Machine Shop Growth

Episode #29: Tool Holders, Setup Time, and the 80/20 Rule for Machine Shop Growth

Setup time is stealing more money from your shop than you think. In this episode of the Machine Shop Growth Podcast, Kirk Phelps digs deeper into standardization—specifically, tool holders, tooling storage, inventory systems, and the 80/20 rule that every machine shop should be using. Most shops don’t lose efficiency because people aren’t working hard. They lose efficiency because too many variables are left up to chance. Different tool holders. Unclear standards. Tools scattered across drawers and toolboxes. Operators searching for what should already be ready. Setups taking longer than they need to. Kirk breaks down why standardizing your tooling and tool holders is not about making your shop rigid. It is about removing unnecessary decisions, reducing mistakes, improving repeatability, and giving your team a better system to work from. In this episode, you’ll learn how to: * Build a master tool list around standard holders * Reduce setup time by eliminating unnecessary variables * Choose tool holders based on application, not habit * Use tooling inventory systems to save time and money * Track tooling usage by job, part, machine, and operator * Apply the 80/20 rule to process improvement * Turn spindle downtime into more production time Kirk also shares real examples of tool holder decisions that doubled tool life, reduced downtime, and helped shops make better decisions based on data—not guesswork. If your team spends too much time looking for tools, reworking setups, chasing holders, or saying “this is just how we’ve always done it,” this episode is a practical wake-up call. Because the fastest ROI in your shop may not come from buying another machine. It may come from standardizing what you already do every single day.

Episode #28: The 5 KPI’s to Track for Shop Growth

Your shop may be busy… But is it actually growing? In this episode, Mike Fritz breaks down the 5 KPI’s every machine shop should track if they want more control over sales, production, profitability, and long-term growth. Most shops judge success by whether there’s money in the bank, parts are shipping, and customers seem happy. But that only tells part of the story. Without tracking the right numbers, a shop can miss warning signs like low margins, weak RFQ flow, poor follow-up, or dangerous customer concentration. Mike walks through the five growth KPIs that reveal what is really happening inside your shop: You’ll learn how to track: * RFQ volume from new, current, and dormant customers * Win rate and why you are winning or losing work * PO volume and customer concentration risk * Shipping volume and how it connects sales to the floor * Margin and how to improve profit without always raising prices This episode also covers why dormant customers need intentional outreach, why OEMs change vendors, how to use KPIs to drive decisions, and why growth should be measured before it becomes a crisis. If you want your shop to stop living and dying by the next PO from your biggest customer, this episode will help you start tracking the numbers that actually drive growth. Subscribe to our 2026 weekly format: Sales & Marketing — 1st & 3rd Tuesdays Operations & Engineering — 2nd & 4th Tuesdays Bonus joint episodes on 5th Tuesdays If this episode helps, please leave a review. It helps more shop owners find the show and grow their business.

Episode #27: Before You Buy a Robot, Standardize Your Process

Before you buy the robot… Fix the process. In this episode of the Machine Shop Growth Podcast: Operations Edition, Kirk Phelps breaks down what shops need to standardize before they ever think about automation, second shift, or lights-out machining. Because automation sounds exciting. But if your tooling changes every job, your workholding is inconsistent, your programmers are reinventing the wheel, and your shop floor depends on tribal knowledge… That robot may just become an expensive decoration. Kirk covers: 1. How to stop treating every part like a brand-new process 2. Why standardized tooling reduces errors from programming to the floor 3. How workholding can make or break unattended machining 4. Why high-mix, low-volume shops still need repeatable systems 5. The role of CAM standardization and verification software 6. Why lights-out machining comes before full automation If your shop wants to grow capacity without creating more chaos, this episode gives you the foundation. Start with standardization. Then scale. Subscribe to our weekly format:  1st & 3rd Tuesdays: Sales & Marketing  2nd & 4th Tuesdays: Operations & Engineering  Joint episodes: Special industry deep-dives with Mike and Kirk If this episode helps, leave a review. It helps more shop owners find the show.

Episode #26: Should You Start a Second Shift for Growth

A second shift sounds like growth. More hours. More output. More revenue. But what if adding a second shift is actually the fastest way to multiply your problems? In this joint episode, Mike Fritz and Kirk Phelps tackle one of the most common ideas floating around machine shops right now: “Should we add a second shift?” On paper, it sounds simple. In reality, it can create more complexity, more liability, more labor pressure, and more process breakdown than most shops are prepared for. In this episode, we break down: * Why most sub-$5M shops are not actually ready for a true second shift * The hidden cost of off-shift management * Why process refinement should happen before labor expansion * How automation, fixturing, tooling, and better routing can unlock capacity first * Why lights-out manufacturing is often a better “second shift” than a manned one * How bad processes duplicated at night only fail faster This episode is a must-listen for shop owners who are feeling maxed out, thinking about growth, and wondering whether second shift is the answer—or just a very expensive distraction. Because sometimes the capacity you need is already sitting inside your current shop... You just have not uncovered it yet. Subscribe to our weekly format:  1st & 3rd Tuesdays: Sales & Marketing  2nd & 4th Tuesdays: Operations & Engineering  Joint episodes: Special industry deep-dives with Mike and Kirk If this episode helps, leave a review. It helps more shop owners find the show.

Episode #25: Your Price Is KILLING You

Your shop isn’t struggling because you’re too expensive. It might be struggling because you’re still pricing like you’re afraid. In this episode of the Machine Shop Growth Podcast, Mike Fritz breaks down one of the most dangerous habits in manufacturing: USING PRICE AS YOUR MAIN SALES STRATEGY. A lot of shops think lowering prices wins more work. But in reality, it often wins the wrong work. Mike shares why shops without a niche are forced to compete on price, how underpriced jobs quietly destroy your margins, and why “cheap work” can end up being the most expensive work you ever take on. Inside this episode, you’ll learn: * Why a shop without a niche is always left arguing on price * How bad pricing creates chaos, burnout, and cash flow pressure * Why quality and delivery matter more than being the cheapest * How to find your differentiator and attract better-fit customers * Why profitable growth starts with disciplined quoting And here’s the twist: One of Mike’s shops increased the price on a part by nearly 80%…  and got the PO back almost immediately. That moment says a lot about what customers are really buying. If your shop is constantly busy but still feels squeezed, this episode will help you rethink pricing, quoting, and what it really takes to grow. Subscribe to our weekly format: Sales & Marketing — 1st & 3rd Tuesdays Operations & Engineering — 2nd & 4th Tuesdays Bonus joint episodes on 5th Tuesdays If this episode helps, please leave a review—it helps more shop owners find the show.