Häfele America Shop Shot: Millwork

In another life I managed an architectural millwork company for a time, so millwork  always catches my eye.  We have some excellent woodworkers in the Häfele America Co. shop, and when they get a chance to break-away from assembling trade show displays and building hundreds of little mock-ups to work on millwork like this display for one of our showrooms, they jump at it with a vengeance.  In the foreground you can see the architectural drawings of the desired display, as well as a couple photos of the soon-to-be-replaced current display with critical notes and measurements.  The real magic is that the large millwork in the background is being built here in Archdale, NC and will be installed in our showroom in NYC!  Our craftsmen are utilizing lots of Häfele connectors, levelers and several tricks of the trade to allow for minor and in some cases major surprises that they may encounter during install.  I’ll keep you posted on this, because it really is neat to see how projects like this move from concept to reality.

Häfele America Shop Shot: Beautiful Juxtaposition

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or otherwise relaxing Holiday week.   I just made a walk-through the Häfele America shop and was struck by the ironic and beautiful juxtaposition of a classic wooden European workbench in the foreground, an ultra modern synchronized sliding door being installed on a mock-up, and a classic Altendorf sliding tablesaw in the background.  This inspires me to introduce what just might become an interesting series of  “Shop Shots”.   So, what’s on your bench?

Three simple steps towards a more efficient workshop

Note: Today’s blog post comes to us from woodworking consultant and Hafele friend Ralph Bagnall. We asked Ralph to help us give our woodshop readers some advice on making your shop more efficient. Take it away Ralph!

Although I consult with woodworking companies on many different issues, the one that always comes up is how to become more efficient. This is as it should be, since usually, this is where the “low hanging fruit” is. The money and time saved with these steps can provide the means to taking bigger steps and growing your business. So I have compiled a list of three simple and inexpensive ways you can become more efficient:

 1)    Clean Up And Organize

Not surprisingly, a clean, well organized shop is more efficient (and more pleasant to work in) than a messy one, yet many shops I visit are not clean and well organized. Being able to instantly put your hands on the tool or hardware you need at that moment is a lot more important than you might think! 30 seconds looking for a tool, several times a day, among several employees adds up VERY fast over a week or month.

It is also very hard to keep control of inventory if you have hardware all over the place. Always short a few hinges, or spend money buying pulls that you then find in a box? How often do you hear (or say) “Where’s my #%*@#*+! speed square?!” Getting organized will save you time, money and frustration.

And don’t just organize your shop! One shop I am working with spent a couple hundred dollars buying good tool boxes and organizing their install trailer. Now when they leave a jobsite, the workers can see instantly if any tools are missing, and everyone is happier being able to find what they need quickly.

2)    Watch The Handling

Most parts that you make require more than one operation, and many require several. Look carefully at how you are handling parts to see if you can do multiple operations at the same time. Every time you pick a part from a stack and set it onto another stack, that costs you time and money. It is usually necessary, but if you can combine tasks and save one or two stacking operations, that is a win. This is one of the central ideas behind “cellular manufacturing” and can be a powerful tool for saving time and money.

3)    Workflow Mapping

We all have a sense of how work flows through our shops, but actually mapping it out on a floor plan can be quite eye opening! Very often, after doing the same thing job after job, we get complacent and forget how many steps are really needed to build a cabinet.

Taking the time to map the ENTIRE process needed for a face frame, cabinet or drawer box can really highlight where parts run against the work flow or where one operation is too far removed from the rest. It does not take much time, but can pay big dividends in the long run.

Becoming more efficient is not a one- time process. Look at what you do on a daily basis and when you see an chance to make a small change for the better, do it right away. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the results and might even find a few extra dollars in your pocket.

About Ralph

Ralph Bagnall - The Consulting Woodworker

Ralph Bagnall is a woodworking consultant and author working throughout the US and Caribbean. He brings more than 20 years of woodworking experience to helping wood companies. Ralph specializes in adapting Lean Manufacturing techniques to custom wood shops.  To learn more about Ralph and the services he offers visit his web site.