If there’s
one thing I’ve learned in my limited time in the finishing
industry, it is that finishing is more an art than a science.
Sure there are scientific principles that must be followed. Understanding
coating formulations and coating-substrate interactions requires
a great deal of scientific knowledge.
This scientific
knowledge is just the beginning of a finisher’s expertise.
A strong foundational knowledge must be coupled with years of
experience to properly diagnose and solve problems (this is where
the art comes in).
But, finishing
a part to a customer’s unique requirements does require much
more than textbook knowledge. It requires years of experience,
trial and error, success and failure.
Assuming
this to be true, a finisher’s business doesn’t have
as much to do with what’s inside the four walls of the plant
(coatings, equipment, etc.) as it does the knowledge and ideas
contained within the minds of the employees. The question is—are
you using your strongest asset, your employees’ knowledge
and expertise, to its greatest advantage?
From what
I’ve seen on visits to finishing shops, parts come to the
base of knowledge and expertise, parts get finished by that base,
then parts leave that base and return to their original manufacturer.
That’s the traditional finishing model. But, is this the
only way to operate?
Probably
not. On a recent visit, I had an interesting discussion with a
finishing shop owner who was going to leverage his and his employees’
finishing expertise in a unique way. Instead of bringing the work
to his knowledge base, his plan was to take his knowledge base
to the work. Even though the company had its own finishing shop,
the goal was to partner with OEMs by having his employees run
and manage the finishing line in the OEM's plant.
I see many
advantages to this setup: greater collaboration between manufacturers
and finishers; possibly more input from the finisher on part design;
a higher level of respect for the finisher since he is more visible
on a day to day basis; cost reductions (shipping, personnel and
perhaps others); time reductions; and fewer hassles for the OEM,
allowing it to focus on its core business.
Remember,
your greatest resource is your knowledge and expertise. To maximize
your profit, you have to maximize its use.
