You may or may not be familiar with the term, “painting for production.” It simply means focusing on achieving significant accomplishments as quickly as possible by using a larger production painting team. Think of it as high volume, high quality painting. The key is breaking the work down into the right parts so that a team can accomplish it by working in unison. Using these concepts, including how to use painting estimating software, will allow you to really scale your business.
Production-scale painting requires focusing on how to do the job the right way, but in the most time-efficient manner possible. It’s truly a science. Our goal is to give you the formula for implementing this in your business.
First things first, make sure you have enough tools.
You have to have the right tools to produce the right results, and when you’re painting for production you have no choice but to produce the right results. This kind of work requires a lot of steps to complete. And usually, a General Contractor heads up the project and oversees the work.
You may be wondering exactly what you need in order to paint for production, but it depends on a few factors. Every project is a little different. That means every painters’ tool chest is going to be filled differently as well. To start, here are some of the most common things that need to be kept in mind when building up your tools:
- Have the right toolsMake sure that each painter has a basic setup of tools (brushes, roller covers, roller handle, roller extension, 5-in-1 tool, and the like) to ensure that they can truly take a piece of the job at hand and see it through to completion.
- If you’re offering specialty painting/texturing services, make sure that your overall setup doesn’t leave any of your painters waiting on other team members to get done using the tools they need in order to continue making progress. You don’t want to hold up work waiting on someone to finish.
- In the case that you don’t have the means to go out and provide a whole arsenal of painting tools for each painter on your crew, make sure you require your newly hired painters to bring their own tools to work. Create a list of the basic tools they will need in order to handle your jobs. Make sure to inform them upon hire of the requirements.
With this info in hand, it’s easy to set your company up for success in the world of painting for production. The main difficulty is finding the right employees to help speed up your production, while at the same time producing a level of quality that satisfies your customers.
Protect Your Investment
So you went out and spent a small fortune buying tools to make sure you’re ready to take your business to the next level. What happens if they get stolen or come up missing during a natural disaster? You probably have to eat the bill yourself, right? This is the last thing you want to do.
Protect your hard-earned investment with insurance so that the cost of replacement doesn’t come off the bottom line. Tool insurance is usually available as an add-on to your general liability policy. You’ll find that the small additional expense is more than worth it in the end.
Instead of having to recoup the money yourself you’ll simply need to file a claim and maintain contact with your insurance agent. It’s much easier this way. It can also be the quickest way to get your tools replaced after an unfortunate event.
Prepare Your Team
Now that we’ve covered the tools you’ll need, there’s one more thing left to do. Train your painters and painters’ helpers to meet your expectations from the start. You can do this by going over certain things such as:
- Company procedures and protocols.
- General job requirements and an overview of the work handled by you.
- How you have continued to develop your reputation as the company has grown.
- Techniques that you have found to work well with the types of work you take on.
- What you look for during your final inspection of a job.
The Final Inspection
There are countless stories of contractors rushing through their final inspection to call the job completed. Then later they find out that they have to go back and fix certain things before the person overseeing the job will give their final stamp of approval. It’s easier to do the job right the first time than having to rush to reach completion.
Take the time to do a couple, or maybe even a few walk-arounds. Look at each piece of the job no matter how little it may seem. If you can’t find a problem with the outcome as a contractor, how is someone else going to find something wrong with your work? When it comes to running your own jobs, this is one of the most important checks in painting for production.
It might sound simple, but keep a checklist of everything you need to inspect before completing the job. Keeping this in a mobile app for painters can not only help you in the walk-through, it can also keep your team organized on the job. Consider using technology as another tool in production painting.
A Quick Recap on Painting for Production
Moving from small team painting to production-level painting can take some time. These steps can serve as a guide in making that transition. Asa recap, here are some of the things to keep in mind while making this move:
- Prepare effectively for an expansion of your crew.
- Obtain the right insurance, and eliminate the risk of covering replacement yourself.
- Spend time educating your team to make the end result streamlined and as expected.
- Take the time to do a thorough inspection, and leave no stone unturned.
- Always embrace opportunities to innovate and improve your company as a whole.
