Efficient workshops
What equipment do I need for my workshop, how can I best organize workflows and what do I need to consider when working with external service providers? These questions are dealt with in the current issue of foot&shoe.
“More and more companies are realizing that adapted workshop equipment provides many advantages: An efficient workflow is only possible if machines, equipment and facilities are optimally adapted to the strategic focus and range of products and services of the company”, says Ingo Hausdorf, owner of HARDO, in his article about workshop equipment. Anyone setting up a workshop for pedorthists needs the right machines and tools for the job. In addition, when planning or rebuilding, one should always remember to create optimal workplaces for the employees. This includes considering ergonomics, but above all minimizing health hazards caused by dust or solvent vapors. There is a recommendable equipment for every size of workshop, which consists of many different components. A precise analysis of the goods and services on offer is just as important as a consideration of the rooms’ situation. Of course, the available budget must also be taken into account.
Companies that started out small and have grown more and more due to their successful work are familiar with this: Over the years, it has become increasingly apparent that work processes that have become established over the years are no longer really practical and efficient - and that the existing workshop and organisational structures of the company are no longer adequate. Only rarely does the organisation of the workshop grow along with it. Also the reimbursement prices often rise more slowly than the costs. This makes it more and more important to deal with the calculation in your own company. One of the decisive levers for increasing the efficiency of your own business is to improve work processes. These in turn are inseparably linked to the structure of the workshop. Annette Switala and Joachim Fischer describe in their contribution how to recognize weak points in work processes and how to best organize the workflow to be able to work efficiently with high quality.
Custom-orthotic shoes are among the most demanding tasks in pedorthics, since they are both a shoe and an orthosis with functional elements in one product. Before the background that in many places specialists are missing or the workshops are not equipped for the production of orthopedic measure shoes, there are ever more copmanies which take over the complete production of the shoes. Foot&shoe editor Wolfgang Best describes, what one must consider with this co-operation. Johan Steenwyk, who has both experience in the production of shoes and has been working closely with a service provider for several years, has listed the ten most common mistakes that are made when ordering shoes.
You can purchase the complete edition of foot&shoe in the store of C. Maurer Fachmedien. The article by Ingo Hausdorf about the workshop equipment can be found as a free download on the homepage of foot&shoe.
