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“We have taken automation and have minimized . . . the opportunity for human error throughout the process,” said Menninger. In terms of the saw/jet combination, the objective for the shop is to maintain the same level of quality during fabrication as well as to increase the speed of production and reduce operating costs. Because operating costs are lower on the jet/saw combination, the return on investment for this automation will fall here.
The Payoff
The transition to more technologically advanced equipment was a necessity for Menninger, a firm believer in automation, in order to facilitate a growth outside of the local area in Richmond. The technological shift made it possible for Menninger to ensure that projects are templated and fabricated to the highest accuracy before delivering countertops two or more hours away from the shop.
“It’s the wave of the future,” said Menninger. “If you don’t [employ automation], you’re going to get run over by somebody else who does.”
The transition to more technologically based processes is not the easiest to make, especially with the difficulties associated with training employees and getting them up to speed with the transition. The best way to overcome these challenges, according to Menninger, is to do your homework. Even then, problems may still arise.
“We felt that we had done an enormous amount of research and prepared ourselves very well for that transition and, yet, we still had our fair share of issues,” said Menninger in discussing the learning curve.
In making the decision to automate any shop, a return on investment usually plays an important role. There are different ways to qualify your return. There is capital qualification and customer satisfaction. For Menninger, customer satisfaction is always first and foremost in evaluating that return, explaining that a capital return is not the same thing as validating the purchase of a new CNC to ensure that a client base remains satisfied in the content produced through his company.
“Obviously if the machine has got a big return on investment from a dollar standpoint, you’re gonna go for it,” said Menninger, but customer satisfaction is always first on his mind.
“We’re running JobTracker by Moraware,” said Menninger. “That software package cost me x amount of dollars. Am I going to get a return on investment for that software package in terms of raw dollars? No. But from a customer satisfaction standpoint, it’s a no-brainer.”
The software has increased the efficiency of Menninger’s shop so that he no longer has to worry about missing the details of fabrication, and his sales reps can now help any customer in projecting project time and costs. He’s not worried about putting a raw capital return on that investment, because once a customer has made all of the decisions, including choosing materials, edging and other details, a kitchen can now be installed in less than five business days—a pretty good project average.
