It’s tough not to empathize with ready mix producers like Michael.
He currently runs six plants. He’s got a strong operation with solid people, and he has good margins for right now. He’s not struggling. He’s not behind, but he is beginning to feel a little bit of pressure.
Michael’s plants are running well when the right people are there. But, as plant managers know, each plant requires a batcher, and each batcher is generally tied to a batch house.
Coverage can become fragile.
If one person doesn’t show up, Michael’s phone begins to ring. Even when everyone does show up, Michael’s noticing that his model is inefficient — as production slows towards the end of the day, his plants still need to be staffed, sometimes up to hours idly waiting for the day’s remaining loads.
Michael isn’t short on effort. He’s constrained by an operating model that doesn’t flex when demand does.
And this is a growing risk.
Meanwhile, two of Michael’s most experienced batchers are set to retire this year. Out of these two batchers, one is nice and gives him a six-week notice, but the other doesn’t. They’re leaving a little sooner than expected. Michael doesn’t have to panic, but he realizes his operation only works because of the people he’s about to lose. If he’s going to replace these people, the training is going to take months. It’s going to require extensive supervision and could pose a risk to his operation.
What would you do first if you were in Michael’s situation?
- Hire and train new batchers as fast as possible
- Ask experienced batchers to cover more plants
- Accept higher operational risk and hope staffing stabilizes
- Rethink how batching is done across plants
Of the producers we asked, the majority said they’d start by rethinking their batching approach. And we’d have to agree with them.
At one of our last batch webinars, more ready mix producers said they’d be more willing to break from this traditional batcher-to-batch house model than hire and train replacement batchers as fast as possible.
Instead, producers can address these physical constraints head-on by implementing remote batching.
The Far-Reaching Benefits of Multi-Plant Remote Batching
To start, the ability to batch from ANYWHERE frees up our cost-eating staffing dilemma. Gouging overtime costs shrink when employees can seamlessly perform at busier plants as location-to-location demand fluctuates.
With this nimble approach, ready mix producers can liberate themselves from having to dedicate certain batchers to certain plants.
We’re not talking about implementing a whole new system here. Instead, Multi-Plant Remote Batching is added to a producer’s existing Marcotte Batch or COMMANDbatch functionality, automatically inheriting the safeguards of those systems. Plus, wherever they physically are, batchers can monitor whatever is actively batching at that time by accessing live camera feed — from any plant.
Batching Built For All Situations
We get it — remotely batching ready mix can unchain batchers from the batch house, but some situations call for even more flexibility. In today’s marketplace, having to rely on the veteran expertise of a handful of employees can squander an operation’s forward momentum.
No matter who is available, from operators to drivers, ANYONE can leverage this solution’s simple and intuitive user interface. Designed to bypass a time-consuming learning curve, Multi-Plant Remote Batching’s ROI quickly kicks in as batchers operate with ease from either a desktop, laptop, or tablet.
No kidding around, we’ve seen batchers launch productivity by learning the ropes and teaching others in as little as just 10 minutes.
The full flexible experience of Multi-Plant Remote Batching is now viewable here.