Flexing Up: Exploring Burst Capacity Strategies

In the classic 1984 mockumentary “This is Spinal Tap,” guitarist Nigel Tufnel is asked how he can gain more volume when he is already playing full out. Tufnel, played by Christopher Guest, reveals a custom amplifier, where instead of maxing out at ten, all the knobs go to 11, which he claims allows him “that extra push over the cliff.” While the situation is farcical, it is an excellent way to start a discussion of “burst capacity.”

Burst capacity is simple in concept: having that extra push, enough print and/or labor capacity on hand to temporarily scale up to take big or immediate jobs (or both) and meet expected deadlines. However, it’s a fine line as this must be done without excessive capital investment, which could create a financial drag on the company. In this article, two graphics professionals share the considerations that give them the burst capacity they need.

It’s All in the Numbers

“All printing is cyclical,” says Raj Persad, president of XL Digital Imaging (Dallas, Texas). His company, which focuses strongly on the trade show exhibits space, experiences peak times in the spring and fall, and the challenge for his company is to flex up during those periods while not overburdening itself during slower times.

Raj Persad, XL Digital Imaging

Persad says his primary burst capacity strategy involves first understanding print capacity. For his business, operating on a typical day, 16 hours of production (XL Digital Imaging runs two shifts) times about 1,000 square feet per hour, or 16,000 square feet per day. When faced with more than that amount, Persad accesses equipment redundancy. While his shop does most of its printing on a single machine, a second machine always waits in the wings if the primary machine is down. By running both machines, the company can expand its daily output up to 1,700 square feet per hour, or 27,200 per day.

A secondary strategy, Persad says, is to temporarily add a third shift, if needed, or even run production during the weekend. He notes that it’s not just about running the machines for more hours – it also involves staffing those extra hours. This can be done either through temporary staffing or by paying overtime. Theoretically, adding a third shift could increase daily daily production to more than 40,000 square feet daily. That’s quite a boost!

With these strategies in place, Persad says XL Digital Imaging can take jobs even on a very compressed schedule. He adds that they also allow his company to say yes, we can take the job; yes, we can get it done.

How Much is Enough?

For Bandon Boyers, executive vice president and chief manufacturing officer at Vivid Impact (Jeffersontown, Kentucky), the challenge of burst capacity is that “it is a fine line to walk. We need to have enough equipment but be good financial stewards for the company.” Like Persad, Boyers says his company’s workload is also cyclical, reporting the company is “crushed” every second month due to the promotional schedules of its customers.

Brandon Boyers, Vivid Impact

From an operational standpoint, Boyers says operating, on average, at about 80% of capacity gives the company the space needed to “flex up” if required. He also shares the value of investing in equipment that offers flexibility. This will, for instance, enable the company to move smaller jobs to other printing devices, reserving the highest-productivity equipment for the largest jobs. He says that when production is slammed, having a variety of choices is favorable.

From a labor standpoint, Boyers says the company sometimes opts for overtime, thus operating at over 100% of normal capacity (due to the additional hours). By normally operating at about 80%, Boyers says the company can keep its employees engaged. He believes that if there is too much time when the amount of work is minimal, it can serve as a labor disincentive. “If there is too much downtime, team members may move on.”

Space to Grow

In considering burst capacity, it is important to remember that it’s not just a strategy to take the big or rush jobs that come your way. It’s also about giving your company that space it needs to grow. If your company seeks to grow (and it should), capacity should be available to take on and do more. In this way, burst capacity is not only reactive. It is also a step toward greater success.