Patterns for Success, Part III

   By support, I’m suggesting that your operation factors in certain givens that will, or can occur when the job takes life and a templating person or crew heads for the job site. I’ve worked at this part of the fabrication process for some time, and – as a result – I’ve refined this part of the job for a number of fabricators.
   Here are the basic red-flag items that, if ignored, will cost you money, time and reputation, and lead to severe wailing and gnashing of teeth.
      
   1. The Basic Details. Has your sales staff (including, if applicable, yourself) taken the time to let the shop in on just what was sold? It’s very nice to know what’s going on – rather that making us guess all the time.
   It’s also incredibly convenient to know what area of a job site gets the slab (kitchen, wet bar, bath lav, etc); the type of stone sold, the thickness of the slab (2cm or 3cm) and the edge profile – not to mention if there’s backsplash, (and how high and where) and whether the sinks are undermount or self-rimming. And, yeah, is the stove a slide-in, or is there a cooktop? Does the job require sub-tops, or are you setting directly on the cabinet bases (common in 3cm applications).
   In addition to all of this, there’s the small detail of what floor? Here in Phoenix, and in most residential applications throughout the country, there’s not too much left to the imagination – it’s the first, second or third floor. Ask any fabricator that works in high-rise construction, though, and this small omission of a seemingly minor detail can really make a bad day worse. Try installing a job on the 22nd floor, and the elevator is unavailable, and you’re the guy who has to haul ….
   2. The Directions. Has anyone taken the time to DRAW A STINKING MAP from the shop to the site? What’s the actual street address of the job, the phone number of the customer and the phone number of the builder or decorator/designer?
   3. The Document. Most seasoned fabricators have developed a document that is suited to their individual operations – the work order – that describes exactly what needs to be produced (see No. 1 above to review the basics). If done properly, the work order leaves nothing to chance. (The keywords here are “if done properly.”)
   4. The Drawing. How many jobs get turned into various fabrication departments with some miserable excuse for an architectural-plan view of the work at hand? You know what I’m talking about – the chicken scratchings that are supposed to convey the width and breadth of a magnificent project.
   What works for me is that, when I bid the job, I’ll get the blueprint and shoot an 8 1/2” x 11” sized copy of the installation area; then, I’ll save this mini-drawing in the job file. Then, when I inevitably get the job, all I have to do is make a copy of my letter-sized reproduction, highlight the affected areas, and forward the packet to the shop foreman or production manager.
   5. The Cabinets. The oldest trick in the book is when you call the builder and ask, “Hey Mr. Builder’s Superintendent, are the cabinets in the house?” He astutely replies like Tommy “The Liar” Flanagan, the Saturday Night Live character that was president of the Liar’s Club: “Yeah, sure, the cabinets are in (the garage)… Yeah, that’s the ticket, they’re in for ya.”
   If this is happening to you a lot, you need to start asking like this: “Hey Mr. Builder’s Superintendent, I want to come out to measure and template at (name your site here). Are the cabinets set and installed in the area that gets stone slab countertops?”
   And, don’t fall for the second oldest trick in the book: “Can’t you just make the tops from the blueprints?” Or how about, “If we draw out on the floor where the cabinets go, can you make the tops from that?”
   Avoid these two scenarios like the plague. The type of customer or client that even asks these kinds of questions has absolutely no concept of what fabricators do.
   If the job is one you don’t or just can’t walk away from, you’ll have some serious CET (customer education time) to invest on this one. Remember, the on-ramp to the road to success is littered with rookie fabricators who crashed and burned getting sucked into these traps.
   6. The Sinks. When an undermount sink is specified, most fabricators want the sink present at the time of templating. Most fabricators I know (yours truly included) will even pick up the sink (only if it’s an undermount) at the job site on the day that the job is templated, and return the finished templates and the sink to the shop on the day of installation.
   One thing that I do (after inspecting the sink for any visible damage) is to mark the name and/or job number and lot number of the job on all six sides of the sink box. On days that I do up to ten templates, it pays to “mark ‘em when you get ‘em.” This helps keep track of which sink goes where, and insures that the correct sink opening is cut in the correct piece for the correct customer. This is especially helpful when you have two or three Jones or Williams on the same tract –Yes, this has actually happened to me more than once.
   Remember, however, that the above process relates only to undermount and vessel-type sinks. A self-rimming (a.k.a. overmount) sink is just something to lug around and be responsible for (dents and scratches are caused by careless people, and fabricators never damage sinks, do they?) so why put yourself at risk?
   I never pick up self-rimming sinks at the time of templating, Instead, I ask the customer to hang on to the sink(s) and ask that they have any and all self-rimming sink(s) on the job site at the time when an install crew gets there to do its work.
   7.  The Job Site. The install crew needs to know if there’s power at the job site, or if there’s a need for a generator. And, if there’s power, how many feet of extension cord will be needed?
   Are plywood subtops required, and how many sheets of plywood need to go out with the job – or are subtops already installed? What is the thickness of the plywood going to be used? It’s 5/8” if the cabinets are conventional, or 3/4”if the cabinets are European (where drawer tops are almost even with the top of the cabinet frame)?
   Will you need any kind of sand, cement, wire mesh and tar paper for setting beds when installing large tub deck applications or vertical panels? 
   What kind of personal safety items (PFDs) will be required wear by all of your personnel – hard hats, earplugs, safety glasses, long-sleeved shirts, long pants and work boots? And, there’s one simple question where the answer means a lot for hauling your gear and your stone at the site: Can you get in close with your truck and trailer?
   8. The Loot. The most-important thing of all: Is there a signed contract or proposal, and has there been a monetary deposit made? (Preferably in USD, Check (non-latex type) or charge card.)
   9. The Back-Ups. Once you’ve gotten this far in the process, the only thing left to do is save the templates once the pieces are fabricated. Some fabricators even go as far as to send the templates back out with the finished pieces on installation day as a bit of insurance to show what was templated (just in case the cabinets have “mysteriously” changed or grown after original measurements). I’m sure that has never happened to any fabricators out there. (Note my sarcasm? You do? Good, because I’ve been laying it on a little thick….)
   If you’re a fabricator, and found some trip-ups in your templating process, try a few of the above tips – and watch your productivity increase. Remember one of my favorite sayings – “this is not rocket science” – because you can get better results in templating by supporting the process without complicating your life.
   Until next month – happy fabricating!!!
   Kevin M. Padden operates KM Padden Consulting in Phoenit. He will speak on “How to Sell Natural Stone More Effectively” at StonExpo 2004 on Oct. 28 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

This article first appeared in the September 2004 print edition of Stone Business. ©2004 Western Business Media Inc.