questions on industry standards

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macguilemuire

Grumbler in Training
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Aug 27, 2004
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Canada
I am a newly made manager of a framing department, having worked as a framer for 10 months before hand in the same shop. Now, the owner and general manager have told that there is an industry standard for how many pieces, on average, a single framer can finish. What is the average time? Where can I get more statistical information like this?
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Welcome to the other side of <strike>insanity</strike> framing.

Yeah, I've heard that same statement from many bosses/GMs and other people who have no clue.

I've seen gals on a line fit a mounted image, mat, glass, into a frame, back and sawtooth, 15-20 times an hour. But you have to have the right equipment too. I worked all day on ONE #%#@$&% frame job. Then there is the "Who's making the frame, and who's cutting the mats, and who's mounting....."
In a one man shop, a frame mat glass mount & fit (also know as the good ol' FMMGF) can be cranked 5-9 a day. (Question: who's answering the phone, and looking over the front counter?)

Tomorrow, I need to finish 5 fabric wrapped mats, one shadow box, 9 FMMGFs, and finish and leaf a frame. To do so, even with a partner, I will be at the shop by 6 am. We open at 10.

But then, that's just my 3 cents worth.

baer
 
Welcome to the Grumble

There is no such thing in any industry as an “Industry Standard” for time and motion studies for the sort of process you are talking about……all or most business (each location) do there own time and motion study (the old fashion way with a stop watch), take the time for each part of the process add up all the time components of the process this total is the way you get your average output for production…..BTW….you will need to measure the time for each component at least 10 times at minimum to get a good average …….and then you keep monitoring it on a regular bases to check the averages……sorry there is no simple short cut for this sort of measurement…..the measurement must be taken at each business….
 
If think the term "industry average" might be what they meant, because I have never heard the term "industry standards" used for anything but methods and materials. I figure a basic job, start to finish, with no unforseen problems, on an average, at one hour. If your bosses think there are industry standards for any part of any job, I think it is up to them to find them and tell you what they are. It is the bosses job to inform their employees of the companies expectations, not inform them there are standards they expect the employee to follow and expect the employee to figure it out. You must be working for idiots.
 
When I took the MCPF exam practicum, I was given a paper-borne piece of art. I had to do everything from soup to nuts in 1 1/2 hours. I barely made it, and let's just say that it merely met minimum shop specifications... Do you have seasoned framers working for you, or are they just learning the business? We get quicker as we become more skilled, of course. It sounds like the BigBosses just want to have things DONE as opposed to Done Right. Run a stopwatch like Dermot says so you have a benchmark for improvement. I don't think they are idiots; they are just bosses. What they want is not necessarily what they will get nor what you can produce. Keep a log.
 
At my one and a half person shop (p/t 20 hrs ea wk), we can crank out quite a bit of work when it's raining outside, telemarketers aren't calling every 5 minutes, salesmen aren't dropping by w/out appts., mats aren't scuffed, glass doesn't have bubbles, frames are joined properly, customers don't decide to "kill" time just visiting, other shop owners in our area don't come in for their coffee break, etc, etc.

What are your responsibilities other than the title of mgr? How many employees are in your shop? Give us some more info.

BTW, welcome to the Grumble!
 
In our store I need my framers to average 1 piece per hour, notice I say average. When doing a simple metal frame, drymount, and glass, the job should take 20 minutes, something like a jersey or shadowbox may take a couple hours to a day.

It also depends on how the framing process works, are the framers responsible for the work from start to finish or are you using a assembly line?

How many framers do you have and what type of volume does your shop have? That is important as well. If you have 2 framers and average 100 pieces a week then you have to have them average 1.25 pieces an hour, assuming a 40 hour work week.
 
By myself, I average 4 orders/day - in-between working with customers, taking out the garbage, posting to The Grumble and (occasionally) answering the phone.

That number hasn't changed since I registered on TG, so I must be getting more efficient. A CMC doesn't hurt, either.

Some days I get 10-12 done and some days I don't finish anything at all.
 
But being that you are from Canada it will probably take twice as long. :D
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Just kidding, couldn't help myself, I AM an American after all!

BTW Welcome to The G.
 
The framing department I run is a side line of a framed image gallery and warehouse (approx. 13000 sqf). I currently have 6 framers working with me: 2 F/T fitters, 3 designers (1 P/T, 1 new) in house and 1 at a smaller location. Between both stores we do a fairly steady business, taking in on average about 300 orders a month, each order having an average of 3 pieces. Framers work in something similar to an assembly line, but starts and stops do occur, delaying one piece while another needs work.

I personally organize W/O into their catagories of work.
Order all materials for the week, excluding rushes (they get ordered ASAP).
Receive, label and organize all materials.
Check progress on pieces that will be or are due.
Answer all questions from framers pertaining material usage and possible framing techniques.
Handle phone inquiries.
Prepare pieces for plaquemounting, both machine and hand made.
Train new staff.
Calculate costs on all materials and send out for payment.

And occasionally I design, cut, and fit the work.

I think that's all, but there's always a new task on the horizon.
 
macguilemuire

First welcome. and then allow me to bore you with a story of my former life,along with an agreement of all you have ben told already.

In past lives I have worked for an Oil refinery and General Motors in one of their wharehouses. I have seen Both of these companys do Time management studies. This is (as you have been told) what is used to arrive at a job preformance AVERAGE. What I learned is that these studies don't even come close unless they are continually done and the information is compulated over the course of the on going study. The reason I say this is,just when you think you have considered every possible situation that can alter the required time to complete a job ,something new or unexpected comes up. (I say this haveing sen a supervisor that sent a man to the Doctors office to ask what was the AVERAGE amount of time it could logically be expect to releve oneself in the rest room. )I am not kidding despite the fact that the Doctors felt he must be.

My point is that the people doing these studies are concerned with one thing,'HOW MANY FINISHED JOBS CAN THEY GET IN HOW LITTLE TIME".( I think anyone can see where this is heading."Wham bam thank you mame!")
Please notice it doesn't say one word about how WELL the job is preformed nor the varing degrees of difficulty an individual job may intail.

You have already been told that things like shadowbox framing can take more time than a simple Normal photograph. You have also been told that even when you are sailing along just fine "Up Pops The Devil" and the unexpected happens.

I am going on so because these studies where a constant source of aggrevation to any worker who was diligently doing the level best to turn out the VERY BEST PERFORMANCE /FRAME they could while not wasteing any unnecessary time BSing or doing any other wasteful activity.

so my suggestion is tha you suggest that the INDUSTRY STANDARD that your framers subscribe to is to turn out the VERY BEST Frames regaudless of their difficulty while utilizeing the needed amount of time to do so as long as they don't dautle or BS or congregate around the water cooler ,In a nut shell be happy if they stay busy working during their shift and forget about the number of PIECES they are supposed to turn out .If you hire compitant Framers and they do this the number of finished jobs per day will take care of it self.IMHO
BUDDY
 
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