COVER STORY
Taken from the October 1997 issue of FDM.

Controlling Custom Manufacturing
Paris Kitchens standardized much of its production of custom kitchens to operate in a JIT environment with an average five-week lead time

By Ellen Posledni

Predictable manufacturing is the catch-phrase CEO Daniel Waltman uses to describe the production system at Paris Kitchens. Although the company offers custom kitchens built-to-order, Paris has devised a modular approach to its cases that allows it to standardize much of the production process. The standardization allows the company to build custom kitchens in a just-in-time environment with an average five-week lead time.
Paris Kitchens, with its corporate and sales offices in Richmond Hill, Ontario and headquarters and factory in Paris, Ontario, was started in 1902 to build wooden ice boxes, filing cabinets, and juvenile furniture. The focus changed to kitchens and vanities in 1964 when the company was purchased by current president Morrie Wolfman. Parts of the original building remain largely unchanged, but the factory has expanded several times and currently spans 150,000 square feet.

Waltman joined the company in 1981. He says at that time Paris built face frame kitchens and its operating infrastructure and management systems were quite traditional. Paris was successful with this approach because product was standard, and there was little demand for the custom kitchens that are so popular today. But as the demand for custom products increased, Paris had to change. So in the late '80s the company began an extensive program of product development, manufacturing restructuring, and human resource training.

The company introduced a basic 32 mm cabinet line in 1985 to run along side its face frame cabinets. Later, with the help of consulting firm Schuler Associates, Paris restructured its facility and began to concentrate solely on manufacturing frameless cabinets.

Paris uses standardized components organized into part families. Standard components are built to a buffer inventory, from which kitchen orders are produced on a JIT basis. This allows the company to take advantage of large-batch efficiencies in manufacturing.

Large-batch efficiency

Orders are received at the customer service department in Richmond Hill. A customer's order is confirmed using Twenty-Twenty software. The order is then transferred electronically to Paris. A custom manufacturing software interface identifies requirements and schedules work flow for the various production departments.

Custom items can be requested, but must be approved by the engineering department. When orders for custom items are received, engineering assists in the prepartion of drawings, bills of materials, and work orders.

All work preparation is done within three to five days of the order being received at the factory. If for some reason the factory can't meet the delivery date, the customer can be notified up front. The system works and Paris boasts a high level of customer satisfaction.

The factory is divided into manufacturing cells, and each cell receives its orders from the production planning department. There are two main lines at Paris -- panel processing and solid wood machining. The newer part of the building is the panel processing/case building area. Melamine and veneered panels are cut slightly oversized on a Giben 2000SPT panel saw. Because all parts cut here are standard, the saw is programmed in the factory by the operator. Custom parts are cut on a Homag FV25 vertical panel saw and an Altendorf F-45 sliding table saw.

The oversized parts then run through a Homag FL 63/25/2 double-end tenoner, which sizes them within [+]/-0.2 mm. The operator checks tolerances every 30-40 parts, and makes adjustments to the tenoner as necessary. Each measurement is documented and graphed in a log maintained by the operator, so trends can be identified.

Horizontal boring is done on a Gannomat model 280 boring machine and dowel inserter. Here, a jig is used to check the placement of the dowels. Vertical boring is done on a Weeke BP-10 CNC point-to-point.

"We chose to go with this type of machine because of its flexibility," notes Waltman. "While it will do mass production processing, we also can change over and do some of the custom componentry that we allow to be ordered within our system."

At this point, standard parts are stacked on storage shelves in the "uncommitted" components storage area, because the parts have not been committed to a specific job yet. To make this even simpler, Paris doesn't use a toe-kick cutout; they use leg levelers. That means the left and right case sides are interchangeable.

Uncommitted parts become committed when the edgebanding is applied. Employees bring the job order and an empty cart to the buffer area, pull the needed parts from inventory, and move them to the Homag KL 79/02/QA/S2 edgebander. Each part is tagged with a label generated in the order processing department using Paris' custom software, which extracts information from the company's Fox Pro database. The label includes the job and part information and a drawing of the part, so the edgebander operator can identify what's required. The edgebander is capable of switching between six colors of banding on the fly.

Once through the bander, the cases are ready to be assembled. Assemblers insert glue in the dowel holes and fit the cases together. Then, they run the cases through a Comil CF 2000 case clamp, which has an electric eye that reads the dimensions of the case and directs the clamp to conform to the case.

Cases are conveyed through a buffer area to allow ample time to cure. Then, they continue down the conveyor through an assembly line. Along the line, employees add hardware and accessories, build and install drawers, and install doors. The last station does a quality check, and then cases are conveyed to the shipping area. Shippers package the cases and load them on to a waiting truck.

Building components

In the solid wood processing area, housed in the original Paris building, saw operators start with raw, kiln-dried lumber, either pine, oak, or maple. The lumber is crosscut to length and ripped to dimension. Then, parts run through a Weinig PFA 1710 moulder to create the outside profiles and Wadkin WF 116 tenoners for precise sizing and inside profiles. A SandingMaster widebelt sander is used.

From here, parts again are stocked in an uncommitted inventory area, and pulled as needed by assemblers to fill an order. Assemblers inspect each part and select like-colored parts to build doors and drawer fronts. Once assembled, jobs move together into the finishing area. Each part is hand sanded prior to spraying. Most parts are sprayed on a vertical line, but custom finishes are created in one of two Cefla waterfall booths and a special wiping area.

Once parts are finished, a quality control person removes them from the vertical line and stacks them against an inspection wall to check color consistency and quality. This person also measures each part to be sure it's accurate. If all of the parts for a job pass muster, the solid wood components move to the assembly line to be married with the cases.

Removing bottlenecks

Everything that moves through the two main lines in the factory is standardized to a degree, while custom requirements are taken care of away from the line. It's part of Paris' philosophy to predict and avoid bottlenecks before they occur.

For example, Paris has set up a custom wood product manufacturing area. Here, craftspeople build truly custom items as specified by the customer. In panel processing, two saws are dedicated to cutting custom parts. In assembly, diagonal and specialty cabinets are dealt with off-line because they're more labor-intensive.

"We've taken solid principles of production inventory management and looked at our conditions and resources, examined the dynamics of our customers and marketplace, and created a system," says Waltman. That system is designed to deliver a quality product, on time, and in complete orders. That equals full customer satisfaction, says Waltman.

PLANT FACTS

Paris Kitchens

Paris, Ontario

* Product: Semi-custom and custom kitchens

* Plant size: 150,000 square feet

Suppliers Key To JIT
Operating in a JIT environment can be tricky, and it's important to be able to rely on your materials suppliers. Paris Kitchens has done a lot of research to choose the right suppliers, and they're pleased with the companies with which they've chosen to partner. Melamine panels are supplied by Flakeboard, hardware by Blum and Hettich, coatings by Becker Acroma Klinten and Chemcraft, and edgebanding by Poly Plast and Canada Woodtape.

As a further extension of the partnership, many of Paris' suppliers have held seminars in the factory to teach the workers about the most effective uses of the product. For instance, Flakeboard came in to explain the development of particleboard, the impact of density on machining, and the impact of different melamines on machining. Blum also spent some time in the factory and exposed employees to issues regarding hardware.

Serving Internal Customers
Paris Kitchens' factory functions as a group of manufacturing cells, or departments, headed up by a lead hand in each area. In order for the company to operate JIT, it's crucial that each department communicate and work together for the good of the company. To foster this attitude, management encourages the departments to view downstream departments as their customers.

"Our definition of the customer isn't necessarily the end-user; our definition of the customer is within the organization as well," explains Daniel Waltman, CEO of Paris Kitchens.

The external customer, the end-user, expects a quality product delivered on time. At Paris, each department expects the same thing. Therefore, quality control has every reason to expect that dimensions will be accurate. Casegoods assembly has every reason to expect that the dowels and holes will line up. Finishing can expect parts to be properly sanded. And all parts should always be delivered on time. If there's a problem, the customer is always right. The department is expected to take the part back and fix it to the customer's satisfaction.

To maintain communication among all departments, plant manager Brian Jones keeps a chart in his office to which each department head reports daily. The chart tracks what each department is working on and whether they're on, ahead of, or behind schedule. This allows other department heads to anticipate their work and react accordingly.

"It's totally visual," explains Jones. "Department 50 knows they have to supply Department 60. By having it visual, everybody in every department can see potential problems."

Another Approach to Training
When Paris Kitchens decided to go full-force into 32 mm production, the company's management knew training was key, especially in panel processing. Its labor force was largely trained only on face frame cabinet production.

Manufacturing was divided into work cells, headed up by lead hands who were given more responsibility than they had been used to. Key operators were sent to Europe to train on the new equipment. To optimize the training, Paris sent its own materials and tooling to the factory, so employees could train in a realistic environment.

"It instilled in them a sense of discipline, a sense of ownership," explains CEO Daniel Waltman."

"And they like the responsibility," adds plant manager Brian Jones.

Besides getting specific machinery training, key employees also are sent to community colleges for courses on communication, inventory control, and materials management.