New mindset equals success

A switch to 32mm dowel construction, changes in the shop setup and improved material handling contribute to shop's success

By Linda Ohm
lohm@chartcomm.com

Colin Snider knew there had to be a better, faster way to build cabinets. One day two years ago, after struggling with putting on the hardware and aligning yet another drawer box, he and his brother Mark, co-owners of Indwell Woods in Phoenix, Ariz., decided that they were going to find it - an improved manufacturing method.

As a result of their research, Indwell Woods switched to the 32mm system of construction based on assembly holes set on 32mm centers. Colin believes that everything changed when he and his brother went from a cabinetmaking philosophy to a manufacturing philosophy. "The trade is great, but the long and short of it is that it is a box and that's all that it is. How quick can we fabricate a high-quality product and get it out of the door?" he asks.

Making the switch
The first machine they bought to switch to 32mm was a Holz-Her 1402HF edgebander. It soon became apparent that they needed a better saw to ensure that the parts were square and had straight edges, which led to the purchase of a Holz-Her 1765S vertical panel saw. The final machines required to make the construction change complete were a Vitap Alfa-27 construction boring machine, a Uhling HP3000 case clamp and the Grass hinge and drawer machine.

These changes did not happen overnight and were not without controversy in the shop. Originally the shop had about five skilled craftsmen employed who were not favorably inclined to the changes, and the automation being implemented in the shop. The company is now down to just three employees - Mark, Colin and one other full-time employee - and the brothers say business couldn't be better.

Getting the flow right
Everything in the shop is set up so parts can go through as quickly as possible. And it is a process that never stops. "The thing that I like to work on is fine-tuning the flow and understanding how to reduce the work involved with it," says Colin.

Just recently the assembly area has been reformatted to flow better to allow the company to produce both face-frame and frameless cabinets. Although the company prefers doing frameless construction, they will not turn down requests for face-frame work. "I think that you'll find that our shop is laid out to accommodate any type of construction and any type of project," says Colin.

Whether a cabinet is face frame or frameless, it goes down the same production line - from the panel saw to the line-boring machine to the assembly area. If the cabinet is frameless, the parts have already been edgebanded. After assembly the cabinet will be put on a cart and taken for sanding and finishing if it is wood or stacked for delivery if it is plastic.

If it is face-frame construction, some time is spent building up the interior walls. The modifications needed to make face-frame construction work are considered in the profit margins. The frame is attached to the box after it comes out of the clamping machine, and then it goes to the right of the assembly area for sanding and finishing.

Proven results
The proof is always in the results and what Indwell has experienced so far has indicated that the new system is making a difference. One job alone illustrates just how effective the new manufacturing process is.

At approximately the same time that the company was changing over to the 32mm system, it had won a commercial theater project that required the construction of 470 linear feet of cabinets. The first theater project Indwell did took approximately six weeks to build. Last spring it took the company six weeks to do three theater jobs that were the same size as the first. "In the last year alone, we've made much advancement and that simply has been because of the type of construction we chose to go to by getting into dowel construction with line boring and following the 32mm hardware system," says Colin.

Other changes
Colin has also instituted other changes that are designed to cut labor and improve the efficiency of the company. Doors are outsourced and ordered immediately online as soon the job is approved. Colin believes that outsourcing doors opens up the options for the customer without significantly adding to Indwell's workload.

At one time drawers were outsourced as well, but with the dowel construction, doweled drawers are just as sturdy as dovetail and easy to include as part of the job, say the brothers. If dovetail drawers are specified, they are outsourced to a local supplier. Indwell also out-sources mouldings.

Indwell used to laminate sheets for processing. Now the company buys prelaminated panels.

A temporary choice
In addition to outsourcing some components, Indwell relies on temporary labor to do its assembly work and delivery.

With only the two owners and one employee, when it's time to assemble the big jobs, the company hires temp workers. "Our intent is to keep the labor down and move the product through quickly," says Colin.

When temps are required, as with the theater job, two men are usually brought in and placed on each side of the assembly table where parts will come to them. "I try to teach them through the first couple of cabinets what their responsibility is going to be. We've got a memory stick that we put up against this so we know where to put the hardware," says Colin.

The temps are supervised very carefully through the process and it generally takes a couple of cabinets for them to get the hang of it. Colin says that the temps really can't mess things up.

"What they're doing is freeing us up to do things that we can do better and quicker," he says.

If work is slow, then temps are not hired and the work is spread among the three employees. By hiring temps as needed, Indwell can take on all the work it wants and not turn down work.

Indwell contracts installation of the cabinets to one company. For the past 1-1/2 years the company has used the same crew of installers and have come to rely on the excellent job they do.

When Colin came into the business, Mark was drawing up all the designs by hand and doing the bidding. Colin came in to be the salesman and to manage the business end of things. Mark wanted to remain in the background doing the work.

They first purchased Cabnetware software primarily as a design tool that would help market the product, says Colin. But now, he says he is using it for much more and is working to bring more elements of the program into the shop. "We do run all our bids through it," he says. "It's obviously a leap of faith that most customers take when you're dealing with specialty cabinetry, and if you can give them that vision on the computer, it's a far easier sell to make."

After site measurements are taken and the potential client's ideas are discussed, Colin will sit down with the program and come up with a design and a bid that he then faxes to the client.

When the job is secured, the details, such as door styles and mouldings, will be gathered, and the bid will be fine-tuned.

Software takes out the guesswork
Colin says that recently Cabinet-ware added things to the bidding program that made it an even better tool. Before, you couldn't bid your countertop materials separately, something that is now possible.

The ability to break out mouldings and various decorative elements has also been added to the bidding program. "It's become more detailed, and you can side mark things and add things," says Colin.

"The more you put into Cabinet-ware, the more it gives back," says Mark. Indwell is currently working on putting in the appropriate parameters, refining the optimization and cutlist parts of the program and getting everything to work with its system.

In the future it wants Cabinet-ware to do labeling, bar-coding and interface with the CNC machine it hopes someday to purchase.

"If you're not able to step back and take a look at you and the process that you do and the way that you manage your business, then you will not succeed," says Colin. "We're willing to look at other shops and talk to people and ask them how they do it and what their success is. I would like to grow, but I'd like to grow smart. I don't ever want to hire somebody that I have to let go because I can't manage to bring in enough volume."