The phone call at half three on a Wednesday
A good customer rings: a site has a problem and they need twenty brackets and a set of cover plates by Friday. You say yes, because they are a good customer. The job goes to the front of the laser queue, jumps the brake, takes a welder off another job, and goes to the coater on a special run.
By Monday, three other jobs are late. Two of those customers are also good customers, and they were not asked.
Why rush jobs hurt more than they seem to
A fabrication shop is a chain of steps: laser, brake, weld, finish, assemble. A rush job disrupts every step, and each disruption pushes other work back. Because the plan is on a whiteboard or in the production manager's head, nobody can see the knock on effect at the moment of saying yes.
- The decision to take a rush job is made on the phone.
- The effect on other jobs is not visible until they are late.
- Rush jobs are not priced differently from normal work.
- Customers whose jobs slip are not told in advance.
- Frequent rushes from one customer are not noticed as a pattern.
What saying yes blindly costs
Late deliveries on work that was on time. Overtime to catch up. Nests broken and re-nested, wasting material. Customers who lose trust because their date slipped for someone else's emergency. And no extra income for the disruption, because the rush job was priced like any other.
The what if view we build
- The current plan is held by work centre: lasers, press brakes, welding bays, finishing and assembly, with each job's hours and due date, from your job system or the tool itself.
- When a rush job is proposed, its operations and hours are entered or estimated from a similar part.
- The tool places it at the front of each work centre's queue and shows the result: which jobs move, by how many days, and whether any would now miss their due date.
- It can also show options, such as running the laser part of the rush on an extra shift, or holding it a day so fewer jobs slip.
- You decide whether to accept, at what price, and on what date. A rush charge can be added from your price rules.
- If accepted, affected customers are listed so they can be told of any change before they find out.
| The view shows | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Jobs that would slip | Who you are really letting down |
| Days of slip per job | Whether it is a small or large effect |
| Due dates now at risk | Which customers to call |
| Alternative options | Overtime, next day start, split delivery |
| Rush history by customer | Who asks often, and whether it is paid for |
What changes when the phone rings
You can take a moment to see the effect and give an honest answer: yes by Friday with a rush charge, yes by Monday at the normal price, or yes by Friday if another customer agrees to a day's slip. Customers whose jobs move hear about it first from you. Over time, the rush history shows which customers regularly ask for rushes, which is a useful conversation to have with them.
The production manager is spared a difficult role too. Instead of absorbing every emergency and apologising to everyone else, they can put the options on the table and let the business decide, with the cost of each option in view. Some rushes are worth taking at any price. Others are better declined politely, and the view makes that easier to judge.
Do rush jobs run your shop?
- Rush jobs are accepted on the phone.
- Other jobs slip without anyone deciding they should.
- Rushes are not charged differently.
- Customers learn about slips on the due date.
- Some customers rush almost every order.