made to measure

I have been installing at 77. One of the things that I did at 77 different from before was to install a pedestal at the ceiling at the beginning of the install. It has proven to be very useful and I think a smart technique, I am continuing to think about the similarities of the pedestal at the floor and a pedestal at the ceiling.

I have been thinking of the similarities between my business and the closet industry. One thing i would like to do is offer my clients a closet system that is priced competitively with California closets. I think the skill set that I have and the shop that I have can produce a very nice closet system of high quality.

In this new economy it is important for my business to consider other markets to compete in using the tools that I have. I am already in the face of the potential market that being my current customers, so the marketing is already done so to speak.

Right now the plan is to utilize another brands basic system. But I will make my own vertical petitions and shelves. then to use what I have learned about pedestals on the ceiling to give the system a real built in look. All the insides like drawers and tie pull outs and pant pull-outs hampers is all after market stuff easily obtainable from the suppliers in incremental widths of 2". "Made to measure" is what they call it like men's clothing.

new dynaimc at kaizen event

Our first Kaizen event of 09 was Monday. the topic was installing moldings on panels. We used some current work for the event. I was a huge success, on our former employees was present and he had much to say, most of the guys are pretty closed mouth at the events. But this new person added a dynamic that has never really been there before. He made sure himself that everyone understood what we were talking about, and when that happens we are really growing as a team. the men will just yes me death, I am the boss and they don't want to seem stupid. I have to make sure this guy is around at the next event. this other guy his name is Pedro works for another woodworking called Caliper. They seem like a decent company I went to the web site, they do mostly commercial work. One of the problems we are having with the molding is that the glue is not being properly spread, so the moldings some times break away from the panel, generally this happens when they are near heat generating appliances and the such. Also we aren't happy with the amount of time it takes to fill the nail holes and sand, also we have been able to see the nail holes thru the paint. So these issues get addressed at the events and we make sure that the new guys know how we want things done. When we are all together sometimes some new tricks and techniques can be passed around.


I have started to add the drawer box dimensions to the shop drawings, that is very useful when it comes to making the drawer box order. by doing that I have already thought about the drawer box in it's entirety since I have drawn it and it eliminates mistakes. also it makes it easier to create the drawer box because I only have to get the width dimension the height and depth are already calculated. We buy are drawer boxes from Eagle Woodworking in Lawrence Ma. a great business.

I have found a new place to buy 1x6 poplar. We were getting that at the local lumber yard, but I found it for less at Highland Hardwoods. It just goes to show that as a business we have always got to be making sure that we are getting the best price for our raw materials. The longer you do business with a vendor the more foggy it gets about who is getting the best deal. So we are always shopping out when it comes to routine materials. We use the 1x6 poplar for small moldings since it is already s4s it is faster, we can go directly into molding no jointing planing etc.

What makes us different

One of things that is hardest for our clients to understand is how we operate our shop and the creative process behind it. During the bottle neck of q4 08 one of my clients came to me shouting "I thought all this was built already". To a degree we do in fact build as much as possible before hand. But some of it has to be built as we go. Truth is generally speaking the job site can change with out me knowing, and I am expected to accommodate those changes, which is fine, but to do that I leave some ends unfinished. I know where my variables are and I wait and see what the job site will dictate. This is frustrating for the client but also it is where the highest value is obtained by the client. This is where my cabinets look like they grew in place as opposed to 6" fillers and the such.

We have been working on job 77 the past few weeks, I have been doing the install this week and I am very pleased with how that has been going. We started with the top first, that is we installed a pedestal of sorts at the ceiling and then we are working down. WE installed the soffit his week and it is at this point proving to be a very good idea, as the bottom of the soffit is co-planer and all the inside and outside corners will be perfectly square. We have one last piece to install and the frig panels and I will be able to install all the upper cabinets. Once that happens the kitchen will take on a level of completion.

Gagan's mahogany doors are coming along very well. All five of them are glued up and they will be sanded and molded ready for finish next week. Esteban will make the moldings, Ventura will install the moldings.

My team is working very well right now. Last few weeks we have brought our "a" game. I know this by productivity and quality. I hope I can keep this existing team together, we are putting out the best work ever right now, in very fast turn around times, I know that some of my clients would beg to differ with me on that (the timing thing that is) but you just don't understand the quality and how long it really takes to do what we do and the amount of work that we need in order to stay in business. One of my clients said to me of Gagan who was working on there project, "he really cares about what he is doing". I would present to any of my clients how hard it is to find anybody who "really" cares about what they do, I mean some one who serves the cause. At KBWC we really care, it is not a sales con, fact is we really do care. That is what makes us different.

how am I rewarded

we had a annual staff meeting this past monday. It went as well as could be expected. one of the most important changes that I am making this year is connecting the Kaizen events to a bonus. So for all the employees if they want to get their year end bonus they must lead four kaizen events, that's one every quarter, and we have them every two weeks so there is plenty of opportunity. I don't think they liked it that much, I guess it is just rules in general that people don't like. I tried to explain to them that all I am really asking for is 5% of their time that I employ them for to be spent on making shop improvements. Shop improvements help everybody the client and the employee. I don't think that my staff really thinks that kaizen events are important. so to help them understand I have attached a monetary reward to it. In essence I am rewarding the behavior that I want. I want employees that contribute to making the run book, which kaizen events are. the run book is how we do what we do.

As far as the bottle neck of q4 08. I have been thinking about that and trying to understand it. One of the things that I learned is that it began in July of 08. We were supposed to start to install a job in the beginning of July, but due to the job site not being ready for us we couldn't start until end of August. that put me back 6 weeks at least. Now people might ask why don't you just hire more people to get the work done. It is just not that easy, it take a person 6 months to get up to speed to how we like things done. Not mention the financial commitment of another employee, which is a risk I don't feel comfortable taking now let alone last September or any time during q4 08. So from that I learned that one thing I need to do is explain how important the schedule is to the clients, and possibly state in the beginning of a project that if installation schedule is not maintained then we will run late, we will not be able to adjust our schedule. the schedule is a very real thing and there are consequences if your job site falls behind. Those are strong words, I try to be everything I can even more to my clients. It is not a perfect world and adjustments need to be made. Truth is I don't want to sound like a pre-madonna, I want to come across as flexible and able to accommodate any situation. But I have to look at the limits of my company and its staff me included. There is more that I have learned from the bottle neck of q4 08 I will share later.

On a positive note, as I get caught up and am starting to progress on the jobs that I really fell behind on I am getting a new sense of energy and excitement about my work. Seeing the jobs come to completion and the new ones starting to take shape is so very rewarding to me.