January 10. 1917 



Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



25 



Quantity Production in Panel Plant 



Showing the Immense PossibiHties for Reducing Costs in Panel 

 Manufacture Through Standardization 



NE OF THE SUBJECTS which have been dis- 

 cussed in the panel business for a number of 

 years is the desirability of absolute standardiza- 

 tion of furniture dimensions, so as to enable the 

 manufacturer to make up goods in advance of orders, 

 and to supply the demand from stock. 



The advantages of this plan are obvious, both from 

 the standpoint of the maker and the user. However, 

 universal standardization does not seem to have come 

 about, though considerable progress has been made in 

 that direction. Extension table manufacturers, for 

 e:;ample, have created specifications for their tops which 

 are just about uniform, and talking-machine cabinets and 

 other items of case-goods have much in common. All of 

 which makes a sound preface for saying something about 

 an Ohio valley panel plant which is actually proceeding 

 on the basis of standardizing its business. 



That is to say, this manufacturer, having realized the 

 wastefulness of the old system and the difficulty of taking 

 care of his business under it, came to the conclusion that 

 he ought to change. He could not very w^ell go to the 

 trade with a big stick, however, and compel them to 

 take action; but he proceeded to study the orders of his 

 customers, and to introduce standards of his own. In 

 many cases he found that where variations existed, they 

 were so slight that it would be possible to eliminate them 

 without loss or inconvenience to the furniture man. 



The panel producer thereupon created certain stand- 

 ards of his own, explaining to his customers, at least 

 those of them whose sizes did not conform to these 

 standards, that owing to the latter being easier to handle, 

 they could be made up more cheaply, while a higher 

 price would have to be asked if special dimensions were 

 specified, and other variations introduced. In practically 

 every case the user found that he would be able to get 

 in line and take advantage of the lower prices, which 

 proved to be a greater inducement than old specifica- 

 tions were supposed to offer. 



What the manufacturer was really doing was creating 

 his own standards and getting his customers lined up 

 regarding them. His purpose was not altogether un- 

 selfish, of course, though his customers shared in the 

 economies. And just as he was selecting concerns whose 

 business, after more or less important changes, fitted his 

 manufacturing facilities, so he was automatically reject- 

 ing the business of those concerns which did not fit into 

 his new plan of operation. Some manufacturers may not 

 be able to "get" the idea of turning down business, no 

 matter of what kind, but it happens to be a fact that 



lots of business handled through the panel plant may 

 involve a definite loss, instead of a definite profit. 



Having lined up his trade in the manner indicated, the 

 panel man was prepared to test out his theories of 

 economies. He found that instead of handling his manu- 

 facturing in small lots of 50 or 100 pieces, as he had 

 formerly done, when the order of each customer went 

 through separately, he was able to consolidate these so 

 as to make up factory orders of from 1,000 to 2,000 

 pieces. The immediate and inevitable result was the 

 saving of time which had previously been lost in chang- 

 ing the machines, the saving of the cost of labor which 

 had previously gone into this non-productive work, and 

 the reduction in overhead which was brought about by 

 the increased production thus secured. 



Every time a new order is handled, all of the equip- 

 ment has to be set for it. This applies to the saws, the 

 jointing machines, the gluing equipment and all the rest 

 of the machinery of the panel plant. In a large plant 

 handling several small orders, hundreds of machine 

 changes have to be made daily, with the consequent 

 heavy loss of time and slowing up of production. Even 

 assuming that the consumer is paying for all of this — 

 which is not always the case, unfortunately — it is an 

 inefficient method of operation, as demonstrated by the 

 experience of the manufacturer referred to. 



The important point to remember is that a change of 

 this kind does not merely eliminate wasted energy on 

 the part of the machine-hands, though that is of im- 

 portance in these days of high labor costs, when it is 

 desirable to transform all of the pay-roll into effective, 

 applied effort; but that the big feature of benefit to the 

 panel man is the increased production of his machinery. 

 Remember that all the overhead represented by the in- 

 vestment in buildings and equipment, power plant and 

 transmission machinery, office, etc., is measured, as far as 

 percentages go, by the output; and when the output is 

 unnecessarily held down, the overhead is necessarily 

 pushed up. 



Consequently there is a double gain when lost motion 

 of the kind referred to is eliminated. TTie labor thus 

 wasted is saved, and the machine power previously lost 

 is made available. The manufacturer kills two birds, 

 either one of which is well worth the expenditure of the 

 ammunition, with a single stone. 



In order to demonstrate in concrete form the advan- 

 tages of the plan which has been outlined, the manu- 

 facturer said that his production has been increased from 

 10,000 to 15,000 feet a day. In other words, with the 



