WOOD 100: Quality Control
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Measure twice, cut once: Quality control is critical to mass production as well as custom applications. Woodworking firms must meet specs for demanding clients — and always get it right.

 
Photo courtesy of Lloyd’s Custom Woodwork
Certification & Quality Standards 
Verifying quality can be done through audits and established
protocols from standards organizations. For example,
AWI QCP, the Architectural Woodworking Institute Quality
Certification Program, confirms woodworking firms can meet
architectural specification. ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 verifies
quality and conformance to a range of standards including
environmental controls. Labs can also test the performance
of home and commercial furnishings to meet the requirements
of established BIFMA (Business & Institutional Furniture
Manufacturers Assn.) and ANSI standards as well as other
industry standards and regulations.

LLOYD’S CUSTOM WOODWORK, Concord, CA: Time is money, so this 17-employee woodworking firm doesn’t waste a minute during installations, by building out elaborate high-end home interiors completely in its shop, first.

Principal Jeff Cronk says the strategy is only possible “by collecting quite an arsenal of high-quality woodworking equipment."
 
"Much of our equipment is precise to the 100th, even 1,000th of an inch," Cronk says. "From a quality perspective, by putting those kinds of tools in the hands of quality craftsman, the results are better quality work produced more efficiently.”

From a motivation perspective, Cronk adds, “it means we are paying guys for technical assembly and finishing, not routine tasks,” and the result is higher job satisfaction.

“A culture of excellence is vital,” Cronk says. “It starts by keeping an incredibly high standard and sticking to it. Our various managers do not let faults or blemishes slip through the system. We have quality checklists that are completed as work moves from milling, to assembly, to finishing, to installation.”

Read more about Lloyd's Custom Woodwork.

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