Though upholsterers work in an industry of aesthetics, we sometimes allow our shops to get messy. Sloppiness around the shop, however, can affect our businesses in ways that we may have never imagined. Jay Conrad Levinson describes this in his book Guerrilla Marketing Weapons.
The following excerpt really stood out to me: http://tinyurl.com/7rp5n5u
Thoughts?
It's a funny thing how people can relate things that have nothing to do with one another.
For example, if a steward leaves an airplane passenger seat soiled with debris, they may think that the jet is lacking in matince, and thus, less safe. Of course, engine maintaince has nothing to do with this, but some folks will perceive things this way.
Kind of like how some folks will look at your messy shop and wonder how you can fix or make their stuff if you can't keep your own shop in order. Again, one does not impact the other, but some will see it this way, fair or unfair.
I watch the amount of time my boss wastes attempting to locate "missing" items and shifting one pile of leftover patterns and scraps to another location and I just shake my head and wonder why the debris from one job isn't taken care of before the next job is started. It never fails, eventually the clutter has to be cleaned up but it always happens after considerable time has been wasted by not doing so in a timely manner. That is time that can never be recovered!
I find it particularly irritating when I have to clean off a debris covered space to begin my work in the morning. I do only the minimal amount of cleaning, leaving the mess for my boss and co-worker. I was told a couple of years ago that I "was paid to clean up" to which I tartly replied that I clean my work area every single day! I also added that if I wanted to be a Merry Maid I'd buy a franchise! I will not be a defacto maid to my boss and co-worker. Slovenliness sends a poor message to your customers, esp. when you're charging top dollar for new work. JMO
I'm much better about cleaning up not only between jobs, but during jobs than I used to be. I don't consider my shop to be immaculate at all. But I've had customers tell me that my place is a palace compared to some of the shops they've been in.
I actually owe my improved work habits to reading posts and viewing pics on this forum.
But the bottom line is, tearing down couches is a sloppy business. So my shop isn't always gonna be a Taj Mahal when you walk in.
And I agree, Sofa.. When work is actually being performed and it involves old fabric, crumbling foam, tattered canvas and shattered plastic a certain amount of debris is to be expected. Leaving all that debris lying around on work benches and the floor for a week or more is another story entirely. And when all that debris buries important tools, work orders, stymies a very productive worker and foments resentment while wasting precious time there is a problem.
More than one customer has looked at me and asked me how we get anything done in the shop. I smile and say something benign but the fact that customers say that speaks volumes about the level of accumulated grime and clutter. It's one of the reasons I've worked so hard to keep my own shop picked up and it's another reason I've made my tables easy to roll out of the way to make cleaning the place as painless as it can be.
Silly me! I always thought a messy shop was a sign a great craftmanship. You do
such good work that you're constantly busy and don't have time to clean up.
I better go mess up the shop so customers think I do excellent work.
Quote from: bobbin on April 12, 2012, 02:37:41 pm
if I wanted to be a Merry Maid I'd buy a franchise!
Speaking of Merry Maids, here's a franchise I'm thinkin' about investing in:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/11/nude-naked-maid-service-texas-fantasy_n_1417947.html
Only in Texas!
"Investing" or "purchasing their services"? Get her to clean your shop - she'd be the first Texan to file for workers comp because of an injury caused when a tack found it's way down her thong.
The good part is that no one, other than the wife, would care if she was so dumb that she couldn't pout piss out of a boot...
gene
Did someone say " Clean shops " ? :o
The joke around here is that a few members have threatened to come over and mess my shop up or misplace my tools for me just to send me into OCD fits. :)
I cannot handle dirt, clutter or a mess. There is not enough Xanax to keep me from going out of my mind when things get cluttered.
http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x200/throgmartin/Up%20Shop/?action=view¤t=Shopdecorations1.jpg (http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x200/throgmartin/Up%20Shop/?action=view¤t=Shopdecorations1.jpg)
Yes, I admit I am a wacko when it comes to a clean shop. I have even went as far as decorating it with antiques. I like a little bit of homey feel in there instead of that " Shop " feel. :)
Chris
Quote from: gene on April 12, 2012, 06:56:35 pm
she'd be the first Texan to file for workers comp because of an injury caused when a tack found it's way down her thong.
You obviously don't know us Texans very well. I found tacks in my thong 3 times just last week alone ;D
Quote from: gene on April 12, 2012, 06:56:35 pm
no one, other than the wife, would care if she was so dumb that she couldn't pout piss out of a boot
I'm assuming there's a typo there? ???
Thanks for posting this, Hogring. I have a messy (not dirty) shop, and it's killing me. The problem is the size, mostly. Like I've run out of room on my rack for fabric, so there are rolls propped up in corners. And I'm constantly tripping over the compressor hose. I need a consultant. This thread is motivation to work on this. Today!
Quote from: jojo on April 13, 2012, 06:02:25 am
Thanks for posting this, Hogring. I have a messy (not dirty) shop, and it's killing me. The problem is the size, mostly. Like I've run out of room on my rack for fabric, so there are rolls propped up in corners. And I'm constantly tripping over the compressor hose. I need a consultant. This thread is motivation to work on this. Today!
This is a common misconception that you would/could be more organized if you had a larger space. Nothing further from the truth; more larger area to clean, and the realality is that you will fill in any available space with something, no matter how large the area. It's just how it happens!
I remember when I was much younger reading a Mad Magazine that had a fake ad for a pull down screen for a teens door to their room. The room stayed messed but with the screen in place you had a picture of a nice tidy room. I wonder if they make those for big overhead doors? My problem would be solved! ;D
Kyle
Quote from: Gregg @ Keystone Sewing on April 13, 2012, 06:43:12 am
This is a common misconception that you would/could be more organized if you had a larger space. Nothing further from the truth; more larger area to clean, and the realality is that you will fill in any available space with something, no matter how large the area. It's just how it happens!
You are so right. I built a storage room as an addition to the side of my garage. It is 10 x 16. It was supposed to house my tractor along with my foam and other fabrics and such. It is jam packed and I am now using my enclosed trailer for overflow.
The addition was supposed to be the overflow, now that is overflowing and I need the trailer for the other overflow.......lmao. The more space you have, the more s**t you accumulate.
Chris
Quote from: Gregg @ Keystone Sewing on April 13, 2012, 06:43:12 am
This is a common misconception that you would/could be more organized if you had a larger space. Nothing further from the truth; more larger area to clean, and the realality is that you will fill in any available space with something, no matter how large the area. It's just how it happens!
I have to disagree this time. I find that more room makes it easier to keep organized.
And I get so many more jobs because I can store their furniture until they're ready for it.
Same at home too. The kids are grown and gone now. It seems like we have vast open spaces now that we no longer have to slosh through toys just to walk across the floor. The house seems HUGE to us now, and it's so much easier to keep it clean.
If you guys don't want your extra space, I'll take it.
Jojo, just a thought for the compressor hose. Could you run it overhead? Say, use one of the inexpensive ones for the jump to the ceiling and the run overhead and then get one of the really nice red rubber ones (the kind that remain flexible and coil easily) for the drop to your stapler? My brother helped me pipe the air from my compressor and it too, runs along the ceiling with 3 or 4 quick connect couplings. My Juki plugs into one of them and I have options for plugging in my stapler. Huge help! hoses are pain when they're on the floor. I know exactly what you mean!
One of the smartest things I did was invest in track for the ceiling (hospital exam room track) and the little cars that roll along inside it (they hold 50 lbs. each). I have an extension cord strung along it and my gravity feed iron and the water reservoir are suspended over the padded tables. I can press large drapery panels with relative ease as the water jug and iron can move the entire length of the table (16+'). Neither the electrical cords or the water hose are ever in my way. If I want to cut acrylics with my hot knife I use the same table (padding removed) and can cut without worrying about the cord.
Bobbin....brilliant!!! Thank you! I will do this tomorrow.
Tomorrow I will try to dig up the receipt for the track. I am pretty sure I still have it and that will give you a lead on obtaining some track.
In regards to your air hose reel issues. I think this may do the trick for you Elsie.
I have one in the basement of my coach as well as one in my woodshop. I despise rolling up extension cords, hoses, etc and hate them laying on the floor. They drive me out of my mind. So I use these.
I also bought an extension cord on an automated reel and mounted that in the basement of my bus next to the compressor. If you watch Harbor Freight you will find them running sales on these things quite often.
Here is the air hose reel: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_47578_47578?cm_ven=natural&cm_cat=netconcepts&cm_pla=Yahoo&cm_ite=retractable%2Bair%2Bhose%2Breel (http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_47578_47578?cm_ven=natural&cm_cat=netconcepts&cm_pla=Yahoo&cm_ite=retractable%2Bair%2Bhose%2Breel)
And here is the extension cord reel: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200237924_200237924 (http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200237924_200237924)
Chris
The hose reel idea didn't really work out that well for me. Since I have a lot of tacks and staples on the floor, I was constantly getting leaks in the hose.
The rewind mechanism on the reel requires a very soft flexible hose.....easier to damage. I replaced it with a tougher (stiffer) hose. Now the rewind mech doesn't work.
I used to have an overhead coil hose at my old location. I was constantly kinking the coils by stretching it around the extremities of furniture. I had to repair the hoses 2-3 times a week.
I'm not sure if my drop ceiling would support any type of sliding track.
So for now, I'm back to the drawing board with the air hose half-assed rolled up on the floor.
I'm wandering off topic a bit but what the hell? :) Are those curly hoses of any convenience when you're tapping into compressed air from above?
I see them in a lot of videos from manufacturing settings but sometimes the practical reality of our own shops makes a lot of real "production" stuff inconvenient.
I think the overhead coil hoses are fine IF you're working on small items confined to a small area. But if you're stretching them from "pillar to post", they can be a nuisance.
$30 at Harbor Freight http://www.harborfreight.com/22-inch-magnetic-floor-sweeper-with-release-98399.html
(https://forum.upholster.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.harborfreight.com%2Fmedia%2Fcatalog%2Fproduct%2Fcache%2F1%2Fimage%2F9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95%2Fi%2Fm%2Fimage_12865.jpg&hash=9f9a30a11de614be35c4002cf41c0e73)
Quote from: sofadoc on April 14, 2012, 05:49:22 am
The hose reel idea didn't really work out that well for me. Since I have a lot of tacks and staples on the floor, I was constantly getting leaks in the hose.
Hammer: I have one of those. But tacks and staples get stuck in the carpet. I have a heavily padded carpeted work area because of my foot problems. So even though I use the magnet often, there are still a lot of loose tacks and staples to damage hoses.
I know, I'm being obnoxious ;D I find something wrong with all these great solutions.
Hmmmm , reading this as I am in the shop on a saturday morning with the sole purpose of CLEANING !!!!! :P
I use the curly hose in my shop. I like it. But I do not expand it much. I plug it into an air hose.
I will say the coil hose does sometimes get to be a pain in the butt as it gets in the way.
I love my automated reel and wouldn't be without it. But I have clean floors that are not littered with tacks and staples. :) Sounds like I need to pay Dennis a visit and clean up his shop for him. :)
Chris
I was thinking that the Sofadoc needs to get rid of the carpeting and replace it with a floorcloth! Over a nice pad it would be really plush... easy to clean, great looking, and soft underfoot.
;)
I don't like the curly hose I have at all. I've switched back to the standard hose that I initially bought with the compressor. I found that I was fighting those curls constantly. It adds arm fatigue and inhibits getting staples into odd spots that require crazy angles of the stapler. Maybe it would have been different if the air supply was above the work table rather than to the side.
As for the messy shop, I clean up after every job and many times every day even if the job isn't finished. It makes going to work in the morning much more enjoyable.
June
Quote from: bobbin on April 14, 2012, 07:52:47 am
I was thinking that the Sofadoc needs to get rid of the carpeting and replace it with a floorcloth! Over a nice pad it would be really plush... easy to clean, great looking, and soft underfoot.
;)
Speaking of which. I am off and headed to Sam's shortly. I want to buy some rubber mats to put down near the cutting table. I have painted floors and the cement is killing my feet. I also wear my moose skin slippers in the shop so they have no padding at all making it even harder on my feet.
I would love to wear some good ortho shoes but I have lost so much feeling in my feet from 13 years of chemo that I cannot feel the treadle very well. The slippers give my feet a better feel and allows me better control of the machine.
I am hoping these rubber foamed mats will add some comfort to my feet, legs and knees. Dang cement is hard on old feet and joints.
Chris
Quote from: Mojo on April 14, 2012, 08:27:06 am
Dang cement is hard on old feet and joints.
You're preachin' to the choir. My old building had a wood floor that creaked beneath your feet when you walked across it. Never had any foot pain.
When I relocated in '97, I moved to a building with an absolutely unforgiving cement floor. Within a month, I was visiting foot doctors. Custom orthotics have helped. But not a cure.
However, the custom orthics did clear up any and all knee, and back problems. If I had a good set of wheels, I'd feel like a 20 year old.
Back to the floor cloth idea, I have to drag couches around the shop by myself. How well would a floor cloth hold up to that?
Prolly not so good, frankly. But I was thinking more in terms of the floorcloth(s) being the direct underfoot thing. You know, like the ergonomic matting they use at relatively stationary work sites. If you had a couple of them, you could place them as needed for every piece you work on. A couple of runners with nice padding and you'd be "good to go". Of course, you could accomplish the same thing with a few runs of vinyl floor and some padding and for a lot less money. ;)
Interestingly, that was the reason I made one for my own shop. It was a way to "protect" the painted floor while allowing for easy clean up.