Positive restructuring efforts: People & Companies

Over the past year or two, a plethora of articles, including this column, have been published about getting through the recession. Much of it was valuable information and worthy of consideration or even adoption. I’ve received many great ideas from readers and even implemented a few of these ideas myself. For instance, many readers responded to my January column regarding my Dad’s retirement and passing of the torch to me. A consistent recommendation was being thankful for his good health, maintaining regular communication with him and appreciating his input. While I always intended to do that, this advice impacted me and made me realize what a valuable resource he could be. It was good advice and made my duties easier to deal with.

When business is slow, making improvements is obviously a wise strategy. The lean, or doing-more-with-less, approach is always a big deal during a downturn. You’ve probably embraced some lean concepts, as has our shop. The good news is those efforts will likely bear fruit in the coming months and years, if they haven’t already.

Our shop is still not done tweaking manufacturing operations and other processes to ensure we do more with less.

Some measures commonly taken by job shops and other businesses include staff reductions or at least a hiring freeze. We’ve been able to retain our key employees and, so far, haven’t had to make drastic cuts, but that could change if the economy remains flat and manufacturing opportunities don’t develop as expected.

As a result, I’m keeping some of my plans on hold. It’s certainly frustrating, but we must persevere and make the best possible use of time and resources.