Rework is killing me Heres what to do about it With CWS Coach Ryan Hindmarsh

Most owners think rework means a big mistake.

Wrong cabinet. Wrong color. Wrong material. Full rebuild.

That does happen. But in this podcast conversation, Dominic Rubino and Ryan Hindmarsh make a bigger point:

Rework is often small, quiet, and constant.

It can be a missing part.
A mislabeled pallet.
A return trip.
A truck packed wrong.
A tool that should have been on hand.
A job that looked profitable on paper but came in short at the end.

That is what makes rework so dangerous. It does not always scream. It whispers.

Why This Matters to Shop Owners

If you own a cabinet shop, millwork shop, closet business, or construction company, you already know your team can look busy all day long.

But busy is not the same as profitable.

That was one of the strongest messages in this episode. A shop can stay active, crews can stay moving, and installs can keep happening — while profit slowly leaks out through mistakes, callbacks, overtime, and repeat labor.

From the owner’s side, that pain shows up in a few ways:

• Gross profit comes in lower than expected
  
  
• Jobs take longer than planned
  
  
• Install teams need second trips
  
  
• Customers lose confidence near the end of the job
  
  
• The owner feels like everyone is working hard but the numbers still do not look right
  
  

Rework Starts Earlier Than Most People Think

Ryan breaks rework into stages.

It can start:

• in the office before production
  
  
• in the shop during manufacturing
  
  
• after the product leaves the building for install
  
  

That matters because many owners only think about rework once something goes wrong on site.

But a bad install can start with a bad handoff.
A bad handoff can start with a missed detail in design.
A missed detail in design can start with weak communication between departments.

One example from the conversation was simple and painful: something gets designed that does not make sense in production. Nobody catches it early. The mistake gets discovered later, when it is harder and more expensive to fix.

That is why Ryan keeps coming back to one thing:

You need good meetings.

Good Meetings Prevent Expensive Problems

A lot of owners hate meetings.

Fair enough. Bad meetings waste time.

But Dominic and Ryan make a strong case that well-run meetings are not a waste. They are one of the cheapest ways to stop rework.

The key is simple:

• same time
  
  
• same agenda
  
  
• right people
  
  
• short and clear
  
  
• focused on what matters
  
  

The point is not to sit around and talk.

The point is to catch problems before they become expensive.

In the episode, Ryan compares it to sports. Serious teams review film, look at patterns, and make adjustments before the next game. Good businesses do the same thing.

If your company wants to grow, meetings are not fluff. They are part of playing at a higher level.

Install Is a Different Business

This was one of the most useful parts of the interview.

Making cabinets in the shop is one kind of work.
Installing them is another.

Inside the shop, the team works in a known space. They know the tools, layout, lighting, people, and workflow.

Once the truck leaves, everything changes.

Now you have:

• traffic
  
  
• parking
  
  
• building rules
  
  
• site conditions
  
  
• scheduling issues
  
  
• missing materials
  
  
• access problems
  
  
• clients or site supers
  
  
• distance from suppliers
  
  

That means install needs its own systems.

You cannot treat install like the last little step at the end of production. It needs planning, checklists, communication, and preparation.

Small Misses Create Big Costs

One of the strongest ideas in the episode is that small misses add up fast.

A team member forgetting a tool may not sound serious.

But now they walk away from the station.
They borrow something.
They come back.
They lose momentum.
The work slows down.

One callback may not sound terrible either.

But when you add labor, drive time, admin time, schedule disruption, and customer frustration, that “small problem” gets expensive fast.

Ryan also shares examples like:

• wrong paint colors
  
  
• wrong materials
  
  
• missing special-order parts
  
  
• jobs that need a second day because something was not packed right
  
  
• pallets labeled wrong even when the product was already built
  
  

None of those feel huge in the moment.

But they all hit profit.

The Numbers Tell the Truth

Another key part of the conversation is measurement.

Owners often know something feels off.
But they do not always know where the leak is coming from.

That is why Dominic and Ryan keep talking about tools, reports, and numbers.

The big lesson is simple:

If you do not measure it, you will miss it.

The numbers help owners ask better questions:

• Why did this job come in low?
  
  
• Why are we always one day behind?
  
  
• Why did gross profit miss the target?
  
  
• Why does the team look busy but the margin keeps shrinking?
  
  

Once you ask the right question, you can find the cause.

And once you find the cause, you can fix it.

Checklists Win

One of the clearest practical takeaways from the episode is the power of a checklist.

Not a fancy system.
Not a complicated dashboard.
A checklist.

Before a truck leaves:

• Do we have every cabinet?
  
  
• Do we have hardware?
  
  
• Do we have trim?
  
  
• Do we have the right tools?
  
  
• Do we have touch-up materials?
  
  
• Has someone checked the load properly?
  
  

That kind of simple discipline can save hours, protect profit, and reduce stress.

Ryan’s own success story at the end of the episode is built around exactly that kind of consistency. He talks about aiming for “done in full, on time” and how better systems helped his team hit that standard far more often.

The Bigger Business Lesson

This episode is really about more than rework.

It is about building a business that runs with more control.

The deeper message is this:

• systems matter
  
  
• communication matters
  
  
• measurement matters
  
  
• simple process changes matter
  
  
• profit leaks can be fixed
  
  

Every time you reduce rework, you put money back into the business.

That money can go toward:

• better equipment
  
  
• better pay
  
  
• benefits
  
  
• growth
  
  
• more stability
  
  
• more freedom for the owner
  
  

That is a much better outcome than staying busy and wondering where the money went.

Final Thought

One of the best lines in the whole conversation was this:

Rework does not yell. It whispers.

That is exactly why it gets missed.

If your jobs are slipping, installs are messy, profit is tighter than it should be, or the team keeps doing extra work that nobody planned for, this episode is worth your time.

Listen to the full episode, then take one hard look at your process:
Where is rework hiding in your business right now?

‍

More about With Ryan Hindmarsh: LinkedIn | Site

Company's Linkedin: LinkedIn ‍

‍

‍Connect with Us:

• LinkedIn: Cabinet Maker Profit System
• Instagram: @cabinetmakerprofitsystem
• Facebook: Cabinet Maker Profit System
• YouTube: @Cabinetmakerprofitsystemcom

‍

‍