We’ve Always Done it this Way…but Should We?

With almost two decades in the glass world, I’ve had the privilege of walking through a lot of fabricating plants covering all kinds of varied production, every size company, and endless different levels of operation. But there’s one thing that tends to sound the same wherever I go. At some point in the conversation with a client, typically when I ask “why” about a certain process, I’ll hear “We’ve always done it this way.” And it’s amazing how often there will be no further explanation.

Experience has a way of turning into assumption if we’re not careful, and we all know what they say about assumptions. After years, decades or in some cases longer, the way businesses operate can turn into a game of Telephone. In that game, it can become unclear what the original word or phrase was as it’s repeated again and again among players. Similarly, as industry wisdom and individual company processes get handed down to the next generation, the reasons that motivated those processes can become lost or confused.

Let me give a few industry specific examples of where I’ve seen this kind of mentality to demonstrate the possible risks of not questioning the “why” behind decisions.

Accepted industry wisdom 

In the laminating world, we hear regularly “You can’t laminate PVB without an autoclave because you need strict climate control during storage and assembly.” In many cases, that message comes directly from PVB suppliers themselves as they’re speaking with fabricators evaluating our machinery. 

My company in fact does offer solutions for laminating PVB without the use of an autoclave, and have offered these solutions for decades, but the idea that it’s impossible persists with our customers. Why? First of all, PVB suppliers tend to be multinational, multibillion dollar organizations, so they’re the kind of company people pay attention to. They’re bigger, so surely they know more, right?

On top of that, this “knowledge” about PVB lamination needing an autoclave has been passed down throughout our industry for a century. I do not believe there’s any ill intention on the part of the PVB supplier; in fact, they likely believe they’re looking out for a could-be future partner, and believe their advice to be true.    

This isn’t about proving anyone wrong. It’s a reminder that what was once accepted knowledge should, over time, get revisited to see if it still holds true. 

Brand loyalty 

Another version of “We’ve always done it this way” is loyalty to a certain brand or supplier. I see this all the time related to edging equipment. One of the most common types of feedback we get is “We’ve always used X edger.” There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, and I respect this kind of loyalty, as it’s something that benefits my own company.

However, even though long-lasting relationships with suppliers matter, it doesn’t mean that those supply lines—for machinery or other equipment—shouldn’t be questioned from time to time. There must be more to it than that. Long-lasting relationships matter and if something has worked well there’s a reason it is still in place, but this doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be occasionally reconsidered. Periodically questioning why we’ve always done it a certain way keeps the industry sharper and on a path to continuous improvement.     

Company operations 

The “we’ve always done it this way” mindset can also affect internal company operations. A good example of this are errors that happen in the cutting department—often, when errors happen during edging, it’s blamed on the machinery, when the real issue began far upstream.  

I’ve seen operators of double edgers not think twice when glass arrives with a 1/8-inch flare on every piece.  I’ll hear things like “Yeah, we get those a lot” or “It’s no problem for the edger.”  But what impact does that have on your edger? A flare along with a 1/16-inch or even 1/8+inch removal is putting greater wear on the wheels, driving up costs, and not just because the wheels have to be replaced. If the flare is really bad, the edger might leave a small chip or fissure, which can potentially blow up the lite when it gets tempered. The blame is placed on the edger, but this is like putting a band aid on a broken leg. You’re not addressing the real problem.  

How to move on from “we’ve always done it like this” 

The scenarios described above could have been prevented if someone asked a simple question: “Why do we do it this way?” Technology improves, processes evolve, but often the only thing that doesn’t change is the way we think. The goal is to pause long enough to know why.   

The industry isn’t broken; in fact, it’s well experienced and quite mature. There’s an enormous amount of knowledge, a lot of hard-earned lessons, and processes which were built for excellent reasons. We don’t want to reinvent the wheel, but there’s also a risk to never reconsidering your processes. The “we’ve always done it this way” mentality can compromise your product’s quality, raise costs for your company and limit your growth.  

“We’ve always done it this way” is perfectly OK, but only when the “why” makes sense.