| 17 Jones & Sandford Joinery JOINERY Assisting with the realisation of dreams Buddhist temple. T T Lindy Andrews Jones & Sandford’s joinery is many things – innovative, breathtaking, meticulous, the realisation of dreams. The New Plymouth company’s work is a commanding presence in many of New Zealand’s most prestigious and beloved buildings, including the Wellington Supreme Court, Wellington City Mission, the capital’s BNZ building, Summerset Retirement Villages and, more recently, Auckland’s flagship NZICC Convention Centre, which will ultimately feature 11,000 lineal metres of Southland beech. Behind their reputation for delivering excellence in all things is a proud 105-year history and, critically, a Lean framework introduced by Director Roger Jones in 2017. Back then, Jones & Sandford was renowned for being the highly regarded, but the phones were running hot with challenges such as overdue deliveries. In short, they were continually fighting fires, which cost the company enormously in terms of stress, time and cost. “We used to be really good at heroic rescues,” says Roger. “I realised that we needed to take control.” He looked at the wider industry and solutions that would keep the client at the centre of operations. “A eureka moment for us was this thing called Lean manufacturing.” After bringing in a Lean coach to help the Jones & Sandford identify challenges – such as long procurement lead times and a high level of detail in shop drawings – Roger and his team set up a rigid framework that worked for them. Vision boards and regular meetings allowed for easy identification of potential issues. Employing its own on-site managers ensured that the design team received accurate information, while Investing in a fleet of delivery vehicles provided control from inception to delivery. “With our markets 4 to 5 hours’ drive away, there is no running back to the factory for a quick fix,” Roger says. “We don’t have that luxury, and we don’t want to be like that.” Employing Lean systems, along with Jones & Sandford’s dedication to continued improvement, has reaped considerable rewards. “It has been quite remarkable,” says Roger. “Last week we had 72 projects on the go, ranging from $10,000 to $4.5 million. When you’ve got that many projects, you need good systems and good people, great site management and logistics. Regional managers in Auckland and Wellington act as a conduit for the development and management of shop drawings, streamlining processes – and enhancing accuracy – for architects, clients and Jones & Sandford staff alike. Taking a Lean approach enabled the company to target “low hanging fruit” early on. Other aspects of developing a truly efficient, client-focused operation took longer to address. Seven years along the journey, the response continues to be positive. “How do we know we are good? Through our installers on-site, because they’re the people directly affected – they judge us at the coalface,” Roger says. “The result is that when the joinery gets to site, it can get into the area where it’s supposed to go and fits in the space. “Finally, when the architect comes to view it’s a thumbs up, because what we’ve provided is exactly what he was expecting.”
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