For those of you who follow the threads on the Advanced Frameless Library, just so you know, everything I build into this system is with years of experience on the shop floor and from having been in hundreds of shops around the country.  

The logic I try to follow is simple.  I like the product to produce as fast as possible through a production line, with the highest quality and take the least time to get out to the shop from the front office.  I even try to expedite in the field installation with some features to help installers get the job done faster.

If you really look hard at these options, you will see these goals addressed.  If you have never thought of using any of these features such as sex bolt holes or top mounting holes, I suggest you inquire on these blogs as we can point you in the right direction.  Give some of these items a try on a job or two, see how they work for you.  The best part, you can turn these things on and off at will.

A recent topic of discussion on the forums relates to labeling.  I would like to offer some insights that may surprise you.  Some of this information, shops spend thousands of dollars in consulting fees to learn, I know, I used to do it.  One mistake that is often made, is piecing together a automation line without looking at the “Process” from top to bottom before building it.  Many of the little things get overlooked in trying to achieve a low bottom line price, resulting in a headache that costs you money every day.  We will weed out some of these items in our discussions as they do not all apply to every shop.

There is no one size fits all approach with any process out there, its just not reality.  So, lets break down some do’s and don’ts.  There is one rule I like to get people to follow.  Make what you sell and sell what you make.  What that means, if you don’t have Face Frame equipment, don’t sell a job with face frame cabinets, it’s a losing deal.  If you have a huge Cell Manufacturing line, don’t bid in little tiny jobs with 20 or 30 cabinets.  You get the picture.

Many of the larger shops now deploy two lines, a Cell and a Nesting line, one for high output and one for the smaller custom jobs.   Now, the labeling issue, if you run high volume, you say, I don’t want labels for every part, don’t need them, and there is a good reason behind this, but that same idea does not do well on the Nesting line, does it?  So, what do we do?  

If speed is truly the issue, then optimization usually is set to a lower yield, for higher output.  To get one label for many parts, a touch screen labeling system is a good fit, where the operator can put one label on the first and last part in the stack as they need, as opposed to the saw automatically outputting a label for every part.  Many optimizer have controls to keep like parts together as much as possible to make this a more viable approach.

If you’re a medium size shop and are mainly nesting, then I suggest you process jobs on “time” instead of Room or Quantity, which will allow you a constant flow, eliminate errors and give you more balance and control over product flow.  You can’t tell me every day how many cabinets you can build, but I can tell you how many hours you will be running production.  Manage your boxes into your time.  Just like an engine, all cylinders work in time with each other.  This will also decrease need for managing huge piles of parts on the floor.  Its easier to manage 50 cabinets in flow as opposed to 500 in a smaller shop.  If your nesting and have one machine, and you have parts stacked up on rollers or pallets all over the shop, your losing money, lots of it and its your process that is the problem.

Every time you pick up a part and put it down, it costs money.  The more piles of parts you have, the more management you need to control it.  Wouldn’t it be nice if they managed themselves?  How nice would it be if you came to me, a production manager and asked, where is this cabinet, and I told you, what time it would be on the truck and be accurate?

So hop in, tell us your solutions and find out answers to your problems.  I will moderate this blog best that I can to keep things tidy.

TO SHOE OR NOT TO SHOE?

For those of you nesting, do you have a shoe on your bander for managing the pre drilled cup holes for your doors?  For those of you using a plug for these holes, did you know banders can be made with shoes?  This is a  plate that rides over the hole for you, on the bander, in place of a profile wheel.  If you want to do nesting, this is a item you need to pay attention to.

If you don't have a shoe, how do you do your doors?  Lets see who is really doing it right and who is working around a problem instead of solving it.  I will play the devils advocate and get the brain juices flowing.

This is a perfect example of how the little things get you day after day.  Why its necessary to evaluate the entire process before piecing things together.  I love to get shops humming along, following my rule, 1,2,3,4 out the door!

Now lets really bake your noodle, for those of you running medium output, what would you say to processing one cabinet at a time down the line, sorting at the saw?  Imagine all the parts for a cabinet traveling down a conveyor, together!  

Now is the time to retool, rethink and rebuild!  With the economy finally hitting bottom, up is the next direction, so now is the time to get ready for the rebound.  Most shops are slow, have the time they usually don’t have, to fix all those pesky little problems you always wished you had time to take care of.  It is amazing how many people still will not make this commitment to the company blaming the economy.   It takes money to make money and this is proven over and over.

Those who want to succeed, see this is as the perfect time to make the adjustments.  When the economy is strong again, who will be the most efficient?  Those who can make a better product in less time will certainly do well.  

While there are many companies who are undercutting bids to keep doors open, the simple fact is, this is unsustainable for any length of time and is only a temporary band-aid, but are they retooling during this time?  If they are, chances are, they will come out smelling like a rose.

The people I am working with now have this foresight.  There are many experienced people like myself out there ready to jump in and offer their expertise for retooling and rethinking their process. Rates are the best they have ever been and there are many tax incentives both now and on the horizon, so think about it.  

If you are a fan of reading the trade magazines, you know you have been reading about lean manufacturing and the production process for years now.  Have you done yours?

Machine Drill Heads, what is the good size?  Over the years I have watched countless deals made where a buyer or seller will reduce the size of a drill head on a machine to lower the sale price.  Is this really a savings?  When you stand there and watch a machine hen peck hundreds of holes, you will realize its not.  A good thing to consider, think in your mind the average pattern created for your products, buy a drill head that can drill that pattern the fastest.  Good guideline.

Laco, I think the solution is in the overall process.  Step back and look at the big picture to find the solution.  First question, how big is your production runs typically?  What is a typical type job your company prefers to do?  Custom high end commercial work, or high volume boxes like schools or run of the mill standard jobs with architects?