December 10, 1920 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



19 



By B.A. PARKS, Grand Rapids, Mich. 



Associate Member of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers 



Altliovih the woodioorhing iiiduatry i.v uiic of llie oltlixt in crinten-ce, it 

 has nevertheless nhowii the least development and has been the slowest 

 to adopt modern prineiplcs of munufaetnnmj. In the JoUoiQ.ng paper 

 some of the influences tchioh have militated iKjainst the development of 

 this industry are pointed out and some of the principles involved in the 

 design of a new furniture-manufacturing plant and the improvement of 

 existing plants are discussed. The writer also gives and discusses six 

 general provisions for an efficient layout of a furniture-manufacturing 

 plant. His discussion covers the location of the plant, and provisions for 

 (1) proper arrangement of machiivcry ; (2) handling and transporting ma- 

 terial; (3) extending the plant; (4) generation and transmi.tsion of power, 

 light and heat; (5) fire protection, and (ii) proper aceommodations for 

 employees. The paper is not intended (W a treatise on the des.gn of a 

 furniture factory, but merely as a brief discus.^ion of some points ichielt 

 the writer feels are worthy of serious consideration. 



The woodworking industry, including tin.' manufacture of wooden 

 furniture, is one of the oldest industries extant and yet it has shown 

 the least development and has been the slowest to adopt modern prin- 

 ciples of manufacturing of any industry of which the writer has 

 knowledge. There are several causes for this condition, the most im- 

 portant of which are the general lack of accurate cost data in all 

 liut a very few plants and the ahscnce of technically trained men in 

 tlie executive positions. 



-. The lack of accurate cost data is naturally reflected in the margin 

 of profit, which in the majority of cases has been so small that no 

 surplus has been available for plant improvements and very little 

 for even proper maintenance. In several plants which have come 

 under th« writer's notice, only such repairs have been made as were 

 necessary to avoid actual breakdowns, and machinery, power-plant 

 equipment, lighting, heating, drying, sanitary facilities, etc., have 

 been entirely inadequate and inefScient and would not be tolerated 

 in even the average modern plant of most other industries. 



3. In the several woodworking and furniture-manufacturing plant 

 organizations that have come under the writer 's observation, he does 

 not recall a single man with a technical education or training. The 

 development of practically all modern industries to their present 

 liigh state of manufacturing eflBciency has been accomplished by 

 engineers, as witness the metal-working industry, and who would 

 dare say that the metal-working industry would ever have reached 

 its present state of develojiment without tlie guiding hand of the 

 technically trained engineer? 



•4. This lack of engineering ability in the furniture-manufacturing 

 organization shows its effect throughout the entire plant; in fact, the 

 writer is convinced that the average manager of a furniture plant is 

 more interested in marketing his product than in manufacturing it. 

 Furniture is constantly changing in style, also most plants manufac- 

 ture quite an extended line, and consequently a large variety of prod- 

 uct must be handled in any given plant. A jioint which most managers 

 overlook and which is primarily due to lack of engineers in the or- 

 ganization, is the possibility of reducing the variety of parts to be 

 manufactured through standardization of design, interchangeability of 

 parts and greater limitation of line. This reduction of variety of 

 parts would not only directly reduce manufacturing costs but would 

 alsft tend toward the development of automatic machinery, better 

 utilization of raw product, economics in handling parts in process ot 

 manufacture, etc. 



VI. It is not the writer's purpose to discuss the manufacture of furni- 

 ture, however, but only to point out some of the influences which have 

 militated against the more rapid development of the industry in the 

 past, and then proceed to a discussion of some of the principles in- 



'Prcsented at the Annual Meeting, yeic York, December 7 to 10. of 

 The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 29 West 39th Street, .Vcic 

 York. 



volved ill the design of a new furniture-manufacturing plant and the 

 improvenunt of existing plants. 



6. A furniture-manufacturing jilant, as in fact any industrial plant, 

 is in the final analysis simply a workshop for turning out a certain 

 product of a specified quantity and standard of quality in a given 

 time at a minimum of cost. While the problem is easy to state, the 

 solution is very complex, and there are so many factors to be con- 

 sidered that the final solution must of necessity be more or less of a 

 compromise. 



7. The efficiency of any general plan for a furniture-manufacturing 

 plant, or in fact any industrial plant, may be measured by the 

 degree in which the following requirements are fulfilled: 



(a) I'rovision for proper arrangement of the necessary machinery. 



(b) Provision for receiving, handling, storing and transporting 



materials. 



(c) Provision for extending the plant and increasing manufac- 



turing facilities without serious disturbance to the original 

 plant or manufacturing routes. 



(d) Provision for generation and transmission of power, light 



and heat. 



(e) Provision for fire protection. 



(f) Provision for comfort and accommodation of employees. 

 Before proceeding to a discussion of the above, let it be known that 

 the writer does not lay claim to the diseovei-y of any new engineering 

 principles applying to the problem. The attempt is simply made to 

 point out some of the important questions to be considered in the 

 design of a furniture factory with suggestions for their solution. 

 Neither is it intended that any one should attempt to design a furni- 

 ture factory merely witli the aid of the data and suggestions given 

 herewith. Each plant is a problem in itself with certain factors unlike 

 any other plant. Consequently the services of a thoroughly compe- 

 tent engineer to work out the general plan and multitude of detail in- 

 volved will be found to be of the utmost importance to those about 

 to engage in a new manufacturing venture. 



Location 



8. The importance of the location and arrangement of a furniture 

 factory has not generally received the attention their economic value 

 should dictate. In small plants supplying largely a local market, 

 equipment and arrangement are the prime considerations, but for 

 large plants supplying a widespread market, questions of adequate 

 transportation for both raw materials and finished product, labor 

 supply, taxes, etc., assume great importance. 



9. The furniture industry, the same as other industries, has tended 

 to concentrate in given localities, as, for example. Grand Eapids, 

 Mich. This concentration was originally due to nearness to the 

 raw material supply. As the number of plants multiplied a good 

 supply of skilled labor has accumulated, so that now, even when Grand 

 Rapids is not so well situated as other centers as regards nearness to 

 raw material supply, the labor market as well as a certain reputation 

 attaching to Grand Rapids jiroduct has tended to increase the number 

 of furniture-manufacturing plants in spite of the fact that, theoret- 

 ically at least, other centers would be more desirable from most 

 standpoints. In general, however, the location of a furniture plant, 

 as for most other types of manufacturing, will be dependent on the 

 following considerations : 



(a) Transportation facilities for both raw material and finished 



product. 



(b) Availability of raw materials and manufactured parts ob- 



tained from other industries. 



(c) Labor supply. 



(d) Financial considerations. 



