order against what the shop actually needs before it goes out.
Should we hold every job until it is perfect?
No. Hold only for the items that stop work, such as the drawing revision, material or finish. Keep that list short so it actually gets used.
Who should own the questions?
Name one person for each question, usually whoever sold or entered the job. A question owned by everyone gets answered by no one.
Is it fine to start on a best guess?
Sometimes, if the guess is cheap to undo. Log every job started on a guess and whether it had to be redone, so you know what guessing really costs.
How do we measure what holds cost?
Use your two-week log. Count the days each job sat on hold and the rework from guesses, then price it with your own rates.
Next step
Want this fixed for good?
This guide is how to find it and work around it. If it keeps coming back, the fix is usually a tool built around how your crew already works. Start with a free twenty-minute fit call.
Fox & Santiago, Genesee, Idaho. Home territory: the Inland Northwest, where we respond fastest. We fly anywhere in the United States for paid engagements.