5 Ways to Reduce Reworks and Errors
When a tech needs to go back out to a job or do a task again because it wasn’t finished completely or correctly the first time, it costs your business time and money. Preventing errors and finding ways to reduce reworks will keep projects moving forward on schedule and allow you to get more done.
Follow these steps to reduce the number of errors and reworks for your organization or project.
1. Create a Quality Process
Preventing reworks and errors is more effective than spending time and resources fixing problems after they occur. Your company needs to have a quality process in place to document standards and provide guidelines for work.
Document the steps that should be taken at each stage of a project or task and what needs to happen before it can move forward. This process may include a check by a manager, submitting documentation, or a peer evaluation. That way, quality and completeness can be assessed before moving on to the next piece, and any problems can be fixed sooner.
Consider having written instructions or guidelines for tasks that are completed less frequently, such as seasonally or once a year, to ensure that they are done the right way.
2. Plan Out Work
As the saying goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail.” Work that needs to be completed should be planned out on a daily and weekly basis (as much as possible). That way, you can lump similar tasks together or jobs that need to be completed at the same site so that time is used more efficiently. This also should help to reduce jumping back and forth between unrelated things, which tends to be less productive.
Having a timeline and plan of work that is updated frequently allows you to keep clients and supervisors more accurately informed of progress and make adjustments where necessary.
3. Use a Checklist
Having a detailed checklist of what needs to be done ensures that no steps are forgotten or overlooked, which will reduce reworks. This can be based on your overall quality process. Make sure that techs complete and submit documentation of the work that was done so a record exists that can be referenced at a later date and used to update project timelines. Mobile forms are an easy way for techs to submit checklists while out in the field or at a jobsite.
Also, completing a checklist and leaving notes can help someone else pick up more easily on where a task was left off if a job needs to be finished later.
4. Prioritize Task Assignments
It’s important to play to the strengths of the members of your team and prioritize which tasks are assigned to which people. Reduce the potential for an avoidable error to occur by giving more complicated tasks to more experienced people, or having less experienced techs work together. Some jobs require more specialized skills or training, so assign these tasks to techs who will be able to tackle them most effectively. You also need to know when it’s time to call in an expert.
Jobs that need to be completed also should be given a clear level of priority so that the most important or crucial items are addressed first. This will ensure that work on a project continues to move forward or that work orders are completed in a timely way.
5. Provide Training
Employees that are thoroughly trained in processes and have standards to keep them accountable for how a job is completed are more likely to do things right the first time. Training sessions should be held regularly to reinforce standards or go over any changes.
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