Ben Cole  

Cole Brothers

I  have found that scheduling and organizing my shop on both a day-to-day and week-to-week basis is essential to keep a shop running smoothly. Trying to “wing” your daily schedule not only adds unnecessary stress but can also lead to problems, confusion, and more mistakes than should be taking place. Customers also appreciate and respect an organized company as it is often a reflection of the overall company and makes for a more pleasant buying experience. 

My general method for keeping an organized schedule is simple.  First, I keep a large monthly calendar that hangs on the wall to the left of my desk. Every template, delivery, install or company event gets marked on my calendar as soon as the day and time is verified by the homeowner. This calendar is normally the first thing I look at every morning and the last thing I see as I leave the office every evening. It helps ensure that nothing ever slips my mind and is a constant reminder of everything that is going on. I would be lost without it.  

In addition to my calendar I keep an on-going daily list that has the tasks that have been assigned to every member of our team. I list each person separately and give an order of the jobs or pieces they are working on and always project past that day to ensure the employee never runs out of work. It also ensures what they will be working on the following day. I revise the daily list at the end of each workday, which gives our company great flexibility to make changes quickly if there is an issue with a job or one of our builders needs to squeeze in a rush order.

I review the daily list with my shop foreman, and give him a copy, so that he is aware of everything that is going on and knows any changes that may have been made. Our install crew and template crew are also given the same list so everyone knows not only what they are working on, but also what the other members of the team are doing.

The third step in my scheduling process is reviewing and writing the upcoming weekly install and template schedule every Friday. Now, we typically try to set up the installation date on the day we template with our private customers. Our company works to keep a rough turnaround time of two weeks but this can vary throughout the year during our intensely busy times – around the summer holidays (our work is primarily shore based). With our builders, we tend to have more flexibility, especially with new construction where the builder typically needs a maximum of a week’s notice for install. 

Regardless, on Friday, we call or email all of the customers scheduled for the coming week to remind them and verify that they will be ready for the day they are scheduled. We also use this day to set up some of the following weeks schedule.  

But wait, there’s more! We write up all of the small orders (sills, etc.) that come in and place them in bins with the oldest orders at the lowest section of the bins.  This makes it easy to track which order is next in line to be completed. For the larger projects I will typically maintain a cut list (some of the small items normally make the list) which helps keep organized which job is to be cut next.  

I hope that most of you already have systems of your own but it is always smart to reevaluate your processes to see if and where you can make improvements. It may seem like we take a lot of steps to organize but once you have a good system in place it is easy to get into a good rhythm. Scheduling becomes easier to manage and less mistakes are often made. And despite the many steps, scheduling actually takes up very little time during my day and actually is a vital part of our reputation (reliability is key) and is a pillar of our smooth running, efficient company.

Ben Cole grew up in the stone industry working in his family’s shop and currently manages Cole Brothers, a family-owned fabrication shop located in southern New Jersey.