Darcy-
I get your point and have always agreed with it in principle for you and people like you (professionals). If I did this for a living, I would develop a personal fastener system or methodology that I wanted to use in my work. It appears that you have done so. I'm sure that you use the best fasteners you believe will work for your purposes, taking into consideration that you don't want to have to mess with too many diffrent sizes and styles. I'd bet that you probably use 3 or 4 particular screws 80% of the time. If that's true (when I used to help my dad install countertops and cabinates as a teen, I remember he only used #2 Phillips screws and only carried about 3 diffrent lengths in his "kit".) then you have, in lean terms, "optimized your inventory", and have probably put a process in place to make sure that you don't run out of those supplies, screws and bits, that you need to do your work. You know the kind of thing that goes like this..... for screws a, b, or c, I buy 6 boxes at a time, and when I get down to my last two boxes, I order six more. I know that I'll have my replacement screws in before I run out my other two boxes....... Even if you don't consciously set yourself up that way, you and most good professionals do this instinctively. In lean terms, it's called a KanBan system. Some visual reminder to make sure you don't run out of some supply or part.
Jay, I'm guessing you meant to use the word Kanban (not KanBan) but even that use of the word doesn't follow your logic. Kanban is not an inventory control system. It is a scheduling system that helps determine what to produce, when to produce it, and how much to produce, according to its creator, Taiichi Ohno. It is not an inventory system, such as LIFO or FIFO Nor is it a reorder program to keep inventory stock at calculated level of Min/Maximum on hand/reorder level and then the more complex time based usage to adjust reorder level or quantity. What you seem to be alluding to is more the Classical Planning and Scheduling dynamics and metrics that can be used to to know and understand a companies business needs and goals. Also Kanban is not a system indented to be used by itself. It is an integral part of Kaizen and 5S, that are all concepts fall under Deming's Philosophy that were proven about 100 years ago.
Now I said "good" professional, and that should be taken as "successful professional", i.e. someone who understands that their existence and business is based on the satisfaction and value they provide for their customers. By not running out of supplies, and not inconveniencing your customers, or reducing you profit on jobs (time is money when you do this for a living) you maximise you profits, and make it easier for customers to recommend you and rehire you for other jobs.
Jay, If I maybe so bold, I read that you are saying "treat the symptoms not the disease" and you think it will still cure the disease. Satisfaction and value not the "product" delivered to a client/customer. Satisfaction and value are the "resulting effect" from delivering a "predetermined product" of equal or greater performance than defined in the contact between the supplier and the client at the predetermined price that the client was happy with. If this is done then the human ego kicks in and they tell/boast how great they were at finding a great supplier and getting a great price that delivered a product at cost below perceived value.
All that being said, professionals live in a diffrent world then armatures or DIYers and even "part time professionals" who just do these tasks when they want to, if they need to, or only when they care to.
Remember, Festool and most other tools, are bought by professionals and hobbyists. I don't know what the exact mix is, but it would be very interesting to know- I understand why Festool wouldn't publish that market information though......
Jay, who else would buy tools besides "Professionals and Hobbyists".... aliens? What you are asking about is the demographics of the buyers, which is a subset of all marketing data information that Festool has. Are you saying that you have asked Festool and they won't tell you this data ... or are you saying that Festool won't publish what you know they know and have?
Me- I'm a hobby guy, so when I want to make some pocket joinery, I go down to Woodcraft or Loews and by a packet of 100 screws when I need them. I could run out at any time, but my Kanban is the stock at the local store, so why should I keep more than I need. If I see I am running low, I may buy two packets, but if I run out of anything....it's no problem or a minor inconvenience for me to just go get some more at a local store that carries something that will work.
Jay, I'm sorry if you perceive I'm picking on you in this post. I have worked for 30 years traveling the world helping companies to really improve and not chase every squirrel of an idea that seems shiny and bright but never catching any one of them. They confuse the concepts never getting better until a full understanding and training is achieved.
Jay, your local store is your warehouse/inventory that is all. The store is not going to produce/manufacture more of that product. They will just order more from another inventory agent(distributor)to replace what they sold. The location and time it takes to get there are an actual limiter to your production and would be seen as a barrier to performance as they slow you down and take productive time away from you. Any Deming or derivation Kaizen element state this. Now if you as hobbyist find going to the store fun that adds "fun value" to the project but is not even close to being "lean" as some people have ceased on but don't see the big picture.... or don't understand.... you can't one spoke of wheel move faster than the other, you must move the whole wheel at as the "one" that it is.
There are probably a couple more people like me out there that do the same. Did you notice on the thread where the guy was talking about making the special square drivers from the machine shop and people were interested. They were interested in 2 of these and 2 of those......probably people like me. Someone who has incorporated this disposable tool into their system (bits are disposables, right- much more to the professional than the hobbyist) would want a supply big enough to never have to worry about running out.
When I was younger, I was a professional magician. Some people say a professional gets paided for their work. Other say they make a living at it. Here's the best definition I found, it applies to magic, woodworking, remodeling and any other trades......an armature magician does diffrent tricks all the time for the same audiences, a professional does the same tricks all the time for diffrent audiences. If you are building different things all the time for the same group of people, you will defiantly have a diffrent philosophy and methodology then if you do the same basic things over and over for diffrent people.
We are in diffrent camps.....equal but diffrent.
All this from a little screw driver bit...... see why I don't post often...I don't know where to stop
Jay
