That three day stretch last March when everything went wrong at work changed how I handle Fridays

I work at a small print shop in Dayton and back in March of this year we had THREE major machine breakdowns in a row. First the big laminator jammed on a Friday morning, then the wide format printer threw a head error, and to top it off the guillotine cutter started making this grinding noise that scared everyone. I used to just push through tough days without thinking about it, but after that week I started doing a full 15 minute equipment check every Thursday afternoon before I leave. Has anyone else found a specific routine that keeps their workweek from falling apart?

3 comments

3 Comments

david_jones381mo agoTop Commenter

Man, that's a lot of drama over some machines breaking down.

seth_shah1mo ago

Friend of mine had a similar thing happen at his shop last year. He runs a small auto repair place, nothing fancy, just him and one other guy. One of his lifts just gave out mid-job, car half up in the air, hydraulic fluid everywhere. Took him three days to get it fixed and he lost that whole week's work plus had to refund a couple jobs. He's still paying off the repair bill and it messed up his whole schedule for months. People really don't get how one broken machine can just wreck your whole flow, do they?

jakejones1mo agoMost Upvoted

Respectfully, a week's lost work and months of debt isn't drama, it's your livelihood on the line.