Let’s say you sit down and think of ideas for how to increase productivity at your tree care company. What’s going to be on your list?
Many contractors would focus on what they should add: projects, the size of their territory, employees, equipment.
The most beneficial action, however, may be getting rid of something — namely, waste.
That’s the philosophy behind what is known as lean. And that’s the course taken by Tony Valenti, owner and president of First Choice Tree Service Inc. in Las Vegas.
When he wanted his company to take the next step, his focus wasn’t on jobsites or his employee roster. Instead, he and his staff cast a critical eye on their fleet, toolshed and PPE room. They reviewed what they needed, what was unnecessary and could be trashed, and even what could be recycled.
“The process has helped us to better organize our equipment at the yard and in the field for better efficiency,” Valenti says. “This means we can get crews out to the jobsite faster every day and eliminate trips back to the yard for misplaced or forgotten equipment.”
RELATED: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO GO LEAN?
What lean is
Lean is a set of principles aimed at eliminating waste. And make no mistake, there are always non-value-added activities eating away at efficiencies, no matter how well-run the company.
“If there are processes, there are wastes in the processes,” says Gary Coppock, senior director of continuous improvement at Vermeer and the company’s point man on lean.
If evaluating processes doesn’t seem heavy enough to you — or if it sounds boring — then it’s time to reconsider. In the tree care industry, where competition is fierce and margins are often razor-thin, improving efficiencies can be a difference-maker for a contractor.
“You have to decide if you can continue to spend money on resources at the same rate to grow your business,” Coppock says, “or if it makes sense to try to eliminate waste, free up cash and become more productive.”
RELATED: ARE SCHEDULING INEFFICIENCIES HURTING YOUR PRODUCTIVITY?
What lean looks like
Valenti first became aware of lean while touring a Vermeer manufacturing facility in Pella, Iowa. Lean has become a core principle at Vermeer, and the results have been significant. One example is the production of a brush chipper. In 2000, it took 52 days from the start of production until a brush chipper was shipped. By 2008, that turnaround time was three days. Vermeer has also adopted lean principles in engineering, maintenance, finance and employee recruitment.
“I was so impressed with their organization,” Valenti says. “I couldn’t believe it, just how organized that they were and how many chippers they could make a day and how everything — parts, tools, other items — had a designated place.”
He made a comment to a representative from his dealership, Vermeer Sales Southwest, about how he’d like his company to be that efficient. A short time later, Vermeer team members came to Las Vegas for what is known as a Kaizen event. A Kaizen, which is Japanese for “improvement,” is a structured activity that typically lasts one week. It focuses on a particular process with specific measurable goals to achieve.
For First Choice Tree Service, the attention was put on its fleet, including its toolshed and PPE room. They pulled everything out into the yard and decided what to do with it.
“It looked like we were having a huge garage sale in the middle of our 4-acre (1.6 ha) yard,” Valenti says. “We went through everything, got rid of the bad, kept the good, and we designated areas for that. It just was amazing, the transition.”
Now, when visitors come to First Choice Tree Service, they remark how organized the company is. Employees also have been huge fans.
“It really made a big difference in the attitudes, the hearts and the minds of our employees,” Valenti says.
And as mentioned earlier, it has helped crews get to jobsites faster and reduced return trips to the yard because a piece of equipment was forgotten. There’s your increase in jobsite productivity.
The lean process is ongoing for First Choice Tree Service. They’ve taken it one truck at a time and have, as Valenti puts it, “leaned out” six trucks, plus all of their handheld equipment and PPE storage units. Next they plan to tackle office space. Valenti says that while his office employees are very organized, he now realizes that there’s always room for improvement.
He also realizes that, when it comes to improving productivity, sometimes it’s about what you can eliminate, not what you add.