Cabinets flow through the process one at a time on a pull system, eliminating virtually all sorting and most handling. Photo shows the face frame and doors of a small vanity being assembled at the same time on the same Ritter framing table using pinned mortise-and-tenon joints. Very quick tooling changes permit a “batch size of one” despite a wide range of door styles.
Carl Spencer’s adherence to the Toyota Production System at Spencer Cabinetry LLC in Monroe, Wash., shows up all over the shop. Materials arrive daily in a just-in-time system that allows for minimal rack storage and easy inventories. Cabinets flow through the plant one at a time on a pull system, eliminating virtually all sorting and most handling.
You won’t see big automated equipment at Spencer Cabinetry. Instead, Spencer prefers to use older equipment and invest in stepped up maintenance. A 23-year-old Holz-Her 1270 panel saw cuts panels using computer-optimized cultists. “The net result generates at least 5 percent better yield than standard booked checkerboard cuts,” says Spencer. “In addition, absolutely no extra stock parts are cut to be handled, stored, and maybe retrieved some day.” The saw may be old, but it is consistently calibrated and maintained. It has new wiring, new air cylinders and new air lines. “It runs like a new saw despite its age,” says Spencer.
The shop also uses Powermatic 66 table saws outfitted with Accurate Technology digital readouts and Steff power feeders. A Ritter framing table is used for assembling face frames with pinned mortise-and-tenon joints.
The company insists on making its own doors to be able to have faster lead times, provide maximum customer service and better design options, Spencer says. “Very quick tooling changes permit a batch size of one despite a wide range of door sizes,” he says.
Carcase assembly table has been generalized to allow production of wall cabinets, base cabinets, tall cabinets, and corner cabinets with nearly equal facility.
In keeping with the Toyota Production System, the company top to bottom is dedicated to continuous improvement. “If something is not right we shut the whole plant down. But once something is repaired, it’s not much time to get back up to speed,” says Spencer. “There’s not much to fix. Our tendency is to replace (something that is wrong) with something completely correct rather than just fix something.”
Employees are literally fully invested into improvements. A bonus program ties everyone’s income to the success of the business. “We pay a monthly profit-sharing bonus to all employees based on the success of the previous month,” says Spencer. “This bonus is intended to be a significant proportion of any employee’s compensation, sometimes exceeding 25 percent when everything clicks.”
The overall bonus pool is determined by a fixed significant percentage of net profits. “If there are no net profits, there is no bonus,” says Spencer. But that doesn’t seem to be an issue. Spencer says employee bonuses rose from 0.3 percent in 2007 to 11 percent in 2008. And while many shops experienced serious downturns in 2008, Spencer reports his business was up 18 percent.
Workers are encouraged to contribute to that success by suggesting better ways to do things. Employee ideas, if good, become the new standard for the shop.