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Ian Barker (Barx) started life as an eager entrepreneur. Early teen businesses included goldfish farming, bike restoration, and wood turning. Now as a Director of The Glass Racking Company Ian assists factory managers and business owners of window and glass companies to save time, reduce damage and rework, and create safer work environments. Ian enjoys his work. Outside work Ian has a wife and two kids. He freedives and enjoys spearfishing, snow skis, swims, hunts with his son Charlie in between squash tournaments, attends all his daughter Lorelei's music and singing performances, adores his wife and children, and enjoys a beer. |
13 May 2013
This week I'm delivering a new KS400 Offroad glass lifter robot to a medium to large window fabricator. The KS400 is designed and built by K Schulten in Germany, with some parts locally manufactured by ourselves. The KS400 allows customers to lift and carry units up to 400kgs, and finely position them at the point of installation and glazing.
We have a manual lifter (the KS GlassMax 500) which we use ourselves, and rent out to the glass and window industry. We find that this manual lifter, on average, saves 2 staff while on site – quite a saving.
It will be interesting to hear the man-hour savings that the KS400 Offroad creates for its users. Other benefits will include health and safety, less damage to finished goods and hence reduced rework costs, and ability to tender for work which was otherwise too difficult or price prohibitive.
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6 May 2013
In the last week two window fabricators we work with have made significant investments in transportation, and I believe another is about to do the same. In each case they are relatively small organisations and the capital cost of the solution is high – they've chosen to buy very good solutions which will save them time and money as they get busier.
And that's the key. They are planning to get much busier.
The last 4-5 years have been a difficult trading period for the glass and window industries in most of the markets in which we operate, and the funds allocated to capital investment have been well down compared to when the economy is in growth mode.
I've said for a long time that transportation is often the "poor cousin" in glass and window businesses, receiving less attention than factory equipment. All this despite transportation providing many opportunities for gaining time saving efficiencies, reducing rework costs, and gaining competitive advantage. I've also said for a long time that when the economy lifts that many window companies will invest in transportation to process the workload and to get ahead. This may well be the start of that trend ….
Good solutions aren't just for the big companies, they're for any business that wants to get ahead.
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29 April 2013
I'm back at work today, 4kg lighter, and feeling like I've had a month away from work. Our week long trip to the Fiordland national park was a huge success for the two boys we took with us, with both stepping up, growing up, shooting up (2 deer each), and enjoying the many challenges dumped in front of them. Everyone is keen for this to become an annual adventure.
During our week away I ensured my son Charlie endured many hardships. Like many kids of his generation, in his day to day life in the city much is done for him and in many ways he lives an enviable lifestyle. Fiordland offers no such luxuries, so our days were spent wet to the bone, stalking up and down steep muddy ridges for up to 14 hours a day, eating nuts, drinking stream water, and stalking deer. Sure there were some luxuries I don't normally take, but as the week progressed I noticed how he was responding positively to a bit of hardship and deprivation, he didn't seem to miss the luxuries, and was enjoying the natural environment in which we were living.
All good learning for both of us.
Next week I'll be back to blogging about the glass and window industry……
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22 April 2013
This week I'm away from the office, away from work, and away from all civilisation. I'm glunting in the Fiordland national park with my son, plus a good friend and his son.
Glunting? It's a new word I've created just for this blog, and is an abbreviation for "Glamorous Hunting". Glunting is the kind of deer stalking you do in a wilderness area when you don't want to scare your son off the sport. So, instead of keeping our pack weights down with freeze dried food, we're taking in luxuries like bacon and egg pies, casseroles, and bread. Instead of trying to sleep on rollout mats we're taking inflatable mattresses. Instead of sitting on wet logs to eat dinner we're taking folding seats. Oh, how much more glamorous could a weeks holidays be!
I've been fortunate to spend many weeks in the Fiordland national park. Its an amazing wilderness, with rain forest, extreme weather, rugged terrain, and more than its fair share of challenges. There's very little flat land but many unseen bluffs, its rarely sunny but rains on average an inch a day, and the nearest settlement is a 30 minute chopper flight away so we'll be very much on our own. For me these challenges are a bigger draw card than the actual deer stalking.
I hope my son Charlie loves the experience of glunting Fiordland as much as I plan to.
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15 April 2013
Last week I viewed a van frail which was built by someone other than The Glass Racking Company. The customer had a quote from us but had bought the alternate frail on the basis that it was the same but cost less.
As with many things which cost less, it was not the same. There were many differences, the biggest being that the rack did have 5 poles but only had 3 vertical supports. The whole design of our frail is based on having the poles retaining and pressing the glass back against a vertical support. This ensures that the glass is kept straight and flat, something which is needed for glass transportation.
Why anyone would build a frail with 5 poles and only 3 supports completely baffles me. The only benefit would be a lower build cost, but at what cost?
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8 April 2013
Following on from last weeks blog on roofbars for supporting frails and racks on vans, there is a much less expensive option which is popular in some markets. This design is to use gutter clamps which lock the frail onto the gutter of the van, and suits vans with traditional gutter designs.
The gutter clamp is a simple item which we designed and supply with our racks, and cost around 25% of the cost of a set of roofbars.
The downside of gutter clamping a rack to the side of a van is that you lose the ability to store ladders and other items on top of the van, and the rack must be tight in against the side of the van and hence not cantilevered out to allow side door opening.
Certainly if you have a tight budget, don't need roof storage, and don't need side door access, then this can be a very cost effective option.
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1 April 2013
I got some interesting feedback from around the globe on last weeks blog about van choice and van design for van rack installation.
At The Glass Racking Company we prefer to install roofbars to connect the van rack to as this shares the load across multiple fixing points and provides the glazier with roof storage for the likes of ladders. With our design the rack hangs all its weight off the roofbars, and has bottom mounting arms which come out from the sill underneath the body to hold the rack out from the van. We put swivelling joints on the bottom mounting arms so that the rack has some movement in a minor collision to minimise damage to the rack and vehicle.
At the end of the useful life of the van the glass rack and roofbars are usually still in good working condition, so can be transferred to the next new van, hence protecting the investment. The old van can be onsold for a variety of applications (glass or non-glass) as the body has not been drilled or modified.
One of the benefits of the roofbars being connected to the gutters of the vehicle as opposed to roof based connection points is for what happens in a collision. The traditional gutters on traditional van designs are a simple welded sections which are cheap to panelbeat and repair if they get damaged. By comparison the roof mounting points on many Euro style vans are quite complex channel and gutter systems which will be more challenging to panelbeat if damaged.
Unfortunately I suspect that roof bar mounting systems designed by the van suppliers are not done with external glass racks in mind!
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25 March 2013
Van choices
In New Zealand vans are still the most popular form of glazier vehicle for site work. Over the last 10 years our customers have mostly chosen the Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi LWB vans as they believed they provided the best value for money. In recent times, and particularly buoyed by changes in the exchange rate, the European vans such as the VW, Mercedes and Transits have gained popularity on our roads and we are increasingly asked for comment on them regarding the installing of external van racks.
Key for installing a van rack is the ability to secure the rack to solid fitting which can withstand the weight of load. Additional thought needs to be given to the van damage which might occur in an accident.
Many modern vans don't have gutters at the top of the side panel of the van, but have curved top corners with roofbar fixings points set in from the side of the van on the roof panel. The load ratings for these points is typically available from the van supplier, and varies greatly, hence determining the suitability for glass van rack installation.
Another option for rack fitting is to bolt the van rack into the side panel of the van, which we avoid.
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18 March 2013
Last night we had 6 guests for dinner, all in their late teens. They had gathered to travel back to their home town together for a funeral of one of their friends. One of these youngsters is my nephew. Their friend Nick had been walking through as park late at night, texting, and fell down a bank, banging his head on a concrete culvert, and subsequently drowning in a creek. What a tragedy.
Do you allow texting in your factory? Staff, and particularly youngsters, can spend many hours a day texting, so most factories now ban non-work related texting and calls. Perhaps "safety" should be another reason for banning texting as we certainly wouldn't want anyone walking around our factory staring at their phone.
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11 March 2013
I was driving in to work at 5 past 7 on Saturday morning thinking how I'd much rather be asleep in bed, and wondering why I've got into the habit of waking at 6.30am every morning, including the weekends. I stop at the traffic lights. A cyclist pulls up alongside me, and looks into the vehicle as if he knows me. I open the passengers side window, thinking to myself "I don't think I know this guy". A cheery voice with an accent (possible German) says to me "Thanks for building the bike rack at Restart mall. It's a good one!". We briefly small talk until the lights go green and I continue my trip to work.
What a nice thing to say. For me this was a gentle reminder just how important it is in all parts of our lives, work, social, and family to thank people when they do something good. It costs nothing, and as was the case with the cyclist, it gave me a real boost.
Restart is a shopping precinct made up of shops and cafes which are all housed in shipping containers. It's a very funky retail environment, and located close to the heart of the old CBD of Christchurch. 90% of Christchurch's CBD has been or is being demolished as a result of the devastating earthquakes which smashed the city 2 years ago. There was a competition for the best bike rack organised by "The Ministry of Awesome". The winners bike rack was a Koru design, typifying all things New Zealand, and symbolic of the rebuild of Christchurch with Koru fern fronds growing out of the pavement. We sponsored and built the bike racks as shown below.
It's just nice to have someone take the time to thank us for our sponsorship and involvement.
We also designed an umbrella vertical bike rack, which received much media attention. We design and manufacture a wide range of functional and street art bikes racks. If your interested in bike racks checkout our website out HERE.
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4 March 2013
Today I met with two very different customers. One was depressed about how his business was going and its bleak outlook, while the other was very optimistic and had huge plans for diversification and growth. Several years ago, before the Global Economic Crisis, both businesses were very similar. So why are they so different today?
I don't know so much about the first business, but what I do know about the second (and more successful) business is that its owner spends most of his time outside his comfort zone. He's always learning about new parts of the glass and window industry, learning about new technologies which may or may not help his business, and bleeding people like myself for any information which might help him. He's also got a history of trying new things, based on his own analysis of why they'll work, and in most cases they do. They may not be things others do, but that doesn't stop him. He's an interesting mix of optimist and analytical realist.
The history of the glass and window industry has many entrepreneurs like the second customer. They tend to get noticed as their businesses get larger.
In the words of Vincent Van Goph, "The key to success is for you to make a habit throughout your life of doing the things you fear."
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25 Feb 2013
From time to time we get to see very good multi-purpose vehicles which are used for both work and recreation.
The following picture is of a landcruiser with one of our van racks attached and an on-deck lockup box for tools. This vehicle tows a boat which enables the glazier to install and replace glass at sites which only have boat access, plus the glazier does a little fishing. The vehicle is also used for deer hunting trips and the entire deck lifts off to allow a caravan style accommodation unit to bolt on.
I reckon this is really cool multi-purpose glass vehicle!  |
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18 Feb 2013
The January/February edition of Glass Magazine has just been released. This edition has a special feature on the glass and window market. A magazine survey showed that 33% of glass fabricators have future capital acquisition plans for "Handling equipment / trucks".
33%? Only one in three have any future plans for purchasing factory handling equipment like cranes, trolleys, and tables? Or vehicles for deliveries or site work?
Am I right in thinking that the majority of the industry has no plans for taking advantage of the opportunities for continual improvement offered by simple factory handling equipment and modern transportation? Benefits include time savings, reductions in damage and hence rework times and costs, and better health and safety.
I'm gobsmacked to think that only one in three glass and window companies have "future capital acquisition plans" in these areas. Certainly within the customer base we service this is not the case.
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11 Feb 2013
In many markets the most common vehicle for site glazing is a van, ute or pickup. Trucks have traditionally been reserved for delivery roles.
In the past few years the value for money of a small cab over chassis has increased relative to vans. Additionally the size of glass items to be site glazed has also grown, making small trucks a much more viable option for those prepared to step away from what they're used to.
The Glass Racking Company manufactures glass site truck bodies which have lockup storage areas which provide many of the benefits normally associated with vans. A 4M long by 2.4M wide glass body with a lockup storage area on a double cab truck makes a pretty useable vehicle for most site glazing applications.
My pic is that vehicles such as this will become a lot more prevalent in the coming years.
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4 Feb 2013
This is my second blog is a series of blogs on ways I believe the glass and window industry can be better.
Storing processed glass or window items of varying sizes using straps and ropes is very challenging. If the units are interleaved then the straps and ropes only hold the end units, allowing units in the middle to move. This also creates greater pressure on the edges (or flanges) of the end units, which can lead to damage.
One option is to stack loads as stacks of similar items. This ensures the load won't move but a storage facility is likely to have various stacks of items with spaces in between for the securing straps. Storage and transportation systems designed this way store and transport a lot of air.
Storing processed glass or windows with a retention system using poles or safety arms means that the items can be interleaved, and the entire load is compressed against the frame for retention. This minimises movement and reduces damage, while maximising the load capacity.
The Glass Racking Company also designs, manufactures and supplies a range of copolymer spacers for within a load to separate items to reduce rub damage, and also enable loads of various sized items to be interleaved.
We have an ever increasing pool of experience in helping our customers reduce rub damage to processed and finished goods, which minimises the storage or transportation space required. Please call us anytime to chat through what you want to achieve.
What's it worth to your business to reduce your storage and transportation capacity by 15%?
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28 Jan 2013
This is my first blog is a series of blogs on ways I believe the glass and window industry can be better.
In my role at The Glass Racking Company I'm fortunate to spend a great deal of time in glass and window factories. A very common sound in a glass company is the sound of smashing glass – of glass items which are not right being binned. In window companies the sound is not quite so dramatic, but there's a reasonable amount of aluminium or PVC that gets binned, or stacked in one of those "offcuts for future use" areas, and most often gets thrown out annually.
The cost of rework in the glass and window industries is very high, and is a hidden cost, not appearing on the companies financial statements, but certainly diminishing the bottom line.
There's only four reasons that rework is required in a glass and window factory – poor quality of supplied raw materials, poor processing equipment, poor communications within the company, or poor workmanship.
I challenge all glass and window companies to start classifying all your rework into these four areas. Track the real costs of each rework job, including all the additional management time, reordering time, etc. Add it up each quarter to see what rework cost for each of the four reasons for rework. If you and your staff are honest in your information, for many companies this will be frightening. Do the maths and work out what percentage of company profit the losses for rework are. Then call a staff meeting.
At The Glass Racking Company we provide solutions for the glass and window industries which save time, reduce rework, and address health and safety. If you want to reduce rework costs and you know where the product damage is happening in your factory process, we can help. Please call us to understand how our solutions can help reduce this loss.
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21 Jan 2013
How committed to your work are you and your staff?
During the weekend I watched some of the acts in the World Buskers Festival. One act calling himself "Space Cowboy" was a sword swallower, and also juggled axes while atop a 3.5M unicycle, blindfolded. Impressive stuff.
I spoke with him after his show. He told me that one of the biggest risks with sword swallowing is that the sword ruptures either your heart or the bits around your heart. To reduce this risk Space Cowboy has an operation to insert 3 large magnets under the skin on his upper chest. Now, as the swords are swallowed they tend to hug the front of his chest cavity away from his heart and vital organs. This, plus some other throat expanding exercises (which are a story in themselves) enabled Space Cowboy to set a new world record of 24 blades swallowed simultaneously.
He let me feel the magnets in his chest. A bit weird, but they're definitely there!
In talking with Space Cowboy his commitment to be the best at what he does was what got to me. Imagine what could be achieved if we were all that committed to our work.
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14 Jan 2013
During last week I spent some time updating our website with new photos, new videos and new content. The tool we use (from Acclipse) makes this a relatively quick and rewarding process.
I loaded the following video to our Window Transportation page. It shows a new truck and older trailer, both with our Window Transportation System. In the video you can clearly see how the customer has loaded the truck with our window retention poles within the load stack as well as on the outside of the stack to retain it. For most loads customers use our Profoams, but for stacks of large window or door items like this, which often have mullions or protruding fins, this use of the poles works very well. The poles create greater separation between the units and avoid the mullions rubbing on the next frame and causing damage requiring rework.
Describing to other customers how this works is quite difficult, but a videos does it effortlessly!
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7 Jan 2013
Welcome back to work for those that took a break over the Christmas and New Year period.
| Over the Christmas break I enjoyed a few beers with friends so thought I'd take this opportunity to show you a photo of one of our specialist window transportation trailers parked outside the world famous Tui brewery in Mangatinoka. For those that have never visited Mangatinoka imagine a very rural scene with a brewery (including a tower) parked in the middle. Very unique and very Tui. FEEDBACK RETURN TO TOP |
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31 Dec 2012
Happy New Year
I hope you have a great New Years celebration tonight.
We're with friends waterskiing, fishing, diving and partying.
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24 Dec 2012
Merry Christmas.
As Ian is already on holiday leave, I would like to take this opportunity to say, a very Merry Christmas to you all. I hope you have a fantastic time over this holiday period with your family and friends.
Thank you for taking time out of your day to read Ian's ramblings. Like many of you, I have found them very informative and of value, some have been a little loose! But that is what a blog is for.
We look forward to your support in 2013 and we look forward to creating new products and services that will add value to your Flat Glass and Window company.
All the best :- Bryn Thompson, CEO / Founder, The Glass Racking Company
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17 Dec 2012
Christmas cheer
Thanks for reading these blogs during calendar year 2012. I enjoy writing them, and I enjoy the feedback from readers – both those that I've enlightened and those that I've enraged!
I'm proud to be part of The Glass Racking Company as I believe in what we stand for as a company, and the services we provide to the glass and window industries. We have a drive for quality in everything we do, and a genuine desire to partner with both the industry and key customers. For those customers we work the closest with these traits are valued and appreciated.
I trust you'll have an enjoyable Christmas break, and wish you and your families the best of health and the happiest of times.
Over the holiday period we'll be doing a bit of local travelling, some fishing and spearfishing at Kaikoura, walking the Franz Josef glazier, waterskiing on Lake Hawea, catching salmon in the Ohau channel, offroading into a remote DOC hut, and spending time with friends and family. Bring it on …..
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10 Dec 2012
If it ain't right, don't sell it
Over the last 3 weeks I've changed my diet to be gluten free. This is primarily achieved through not eating white bread. I've experimented with a number of lunch options to replace a sandwich or roll, including rice, noodles, more meat and veg and a variety of fruits and nuts. Most of the meals have been great, but not all of them.
If you're looking for a Christmas present for someone you don't like try giving them a loaf of gluten free white bread. Tasteless. Dry like stale bread. Stiff and crumbly texture. Just not nice to eat, and certainly nothing like white bread made with gluten and wheat.
What a simple reminder of the basics. If you're developing a new product and it isn't quite right, don't be tempted to say its good enough and try to sell it. Develop it some more, and if it still isn't right, them move on to something else.
We supply the glass and window industries with products developed specifically for glass and windows. We don't try to make something from another industry fit. We don't try to get by with off the shelf componentry. We take what we believe is the correct road in product development and make the product the very best it can be. Most of our core products have been through many redevelopments and refinements before they go to market. That's why they work.
That's why they work better than my gluten free white bread.
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3 Dec 2012
Listen. Question. Understand. Deliver.
At a recent management team meeting we set these four words as our Company Focus.
We think this summarises what everyone in our company should "focus" on while they work for The Glass Racking Company. Whether we are meeting a prospective customer for the first time, responding to an email, working in the factory to make a product, or developing a new solution, these four words should be our focus.
One of our strengths is that we listen. To our customers and suppliers. The second is that we question. We use our knowledge to have an informed discussion about the merits of ideas and options. At the end of that both ourselves and the person we're with should have a clear understanding of what's required. From there we simply deliver. The delivery becomes far easier if the focus has been right in the initial stages.
For our factory, our staffs ability to listen, question, understand and deliver means better decisions and reduced rework. Both are good outcomes.
Our culture enables anyone to question anything at any time without fear of offending or looking ignorant. Someone who asks a question may be 90% sure of the answer, but just wants clarification to get to 100% understanding before focusing on delivery.
Listen. Question. Understand. Deliver. It works for us.
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26 Nov 2012
The value of quality to the right buyer
A guy walked into our showroom last and immediately asked if one of our tables was for sale. He described it as being exactly what he was after. He then went on to explain how he was tired of buying cheap products and having them fail. He could immediately see the additional items (and additional costs) we had built into our table, he knew the benefits that would bring, and was prepared to pay for them. He viewed his spend on a new table as value rather than a cost.
Yes, most suppliers and salespeople would view this fella as the ultimate customer.
By comparison I walked into a café recently not knowing exactly what it was that I wanted to eat for my lunch. I explained my predicament to the lady serving and she politely said "You might like to try the French roll we have on special". I was interested that she didn't ask me what I liked or disliked, she didn't talk up an item that she thinks is particularly tasty, but rather tried to sell me the item in the sale bin which most likely has the least margin.
Are we sometimes our worst enemies by assuming all buyers think price is the most important buying criteria?
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19 Nov 2012
Feedback
Thanks for your feedback on last weeks blog on small improvements in glass and window factories.
I wasn't suggesting there's anything wrong with large scale factory makeovers, in fact quite the opposite. The biggest benefits are usually achieved through the biggest changes, and often big changes to one area (such as implementing new machinery) create a need for big changes in other areas (such as reallocation of factory floor space, or a change in manufacturing process).
Most often The Glass Racking Company factory handling equipment is used to support new machinery such as our harp trolleys and storage systems to support a double glaze line.
If the world economy really is starting to pull itself out of the global economic recession then there will be an upsurge in both small and large investments in glass and window factories worldwide. This will create a very interesting few years ahead for everyone in the industry. Bring it on.
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12 Nov 2012
Staff morale
Often when I visit customer sites in the glass and window industries I get to see the positive impact that small purchases of factory equipment can make to staff morale. Something so simple as a CarryMate lifter to assist with lifting glass and window frames, or a new trolley, or Trestle Topper for on the bearing surface of a window fabrication table can really make factory staff feel important, wanted, and listened to.
Often capital purchases for glass and window businesses are done in big bursts where a complete factory gets a makeover. I believe there's benefit in a structured series of small purchases during the year which provide a kind of "continual improvement" for factory staff.
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5 Nov 2012
Differentiate your offering
A very successful owner of a large glass company once said to me that in growing his business he had used glass transportation as a point of differentiation against his competition. Furthermore, the differentiation he achieved meant that all his competitors had to either follow his lead or provide a lesser service to their clients, and hence put that business at risk. By the time the others had plans in place to catch-up he was already pushing further ahead with his next idea for differentiating his service. In doing so he got a reputation for innovation, the best service, and his business grew in revenue and profitability.
Much is said in business about how people are the biggest asset. One key to getting the best from your "people asset" is to empower them with the right tools. The very best staff will not be at their best with poor equipment, and will always be at risk of leaving to other glass or window companies which provide a better work environment. Innovation in vehicle choice and body design which allow your staff to be at their best is a very effective and relatively easy to achieve way to create a point of difference.
In our business we work with customers every week to develop solutions which are tailored for their business to allow them to create a point of difference in their market. Although we promote our range of "standard offerings" most of the vehicles we manufacture have some tailoring in them. Our customers want and need that, and because our "people asset" has good tools we're able to supply that need.
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29 October 2012
Last week I viewed a product from a company who has recently chosen to supply the glass and window industry. This blog is not intended to bag our opposition, but it was plainly clear to me that the last few blogs I've written about the benefits being in the detail are very relevant.
We've worked very closely with the glass and window industry over the past 21 years and keep improving our products based on feedback we receive and actively hunt out. Many of the "benefits in the details" I keep banging on about come from glaziers with decades of experience. It's the industry combined with our innovative approach to product development and manufacturing that has got our products to where they are, and will drive the improvements into the future.
Customers often tell us that they only realise how good our products are once they've been using them for some time. The savings from the benefits of reduced damage and rework, time savings, and addressing health and safety are enormous. Our challenge is to demonstrate this to those buyers who see price as a key decision criteria.
The same challenge applies to all businesses in the glass and window industry. Good products and good service do come at a cost, and there will always be someone who says they can do the same for a lower price. But can they.
Personally I think "apples with apples" comparisons of identical offerings are very rare.
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22 October 2012
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In the past many window fabricators have used cardboard and carpet to provide a soft separator between their window frames during transportation. There's no secret that keeping hard surfaces away from finished product reduces damage and rework costs. So, where the benefit in the detail of our Profoams?
Our Profoams are designed to clip over the reveal and/or extrusion. In different markets windows are shipped differently so the use of this product varies. The key is the same though – the design means that the Profoam "clips on" and the shape means that the Profoam hugs the product. This shape is key as it helps keep them in place and avoids movement and losses in transportation, something that is near impossible to achieve quickly and cost effectively with cardboard and carpet.
The second design feature is the material. We've chosen a Copolymer which has a "springy" consistency. This means that when a load is strapped up and under pressure the Profoams "fight back" and keep the load under pressure rather than just compressing. This means that while the load is transported and the load is under various pressures (acceleration, braking, corners etc) the Profoams take-up and release this additional pressure while still keeping the units separated. Without this "springyness" the packers can compress and not release creating a small gap between the window frames. The further the load is carried the greater the gap until the buffers begin to fall out and the "slapping" of the load during corners and acceleration/deceleration becomes so great that the load gets damaged. Not good.
The copolymer product we use is non-marking on aluminium and glass, it leaves no residue, it doesn't leave rub marks on soft satin finish powdercoated (as polystyrene buffers can), it maintains its shape, and does not beak down in sunlight and a variety of weather conditions.
And lastly we can make our Profoams in a variety of colours, and they're able to be printed on. Both these features assist customers to manage their stock of Profoams and also help with company branding.
Profoams from The Glass Racking Company have lots of value added benefits for such a simple product.
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15 October 2012
The Glass Racking Company Safety Arms are designed to retain the glass or window load on our trolleys when they are being moved around the factory. The goal is to stop the glass and window units from starting to fall, to stop them gaining any momentum, and hence protect both the product and the staff.
Other key design aspects for the safety arms are that they must be easy to use and low cost. If not easy to use (and to use means to put on, to take off, and the store when not in use) they won't be used. The design of our Safety Arm is clever in its simplicity, and they ARE easy to use. Additionally we zinc coat our safety arms orange so that factory management can easily see when the safety arms are and are not being used. We have storage lugs on the trolleys so that the safety arms can be stored with the trolley when not being used (as opposed to leaned against a wall somewhere) so that they are always easy and quick to access when needed – this further aids in having the safety arms used.
The "feature" of low cost is because the safety arms are an alternate to our pole based retention system used for our glass and window transporter systems. If the arms aren't low cost then the users may just use the poles.
We've had several generations of safety arms that are improved each time based on feedback from our customers, and experiences we've had and seen when we're onsite with our customers. The biggest change has been to the slider system which is now shorter and easier to use, and due top the change in design and materials, is actually stronger.
We could have stayed with our "Mark One" safety arm as it did the job, but that's not how we roll …..
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8 October 2012
After a 2 week diversion into my favourite product photos, this week I'm back on track with my series of blogs on why the small details in our products make all the difference.
The reason for the focus on the little things is this is where the additional benefit comes from. As a company completely committed to the supply of transportation and factory handling solutions to the glass and window industries we are very focussed on supplying solutions which are "the best" rather than "good enough".
The design of the raised base blocks on our vehicles, trolleys and other glass handling products have some cleverly thought out features. Being raised they allow aluminium swarf, glass shelling and road or factory debris to roll off and not rest on the bearing surface for the glass or window, reducing damage to the products bottom edge. The bearing surface is a non-marking polymer, the details of which were described in a previous blog. There's an end cap in the base block which stops the polymer from sliding out, which may not seem like a big thing, but take a look at any rack which doesn't have endcaps and you'll see bearing surfaces hanging out or missing – in either case they're no longer doing their job and the rack is no longer performing as it did when it was new. We manufacture our transportation base blocks from T6 extruded aluminium which is lightweight and of the right strength for the role. We manufacture our factory handling (trolley) base blocks from folded steel for ease of manufacture and strength, and most often hot dip galvanise them for longevity and appearance. We have two heights for both types of base blocks. The taller base blocks allow for pole retention system (a steel tongue fitting into a series of slots) to be installed between the base blocks.
Ah, the humble base block. A very small item with so much thought behind it! |
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1 October 2012
Another favourite photo
This photo is of cartage of a Glazier site truck on a Fuso cab chassis being transported from Seattle to Las Vegas for the 2010 GlassBuild show. Adam Keane of our Seattle branch towed the Glazier on a trailer behind his Dodge 3500, taking a break to sleep in the Glaziers lockup storage box. Quite an effort by Adam!
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24 September 2012
Favourite Photos
This week my blog is short and sweet.
Each year we take hundreds if not thousands of photos of our products, many of which are posted to our website or included in our glass and window newsletters. We try to take photos which show off the design aspects of our products which set them apart from vehicles currently used by the glass and window industry. This is one such photo of a 3.5M Glazier site truck which includes a lockup storage area, internal and external racks, roofbars for ladder storage, and a nice safe step at the rear.
I just like this photo ....
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17 September 2012
Why is the roofbar section so heavy?
Our roofbar section is an extrusion which we designed and we own the die for. It's not available for others to purchase.
Our roofbar extrusion is the heaviest and strongest we've ever seen. If there was an off the shelf product which had the same strength as ours we'd be buying that instead of making one. The reason it has to be so strong is simply because of the load it carries.
The Glass Racking Company can frails are designed to be supported by the roofbar, with the weight of the frail and glass load being transferred via the roofbar and brackets into the gutter of the van. The gutter is at the top of the vans side panels and hence is the strongest point on the van for load carrying.
The brackets at the bottom of the rack simply hold it out from the side of the van. They are not intended for load carrying. To make them load carrying would require some serious connection into the frame of the underneath of the van which would always be at risk if the rack was in a collision. Our bottom brackets ensure that in a collision the damage to the van is minimised, and hence the cost of repair is minimised.
So that's why our van roof bars are so strong, and why we don't recommend using an existing third party roofbar with a van rack. Off the shelf roofbars were not designed for the weight load of a van rack.
Additionally our roofbar has a polymer insert to provide a soft non-marking bearing surface for any additional items carried on the roofbar. The slot which holds the polymer can also be used for securing bolt heads meaning that the additional or other retention systems on the roofbar is easy and low cost.
This series of blogs is about the benefit being in the detail, and this is why our roofbar extrusion is so much better than most (if not all….) off the shelf non-glass specific roofbars.
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10 September 2012
Why so much polymer?
This week I look at why we use so much polymer in our glass and window transportation systems and factory racks.
The term "polymer" is widely used to describe plastics, and the polymers which we use on our racks are high tech plastics. Racks we made 20 years ago had rubber bearing surfaces as at that time rubber was predominantly used by the glass and window industries as a better bearing surface than timber.
The shortcomings of rubber are that it leaves a residue on the glass which becomes visible when the glass condensates. Rubber also tends to change its hardness and change its shape in different weather and temperature conditions. These changes make rubber less suitable for sliding and moving parts, and its "stickyness" to hold the glass items varies. Lastly rubber deteriorates in the weather so for outside applications such as vehicles it has a finite lifespan.
The right choice of polymer addresses all of these issues, and is the best product currently available. Polymer is able to be either injection molded or extruded. This means that most shapes can be formed, and it's ideal for moving and sliding parts such as our retention blocks.
There has been no rubber used in transportation racks manufactured by The Glass Racking Company for many years.
The migration from rubber to polymer bearing surfaces may seem like a small one but the benefits to the end users are significant.
3 September 2012
Pole design features
For glass and window transportation systems supplied by The Glass Racking Company we have an overall system which assists with saving time, reducing damage and hence rework, and addresses health and safety. There are many components which work together to provide a system which addresses these needs very well.
The pole is one of these components. Following on from last weeks blog, the benefits are in the detail of the pole. Our pole is designed with a tongue at the bottom which fits into slots so that it can have multiple positions out from the rack. On a standard van rack there are 9 positions, so depending on the thickness of the load, the pole can always be positioned close to the glass. The top of the pole has a pin with a spring, and also has 9 positions. Having the pole close to the glass load is a stronger solution, and allows the non-marking snub block and 4 glass retention blocks to do their work. The spring on the top pin pressures the pole down into position even when travelling over uneven ground. The tongue is flat so stops the pole from twisting, which is particularly relevant in a collision. All components are zinc or galv coated mild steel for strength and longevity, or aluminium, meaning that their functionality and appearance deteriorates little over the useful life of the rack. The components are bolted or mono-bolted together so that parts can be easily replaced as new and better components are developed, something which is more difficult if welds are used. And finally the aluminium pole itself is concaved to provide greater strength than a standard square section, to allow easier grip in wet conditions, and the right level of flex for glass retention.
The above focuses on glass retention poles for external racks, and our poles for internal glass racks and poles for window retention have similar design benefits.
These may all seem like little things, and maybe they are, but they've been developed over 20 years based on how our products have performed in the field. Trials and experience gleaned from customers has allowed us to perfect the little things which comprise the total solution.
For most of our customers their vehicle(s) is one of the key assets of their business, and for many it's the place they (or at least one of their staff) spend long periods. It's got to be right! Having vehicles which save time, reduce damage and rework, and address health and safety is essential.
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27 August 2012
The benefit is in the details
I've been asked to write a technical document on glass transportation. In preparing this whitepaper I was forced to consider what the benefits are of all the small innovations and details in our transportation products. Anyone can make a glass carrier, but few manufacturers globally can make a "great" glass carrier.
This is the first blog in a series about the little things which make our glass carriers the worlds best.
The first benefit I want to highlight is the use of T6 extruded aluminium. We own 15 aluminum dies which we use to extrude aluminium sections for our glass transporters. No-one else has access to these extrusions. Each and every extrusion has been thought out to ensure that it adds benefits to the final solution that can't be achieved with off the shelf parts.
The reason for using T6 aluminum rather than steel is that its a lightweight but strong product which requires no finishing (painting) to provide an attractive, durable product with longevity. Aluminum also differs from steel and stainless steel in that it will flex and provide "springyness" where steel will just bend. For retention systems which require pressure to be exerted on the glass load this "springyness" is ideal.
The combination of a steel structure and aluminum componentry provides benefits not available with other materials, and not available with just one material.
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20 August 2012
Toyota Dyna and Hino Dutro vans
Some feedback from my last 2 weeks blogs is that the Toyota Dyna and Hino Dutro (the same vehicle, just different badging, so referred to as Dyna from here on …) deserve more of a mention.
In laymans terms the Dyna van is a Toyota Dyna truck chassis and running gear with a truck cab at the front and a Toyota Hi-Ace van body grafted onto the back. The cab is wider than the van body and more square sided, so the graft is fabricated as best the manufacture could. Most people think this is the ugliest van ever made, and they may be right, but in terms of functionality its certainly one of the most suitable for the glass and window industry. The Dyna has the simplicity of a van body with the suspension, engine and transmission of a truck to provide longevity and reliability. A winning formula.
If you're vans are suffering from wear on their running gear as a result of the loads you carry the Dyna may be a good option. We've fitted Dynas with glass carrying on both external van racks and internal van racks and can advise in terms of rack sizing and options.
A Dyna may be a nice step up from a standard van without the additional costs associated with purchasing a truck.
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13 August 2012
Options to vans
Following on from last weeks Blog about the load carrying ability of vans for the glass and window industries I thought it'd be appropriate to look at the vehicle options available for glaziers and smaller glass companies for non-route vehicles.
Firstly Utes and pickups are an option. This category covers a wide range of alternatives as the smallest Japanese vehicles in this category have similar issues to vans, and the largest American style pickups are essentially trucks. We build a range of decks and bodies for this style of open vehicle ranging from single side racks (similar to a van rack but connected to the side of the vehicle and braced) to a full deck and body with dual external racks and dual internal racks. The options are endless and in some Australian and American markets this style of vehicle is very popular.
The second option is a bottle-truck style vehicle, being a low hard sided body on a truck cab chassis. These are like a van body on truck running gear – a bit like a Hino Dutro or Toyota Dyna. The hard sides allow for ease of securing a glass rack, and the internal space provides options. Customers often buy these trucks as traded items for a good price.
The third option is light trucks. Over the years Isuzu, Fuso and others have built small cab over chassis vehicles which suit glass body installations due to their narrow rear wheel widths, narrow chassis, and good weight carrying ratings. Being a cab over design the percentage of the total vehicle length which can be used for glass carrying is far higher than with utes and pickups which have an engine forward design. The turning circle is also generally good which is appreciated by those used to driving vans as site vehicles. We build a range of covered and open vehicles for this type of cab chassis including those with an open back and a lockup storage area. For many of our customers this style of vehicle is very complimentary to a fleet of vans as it provides the ability for larger glass items and larger loads to be carried, and over the extended life of the truck, can be quite cost effective.
Looking forward we predict that light trucks will become increasingly popular as vans become less popular.
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6 August 2012
Van rack loading
We are often asked what the loading is for our racks. We are almost never asked what the loading is for the vans which will be supporting the racks.
A couple of years ago we redeveloped the top and bottom brackets for our van frails to suit the increasing sizes and weights of glass being loaded onto van frails. The new brackets are galvanised steel, designed with gussets for added strength. These brackets are a world first and make our van frails stronger than any others we've seen worldwide.
For our standard van frail offering of a 5 pole 2.9M long van frail, 2.2M tall with four roof rack bars, the van frail is rated to hold 1000kg of glass load. This has been certified by an independent engineer, and is a requirement for installation on COF vans. However, we know that putting 1000kg on the single side of the vans that this sized frail would typically be installed on (Toyota Hi-Ace, Mitsubishi L300, Nissan Urvan, etc) would affect the handling of the van and may overload it. For that reason we rate our van frails for 500kg of payload.
The following is the manufacturers specifications for van loading for their current models :
Toyota Hi-Ace ZL – Payload 930kg
Mitsubishi L300 LWB – Payload 1105kg
Nissan Urvan – Payload 1220kg
So, with a single side van frail installed (120kg), a ladder (5kg), a bucket of putty (20kg), general tools (20kg), an assortment of broken glass items (20kg), fuel (50kg), a glazier (80kg), and an allowance for another 20kg of "stuff" we have already loaded the van with 335kg. Add a passenger side frail to the van (100kg), another glazier (80kg), and a load of glass and the payload maximums are very quickly reached. No wonder the vans wear out!
Over time we have seen the impacts that van frails and glass load has on vans. The most obvious is the wearing of the suspension on the side (usually drivers side) of the van due to the weight loading. For this reason most glass companies turnover their vans every few years. The day to day activities of a glazier or glass company are hard on the vehicle – it's the nature of the industry and product.
The second is that when loaded with glass the van frail is very heavy and under pressure. Few of our frails have failed just due to load. The more common failure is that when the frail is under load, if there is an impact or collision, then the frail and the van gutters are more likely to get damaged. The gutters can be fixed by a panelbeater, and the van frails are all monobolted together allowing for the simple and cost effective replacement of parts. Although this is an inconvenience, the primary cause was the collision.
Vans were never designed for the transportation of large heavy sheets of glass. They serve the industry well, but do have their compromises. We believe that we have the design of our frails right. The use of aluminium for weight reduction. The use of steel gusseted top and bottom brackets for added load carrying. The use of monobolts for construction to allow flexing and ease of part replacement.
Light trucks are becoming more viable and more popular with glaziers.
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30 July 2012
The Olympics
The 2012 Olympic games started this weekend. What a wonderful event. Perhaps the most uniting event for the people of a world comprised of independent countries and vastly differing cultures.
People in business often talk about having "passion for their work" and "passion for their customers". For me , there was no better example of what passion means than seeing the grimaced faces of the under 48kg womens weightlifters as they held around twice their own bodyweights above their heads. Effort, determination, skills, focus, emotion. To quote another over-used business expression "they were giving 120%".
Like doing business in the glass and window industries, its not always the supplier with the best product (the fittest athlete) who wins, its often the business which wants it the most (has the most passion).
I hope you all enjoy the olympics as much as my family do, not just for the sporting skills, but for the emotion that comes with it.
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23 July 2012
Did you know?
Glass is a very green product.
Currently in the USA around 80% of glass is recycled compared to around 25% of plastics. The USA alone recycles 13 million bottles every year, and globally the glass industry will generate 50% of its new glass through recycling of old glass.
Glass recycles very effectively as it requires 40% less energy than making new glass. Glass is quite unique in that it doesn't age or deteriorate, so the quality of recycled glass is high, and there is no waste or by-product from recycling glass. The speed of recycling glass means that the turnaround time from waste to usable glass product is very quick with the longest delay often being getting the raw product (broken glass or cullet) to the float line.
The political power of the "Green" parties continues to gain strength globally and the general public is becoming more aware and concerned about recycling and energy conservation issues. The glass industry is poised to be a winner as our core product is very green.
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16 July 2012
Did you know?
The current global production of solar energy is equivalent to around 40 nuclear power stations.
At 30 March 2012 there were 436 nuclear power plants operating in 31 countries with an installed electric net capacity of about 370 GW. Solar energy generation is already around 10% of this.
The USA seems to be leading solar energy development and production. This is driven by many factors including legislation that California must have 33% renewable energy by 2020.
Solar energy has huge potential as the earth absorbs more solar power in one hour than we as currently use in one year. In addition to being free energy, there are other "green" benefits which are well documented.
For the glass and window industries this provides a unique opportunity. Photovoltaic cells in glass panels are the most widely developed way to capture energy from the suns rays. Other systems use farms of concave mirrors to reflect and concentrate the energy. Around the globe scientists and entrepreneurs are developing better systems for solar capture and most involve glass.
I had trouble getting consistency from various sources on the global increase in solar energy capture, but on average it seems that this industry is growing at around 10% per year. If anyone has an accurate figure please let me know as solar represents a growing opportunity for the entire glass and window industry.
In the history of flat glass production how many opportunities for growth like this have been identified?
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9 July 2012
Did you know?
Did you know that the current global flat glass production volume is around 52 million tonnes per annum?
Lets do some maths :
A 1000mm x 1000mm glass item of 5mm thickness weighs 13kg.
Therefore there are 77 of these items per tonne, or 77 million items per million tonnes
Therefore the total world production of glass, if it was of glass items 1000mm x 1000mm x 5mm, would be just over 4 billion items.
To put that in perspective if we stacked those 4 billion glass items on top of each other laying flat, it would be a 1000mm x 1000mm pillar rising 20,020 kilometres tall. 20,020 kms is 20% of the distance from the earth to the moon.
That's a lot of glass!
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2 July 2012
Increasing volumes - Planning for the future
For the last couple of years customers have told us that's is been particularly difficult to plan for the future. Their visibility of what workload they have ahead of them has been less clear than in the past. This has also been true for our business. I guess it's related to the overall economic downturn and lack of business confidence which is passed down the chain of suppliers.
In the last few weeks we've had more planning meetings with our clients. To generalise, the industry seems more confident to start putting plans in place and implementing change for the forecast growth in volumes. This is good news, and perhaps an indication that improving economics and business confidence also flows down the supply chain.
If you're doing the same we welcome the opportunity to help!.
Our products are focused on helping glass and window businesses to save time, reduce rework and address health and safety.
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25 June 2012
Increasing volumes – Right trolleys
The number of glass units being processed in New Zealand glass factories is on the increase. The average size of the units is greater than it was a few years ago. This means that the trolleys which used to process a certain number of units are not suitable for the same number of units being processed today (or in the future).
For one of our clients we're currently updating their factory trolleys. The average size of the new trolleys is around twice that of the old trolleys being replaced. This allows for today's larger units and also what the predicted average size of units will be in the future, during the useful life of the trolleys.
Having large glass units stored on small storage systems and trolleys, and using small trolleys to move large glass units around a factory is dangerous.
We provide a service where we audit the trolleys and processes in a glass factory. We also provide a range of glass trolley sizes so that the right trolley can be used for each job.
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18 June 2012
Increasing volumes – Right vehicles
Following on from last week, as volumes increase we need to make sure that we've got the right vehicles for the right jobs. Traditionally many glazing companies have standardised on a make and model of vehicle for their onsite teams. Increasingly we see these companies creating fleets with a variety of vehicle types to allow them to address more opportunities, and also to have the right vehicle solution for each job. The same logic applies for window companies where the variety of job types and solution types (windows, doors, large sliders, commercial etc) means that a range of vehicles is ideal, provided that volumes can justify the asset cost.
Carting a large item on a vehicle not built for items that big can be illegal, dangerous and expensive. Using a jumbo sized vehicle for a few small units can be expensive also.
As volumes increase the need for the right capacity of transportation as well as the right vehicle type will become more apparent.
We recently built a large window trailer for a customer who was planning what their volumes and product sizes would be 5 years from now. This makes sense given the useful life of such an asset. They figured that unit sizes would continue to increase for the foreseeable future.
Having the right vehicle for the job can make a huge difference. Please don't hesitate to call us if you want to involve us in your planning for the future.
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11 June 2012
Increasing volumes
In many of the markets in which we work the volumes being processed through glass and window companies are starting to increase – maybe not back to where they were 4-5 years ago, but definitely better than last year. The challenges for the industry come both from the increases and also changes in the products. 100 units today is not the same as 100 units 5 years ago. This is the first in a series of blogs of things you may like to consider as volumes increase.
In New Zealand the laws for insulation changed several years ago making double glazing almost compulsory. Double glazing requires around 4 times the storage and transportation capacity of single glaze. This movement to DGUs has coincided with a reduction in the number of houselots being manufactured due to a depressed market, meaning that the additional capacity required in glass and window shops has not been realised. As volumes increase I believe that many factories will find they are way short on capacity. Looking forward, and assuming that houses of the future will have an increasing amount of glass in them, and this seems very likely, the issue will become increasingly challenging.
The challenges for glass companies will be at finished goods and transportation. For window companies, where a DGU is effectively a raw material that comes into the factory for processing into a finished window, the challenges are far more complex.
In expectation of these changes we've developed our tooth based storage and trolley systems. These store DGUs in a small floor space foot print, while speeding up access to specific units, and keeping units separated to reduce scratching and rework. Feedback from customers who have implemented systems with the tooth technology have been very favourable so we expect that this style of DGU storage will become the norm as volumes increase.
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4 June 2012
Turning up.
Woody Allen once said "80% of success is just turning up". For the last 2 weeks I've been "turning up" to customer sites to meet the owners and factory managers of glass and window customers. It's an enjoyable way to spend time, and allows me to better understand what the issues and opportunities are for the industries we serve. As a partner to the glass and window industries we are forever grateful for the openness of these industries to the role we play. The result is a number of new ideas which I look forward to developing into products and solutions to assist our customers to reduce rework, save time, and address health and safety. I've also confirmed some orders and developed some projects which is exciting for the future.
As a way of getting in touch with the things which are most important to your business I highly recommend "turning up" to your customers. Don't wait for a reason, just do it.
It's been a fun couple of weeks and I thank everyone I met with.
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28 May 2012
Expensive
Thanks to the reader that referred to my last weeks blog as a rant. I think it possibly was, and I'm not put off by that…..
Last week I visited a customer site to show the owner a new window trailer we've built. He said my trailer was "expensive", then showed me his trailer. His trailer had cost him less dollars, so yes mine was more expensive, but the two trailers were not the same. Furthermore some "enhancements" to his trailer were in parts in his factory. Time, effort, and some capax had been spent putting the enhancements together. When its completed I'm sure it will work well for his business, but by my definition, any investment which is not yet working to its potential is "expensive".
The trailer I'm delivering is going to a customer who has already installed our solution on his truck. For his business our solution is a cost justified investment. It will work well for his business from the day it's delivered, so by my definition it's not expensive.
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21 May 2012
Expensive
I was recently told by a customer that our products are expensive. How do you define expensive?
For me the most expensive item in our business is the one which was bought with the right intentions but not used. Whatever it's cost, whether it was a cheap item or the best in its class, if it never gets used then its expensive. By comparison, other products which are best in class and come with a higher price are not so expensive if they are used regularly. If fact, if they are an item which is used regularly then I'd suggest that the item deserves to be best in class.
We do a lot to make sure that our products are used. We have significant pre-sales literature, our quotes are detailed, our larger items all come with user guides and training documents, we have an online training section on our website, we are in regular contact with our clients, and we invite customers make contact with us over any issues. As a result there are few if any of our products for the glass and window industries which are gathering dust in the corners of factories or carparks.
By my definition our products are not expensive.
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14 May 2012
One-off design and manufacture
Last week I was asked to quote a large site trolley, based on one of our commonly built designs, but with much larger dimensions. The dimensions required were for a specific site installation project which this customer had won.
We are often requested for this type of equipment as the industry knows that we will use our knowledge of the industry and of site glass and window work to design and manufacture a solution which will work. Furthermore we have componentry which has been specifically designed and built to serve these industries which ensures our solutions avoid the pitfalls of many off the shelf non-glass specific components.
As glass items get larger and heavier, as some of the coatings get more high-tech and possibly softer and more prone to damage, and as glass gets used for more architectural purposes I expect that the number of enquiries for this type of equipment will grow. I believe there will become a greater separation between the products from those suppliers who are committed to serving the glass and window industries, and general engineers.
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7 May 2012
Twisting injuries
The glass and window industries work with products which are heavy. Lifting heavy items, provided you can keep your body straight and not bent over, generally don't result in injuries. However, from my experience, a common time for an injury to occur is when twisting while lifting weight. Times when we see glass and window staff twisting include :
1. Pushing a glass items around on a cutting table. The effort required is increased if the table is not air or if the weight of the glass item is too great for the air lift capability of the table.
2. Sliding or turning a sash, door of window item around on a fabrication table, bench or trestles
3. Lifting aluminum or PVC lengths into and out of a vertical storage system
4. Placing a glass item or a window frame from a vertical position onto a horizontal table or bench. Also the opposite action when taking the unit off and onto storage or trolleys.
5. Moving finished goods around a storage area to gain access to other items
6. Any loading and unloading of a transport system that requires changes from horizontal to vertical
7. Working any equipment which is not set at the correct height for the worker
8. Site work
Some of these are completely avoidable, and some are not. For some there is lifting equipment available which will take the weight of the product or reduce the need to twist, and for others the risk can be avoided by having two or more workers do the job.
In my opinion the issue is not what the weight is, but what movement is required while supporting that weight. If you have staff injury issues or want an opinion on health and safety please call us.
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30 April 2012
Lifting injuries
Last week we had a public holiday, ANZAC day, which my family spent at our local hot pools at Hanmer. While sitting in the hot pools pondering life a guy slowly made his way across to the pool from the change room. He hobbled along with a horrendous limp. Like him I have a back injury and at times the pain of such a simple activity as walking can be intense.
It reminded me of how important avoiding lifting injuries is for staff at glass and window factories. We deal with heavy products. Incorrect lifting of a heavy glass or window product can lead to a lifetime of back pain.
Many of the companies I work with, and many of the factory individuals I meet are "blokey", proud of what they can lift, and resist the opportunity to use the types of lifting equipment we supply, even when its already been bought and paid for. If and when these same people experience an injury the effects are huge for both the injured person and their employer. It's often post-injury that our equipment gets fully used, which is a sad truth.
To reduce injuries we need both an equipment change and also a cultural change. Other than continuing to promote good equipment and good practise throughout the glass and window industries I'm not sure what else I can do. I want to help reduce injuries.
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23 April 2012
Ridding the industry of carpet
I spent some time last week driving to meet with customers at their sites. One customer I hadn't met in a while greeted me with "You're the guy whose going to rid the industry of carpet!". Yep that's me.
A few years ago I recognised that most window fabricators in some of our markets manufacture their window frames on trestles and tables which are clad in carpet. Although cheap, carpet tends to hold swarf, shavings and general factory debris which can cause scratches to the aluminium powder coat and PVC window frames during manufacture. Additionally when small joint sealer and other glues get onto the carpet they stick, and tend to "ball-up" creating a lump which window frames catch on when we're working them.
Carpet is after all a product designed to walk on. The glass and window industry spends a great deal of effort and cost to create high quality extrusions and finishes, and manufacturers pride themselves on the quality of their finished goods. Yet many perform the core role of manufacturing window frames on as product designed to walk on? Surely the window industry has progressed past this!
For this reason I vowed to "rid the industry of carpet" and get our customers using a purpose built polymer worksurface. We call it "Trestle Topper" and its brilliant as it overcomes the problems that window fabricators have with carpet.
Carpet's for walking on!
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16 April 2012
Does size really matter – width of transporters
We build purpose built transportation systems for the glass and window industries, and have been doing so for over 20 years.
Transporting window frames and transporting glass are fundamentally different. With window frames you often carry a lot more air and lot less weight than with glass. Often the challenge is to maximise the number of units carried, where on a glass truck often the vehicle is limited by allowable road user weights.
However, just as many window transporters are limited in their widths, so many older glass transporters have been built for transporting single glaze items. A houselot of single glaze needs a lot less ledge width than a houselot of double glaze – the double glaze is about 4 times more bulky.
It surprises me that some new glass vehicles are being built with just external racks – they may have the required capacity for today, but with the trends we see, will they still be a viable and cost effective vehicle in five years time?
When we provide upgrades to window transporters we sometimes increase the overall width of the vehicle so that a greater load can be carried.
Yep, "width" really does matter!
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9 April 2012
Does size really matter – vehicles
Yes size does really matter! In many markets double glaze and triple glaze units are becoming the norm. A DGU or IGU takes up around 4 times as much space as a single glaze item. Additionally the average size of glass items is increasing as customers want more light in their homes and buildings. So does a traditional sized vehicle really work?
In our business we used to know which vehicles were most suitable for large, medium and small glass and window businesses. It was simple. Then over a period of years some of the smaller businesses started buying larger vehicles, and middle sized companies started buying massive trucks. Their businesses weren't necessarily growing, but their need for glass capacity and their need to be able to move large items was. Without larger vehicles their businesses would shrink.
Today any size business can have any sized vehicle if its suits their market. Where companies used to have a fleet of similar vehicles, now the fleets tend to have a mix of vehicles, allowing the company to use the right vehicle for the right job. This also allows more flexibility when quoting and targeting new work.
Without the right vehicle for the job you're either unable to do the work, or unable to be competitive when quoting.
Yep, size really does matter!
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Does size really matter? – trolleys and carts
Yes size really does matter! There are few more dangerous events in a glass factory than a staff member moving a trolley or cart around the factory with an oversize glass items overhanging. Not only is it unstable, but its also akin to a transparent knife working its way between machinery and staff. The danger with overhanging items comes both when moving or storing the item.
Larger trolleys are more awkward to move around the factory so it's not best to only have large trolleys. We need a mix of trolleys to suit a mix of glass sizes.
Safety, as with all things in a factory, comes with using the right tools for the right job.
The size of glass items being installed in getting larger, so logically the items within factories are also getting larger. So therefore it stands to reason that most glass factories will be requiring some larger trolleys and carts. The smaller trolleys and carts will still be needed but there's a need for systems and equipment for moving more larger items.
When was the last time your factory purchased a new large trolley or cart?
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26 March 2012
Why not just get a local metalworker to make glass transportation racks?
There are about a dozen specialist suppliers of glass transportation systems around the world. These are the companies which lead the industry by creating and inventing new and better ways for the industry to carry its product between businesses and to the customer sites. There are others too which just copy, but the core dozen do the leading, and on the whole they are all good companies.
There's another group of manufacturers and generalist metalworking fabricators who will make anything they are asked to, and when asked by a local glass company to build a rack, they'll give it a go. They are typically good fabricators but don't have the experience and specific industry componentry which a specialist manufacturer will have. As time moves on and the industry progresses the difference between the solutions provided by each type of supplier is expanding.
In my opinion the generalist metalworker has done his time. Customers are expecting that their transport solutions will assist them with features, componentry and systems to help them to save time, reduce damage to product and hence rework, and address their health and safety needs. I believe that the quality of the product able to be provided by a generalist metalworker is no longer viable for our customers.
19 March 2012
Why not just use carpet?
Many window fabricators use carpet stapled to the top of wooden benches on which to manufacture window frames and doors. For many companies this is historical as its what they've always done and dates back to a startup business with one bench, a drop saw, and an electric screwdriver. Second hand carpet and offcuts are often free and they provide a soft surface to manufacture on which is non-marking and non-abrasive.
However, carpet has some shortcomings :
1. It's typically patterned so it's not easy to see when aluminium swarf or shavings are sitting in the carpet with sharp edges sticking up. As a powdercoated aluminium window frame is slid around on the table scratching will occur.
2. Glues such as small joint sealer tend to "ball-up" the carpet which makes the surface lumpy and difficult to slide window frames around on
3. The swarf shavings and glues tend to get to a point where the carpet is replaced, maybe every 6-12 months. Not a big job, but downtime none the less.
Carpet might do the job but is it the best option? If you were setting up a new factory from scratch would you choose carpet?
The Glass Racking Company provides "Trestle Topper" which is an aluminium extrusion with an inserted polymer bearing surface. The ali is screwed to the existing trestle or table, and the polymer slid in and secured with end caps. It's a quick and easy installation process. The work surface is now a non-marking polymer which is soft on the product but swarf rarely penetrates it (the polymer is soft yet its impossible to dig your finger nail into it). Additionally glues and small joint sealer either wipe off with white spirits or peel off when dry. Although easily replaceable, we've never been asked to replace the polymer as it doesn't wear out.
Carpet is for walking on. Trestle Topper is for manufacturing windows on.
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12 March 2012
Is this apples for apples?
This is a question which I often get asked.
As a supplier to the glass and window industry we've developed our products to address the commonly requested needs of the industry –
1. Save time
2. Reduce rework
3. Address health and safety needs
To suggest that any engineering company can cut some steel and weld up an equivalent to what we produce and provide an "apples for apples" comparison is rarely the case. The best thing about this question is it gives me the opportunity to show that the comparison is not "apples for apples" as there are differences, and differences which I believe are important to the customer.
I figure that the only supplier which offers an "apples for apples" comparative product must be either a copier or a company which sells on price alone. Suppliers with this profile rarely suit our customers!
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5 March 2012
How can you make this cheaper?
I get asked this quite often as in many cases our solutions are a greater capital outlay than options available from others – often general engineers rather than specialist suppliers to the glass and window industries.
The most common ways of reducing the cost of items we produce are :
1. Take off all the non-marking polymer bearing surfaces and replace with stick-on rubber tape. The tape will peel off, go brittle in the sun, possibly leave residue on the glass, and need replacing once its worn out and damaged a few of your finished goods. But it will be cheaper to manufacture.
2. Leave the steel in its raw state rather then hot dip galvanising or painting or powder coating it. It'll go rusty, leave stains on your product, and look like crap, but it will be cheaper.
3. Install cheaper castors. They won't be rated for the load to be carried, they won't roll as well across an uneven floor, they may fail and cause your product to fall possibly hurting staff, but they will be cheaper.
4. Build everything with lighter gauge steel or thinner aluminium. Most of the time it'll be ok, and it will be cheaper.
5. Leave out the retention systems. Your staff can secure glass and windows using ropes, glazing rubbers, straps, with bits of cardboard and carpet. It'll take them an extra hour or so a day, you'll get more damage to your products, you're customers may wonder how serious you are about looking after their products, you may have health and safety issues, and you'll sometimes run short on things to tie with but I'm sure you'll be able to make do somehow. Best of all it will save you money at the time of purchase.
As I said to a customer this week, we can build solutions however you want, but our preference is to do it right the first time.
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27 February 2012
What could possibly go wrong?
Christchurch has had over 8500 earthquakes in the last 16 months. Fortunately there have been no deaths or major injuries in glass and window factories, but there have been some "near misses" we can all learn from.
1. Staff were unloading packs of glass from an open top container when a quake hit and swung the lifted glass, narrowly missing a staff member who was helping manoeuvre the glass.
2. A glass cutting table was on castors and not braked or locked down. It rolled across a factory floor narrowly missing the owner.
3. Freefall glass fell onto an open walkway area used by staff to escape from the factory.
4. Glass offcuts stored in pin racks smashed as a worker hid behind them.
The solutions to these problems are not difficult and we sell equipment to fix each scenario. Safety arms to stop the glass breaking and ensure that glass falls vertically onto itself instead of out and away from the racks is essential. Once the safety equipment is in place all factories need process and procedure to ensure that it's used. This is another area we help with.
They key is to be thinking about what could happen in your factory if a quake hit. Think "What could possibly go wrong?".
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20 February 2012
Why not tie window frames to a vehicle with rope?
It's a reasonable question, as for years this has been the main form of window retention on window transportation vehicles in many countries. Windows are complex to transport because :
1. They come in such a wide range of sizes and shapes
2. They can flex and damage the frames
3. They can flex and break the factory glazed glass
4. Many modern satin finish powder coatings are softer than in the past
5. Thickness varies from thin doors and sashes, to windows with reveals installed, to curved and angled units
6. They are a finished product with a high dollar value
In the past no supplier that I'm aware of has offered a purpose built window transportation system. Some glass transportation systems have been adapted and some companies have designed pogo-pole style systems to assist with window retention. In my opinion, none of these could be classed as a purpose designed and built window transportation system to manage the window from the production line to the customer site. The solution from The Glass Racking Company is to the best of my knowledge the first. Check it out HERE.
Benefits of The Glass Racking Company Window Retention System include :
1. Security of the load. The pole based system provides compression between the pole and all of the polymer Profoams between each item in the load. Once under pressure it's extremely difficult to move any items. We also recommend a strap around the entire load for additional collision safety.
2. Reduced damage. When units don't move in transportation they don't get rub damage. Also the poles retain directly through the load rather than straps which wrap around the edges of the frames and can bend them in.
3. Reduced time preparing window frames for transportation. With this solution the window frames are transported without any additional packing and wrapping. ProFoams are clipped on and the windows are stacked. Simple.
4. Loading and unloading times are reduced. This varies based on what systems the customer has previously used, but all experience time savings, some very significant.
5. This system requires little if any maintenance. The componentry is built to last, not to wear out.
6. Skills and training. Solutions supplied by The Glass Racking Company include simple written user guides, plus we have video user guides online. The training time is very quick.
7. Health and Safety of staff. This is a key criteria in everything we design and supply.
8. Image. Customers like to see that their suppliers use specialist equipment.
9. Liability. In the event of a collision or incident the authorities will look more favourably on a window company which uses purpose designed systems.
10. Options. I admit that some loads, particularly oversize tall items, are sometimes better retained with straps and ropes. Our Window Retention System suits maybe 90% of loads, and is easy to use ropes and straps for the other 10%.
There are still some window companies who believe that carpet, cardboard, and ropes are suitable wrappings and protection for 100% of transportation of their finished product to their customer site. We have now migrated many customers from ropes to our Window Transportation System and all agree that it's a far better system. It's a mindset and operational change, and it works.
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14 February 2012
Why not tie glass to a vehicle with rope?
It's a reasonable question, as for years this has been the main form of glass retention on glass transportation vehicles in many countries. Here's a brief list of why I think a purpose designed glass retention system should be mandatory on all glass transportation vehicles :
1. Safety of other road users. Ropes and straps will usually hold glass during normal transportation but I question its suitability as a retention system in the event of a collision. Glass is a heavy flat panel product with extremely sharp edges which have the capability to slice through retention ropes. Retention systems such as polymer blocks and winders are not "cutable" and hence much safer.
2. Ropes wear out as they fray where they are pressed against a sharp edge. All retention systems should be built with componentry which does not wear and hence does not need regular maintenance or replacement.
3. Time wasted. I've filmed and timed glaziers tying ropes to secure glass loads. The time taken when compared to purpose built retention systems make the cost justification of a purpose designed retention system a no-brainer.
4. With ropes and straps the user cannot guarantee that every item is 100% secure. There's always items which have the potential to move, particularly on fully stacked loads, and where the size and shape of the glass items varies greatly. Any movement of glass items, however small, has the potential to scratch the glass, or further loosen the load. This is because ropes tie around the load rather than a pole based system which secures directly through the load. Use poles and get less damage to your glass – its that simple.
5. Skills and training. Supporters of ropes will argue that they've been using ropes for years and avoided the above issues. The time required to train a new staff member to safely secure a load glass with ropes is far longer than with a purpose designed retention system. Solutions supplied by The Glass Racking Company include simple written user guides, plus we have video user guides online. You don't get that from your rope supplier!
6. Image. Customers like to see that their suppliers use specialist equipment.
7. Liability. In the event of a collision or incident the authorities will look more favourably on a glass company which uses purpose designed systems.
The Glass Racking Company has developed a system for glass retention which uses aluminium poles with sliding polymer blocks. The non-marking polymer "sticks" to the glass, and the flex of the aluminium pole provides inwards pressure on the glass load. The glass load is very secure. This system addresses all of the issues raised above.
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7 February 2012
How do I get the best efficiency from my glass vehicle fleet?
Rather than answer this one myself, please checkout the following link to the latest USGlass Magazine. On page 36 is a 4 page feature which addresses this very topic in great detail. It's a very good article and well worth a read. Click HERE to read.
Or if that doesn't work for you here is the link :
http://www.magnetmail.net/actions/email_web_version.cfm?recipient_id=619694701&message_id=1761230&user_id=KEYCOMM&group_id=367613&jobid=8800034
Combining the benefits of the right truck cab chassis, the items outlined in the USGlass article, and the right retention system can make a huge difference to your transportation solutions and your company. Benefits will include time savings, cost savings, reduce risk of injury to staff, and improved image to your clients.
I hope you enjoy the USGlass article.
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30 January 2012
What does it really cost me to build it myself?
The Glass Racking Company is a supplier of factory handling equipment and transportation systems to the glass and window industries. Some companies in the glass and window industries build equipment themselves. So for the example of a trolley, what does it really cost to build one yourself?
Our trolleys have castors rated at 460kg (1000lbs) each, as they are designed to carry to weight of the glass. We buy them cheap as we source in bulk direct from the manufacturer, but buying a smaller volume locally of a similar quality castor can be expensive. Many self-made trolleys I see have inferior castors, so there is not a true cost saving here.
The bearing surfaces on our trolleys are an inserted polymer which is designed specifically for glass, and is a product owned by us and not available off the shelf. Self-made trolleys often have black rubber bearers (which rub and mark glass and windows) or timber. Both are inferior products which may be cheap to purchase but are not an apples with apples comparison versus a trolley from The Glass Racking Company.
Our trolleys have safety arms for safe manoeuvring of the glass and window around a factory. Few self-built trolleys have this feature.
We hot dip galvanise our trolleys for longevity and appearance. Many trolleys are used in wet conditions so galv is the best finish. Many self-made trolleys are raw steel or painted, so not the same.
I believe that the cost for a staff member to design a trolley, source all the parts, manufacture and assemble the trolley and make it suitable for work in the factory is much higher than most people realise. It's the opportunity cost of what that staff member could otherwise be doing which is the real cost per hour. Also many business owners tell me it only took their person a day to fabricate the trolley, which doesn't allow for all the design and sourcing time.
Lastly there is always a risk when you build something for the first time. Much innovation but also but cost comes from experimenting with new ideas. This is avoided by purchasing products from a specialist provider with over 20 years experience in supplying the glass and window industries.
So what is the real cost of a self-made trolley?
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23 January 2012
What did that staff injury cost?
With any work injury the primary concern is making sure that the injured staff member is ok and able to recover. There's usually an investigation into how and why the injury happened so that the likelihood of a reoccurrence can be reduced. Rarely however is the actual cost of the injury assessed.
I suggest the following costs need to be included :
The staff time off work
The cost of any medical treatments born by the company
The time taken by management to process the injury
Loss of production by other staff immediately following the incident and injury
The loss of productivity while the staff member is away
The additional management workload required rescheduling work and staff while the staff member is away
The time and costs associated with implementing new procedures (sometimes debatable as to their necessity)
Loss of staff morale
Company reputation
In some countries government and insurance levies are increased for workplaces where injuries are more common
The management stress associated with having an injured staff member (I'm not sure how to put a dollar figure on this, but thought it should be on this list)
Yep, it's a pretty long list of potential and very real costs.
Many of the products supplied to the glass and window industries by The Glass Racking Company are focussed on health and safety to make our workplaces safer, reducing incidents and injuries. Our primary goal is staff wellbeing, but a clear secondary consideration is the actual costs of an injury.
At times our customers management tell us that staff won't use the tools they've been provided. With equipment which has been purchased for health and safety benefits, whose decision is it as to whether the equipment gets used or not? Consider the potential costs when making this decision!
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16 January 2012
How can technology give me a competitive edge?
The Glass Racking Company is one of around a dozen companies globally which specialise in factory handling and transportation systems for glass and windows. I believe we are the only company in the world which has developed a solution specifically for transporting window frames. Everyone who buys this solution is looking to gain competitive advantage.
So is it the technology that creates the advantage? I believe not. It's the application of that technology to fix a well-understood problem, and that's where the quality of the people who manufacture and supply the solution make a difference.
I'm often asked to quote a particular product from our catalogue. When I ask the customer for more detail about what they're trying to achieve, I'm often able to offer an even better solution. That's a skill we have, and a benefit of doing business with a company who is dedicated to understanding and helping the glass and window industries.
Can companies, which copy our products, offer the same benefits? I think not. So they key to gaining a competitive edge is to align with a partner who has good staff and good technology. Having only one is not enough.
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9 January 2012
What would happen in an earthquake?
In my home town we've had over 8500 earthquakes in the last 12 months, including the most violent earthquake ever recorded anywhere in the world. The losses of glass have been massive, and to date there have been no earthquake related fatalities in the glass and window industry.
During the year all Christchurch glass and window manufacturers have been seeking to make their workplaces safer in an earthquake.Earthquakes can occur in any part of the world, and it makes sense to consider the following if an earthquake occurred :
- How would each of my staff get out of the building?
- On their way out what storage systems would they have to pass by, and how would those storage systems be behaving in an earthquake?
- Which items could fall and break?
- Which items would become potentially dangerous if broken or falling?
- Which items are on castors or wheels and would potentially move in an earthquake?
In one glass factory I visited the staff had to run a gauntlet of falling glass to get out of a building. Had it not been for glass retention systems they would have been injured. Another factory had trolleys on castors rolling around the floor, and one factory manager narrowly missed being crushed by a rolling glass cutting table.
A third factory was unloading a pack of glass from an open top container when an earthquake occurred. The pack of glass swung, narrowly missing one of the staff who was in the container. In each of these situations the earthquake was making any movement by the staff more challenging. Many people have been knocked to their feet by the earthquakes, so any planning for exiting an area need to take this into account.
Bryn and myself now have unique knowledge about earthquakes and the glass and window industry and are keen to share this with anyone who wants to listen. Please call anytime.
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2 January 2012
Where do my factory staff walk?
When factory staff in glass and window factories are standing in one position doing their work we gain many benefits. These include :
- Improved productivity by that staff member
- Reduced disruption to other staff members
- Improved health and safety (mostly)
- Improved quality
However, if the part of a manufacturing process which a staff member is responsible for requires them to move around the factory then each of these four benefits tends to diminish.
Many of the storage and factory handling (trolley) solutions which The Glass Racking Company provide the glass and window industry are designed to bring bulk or partially processed raw materials closer to where the staff work. A great example is our tooth based DGU and sash trolleys. These allow a sash maker to have a stock of cut lengths and DGUs right next to his sash assembly table, and a trolley for placing the finished sashes in. When organised well, the sash maker can be head down making sashes all day without the need to walk around the factory. The only movement needed is to wheel another load of DGUs to his work area, or wheel a load of finished sashes to the final assembly area.
It's an interesting exercise to track where each of your factory staff move around the factory on a typical day. Once you understand their movements and why they move it becomes easy to make improvements.
26 December 2011
Its Boxing Day today and most of the glass and window industry staff and management are at home with their families and friends.I hope you've had a good Christmas, and thank you for your readership and feedback over the past year.
I would also like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and we are looking forward to helping you and your company's through 2012. Bryn Thompson, Founder / CEO The Glass Racking Company bryn@theglassrackingcompany.com .
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19 December 2011
Where do hard surfaces touch my product?
Glass manufacturers and window fabricators work with products which scratch very easily. When scratched both products becomes worthless. Scratches only occur when a hard surface touches the product, so it makes sense to build manufacturing processes which eliminate the risk of a hard surface touching the product.
I challenge you to walk through the entire manufacturing process at your facility from the point of delivery (and consider how your raw materials are delivered) to the point where the customer takes ownership of the finished product, to identify where (if any) hard surfaces touch your product. If you make changes to these areas of your factory you will reduce rework costs.
Products to eliminate the hard surfaces vary from simple plastic sheathing on pipework, to polymer bearing surfaces on trolleys and storage systems, and clip on copolymer Profoams for separating units. At The Glass Racking Company we have a range of such products and will be pleased to help you. We are also focused on developing new protection products for the glass and window industries, so if your needs are new to us we'll work with you to create a solution which will work.
Please let us know how we can help.
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12 December 2011
What did that rework cost?
This is the third blog in a series of questions for executives and staff in the glass and window industries to ask ourselves, our staff, our customers and our suppliers.
In my job I get to meet a lot of business owners and factory managers for glass and window companies in their facilities. Some are very open about their rework costs and issues. Others tell me they never have rework. Either way most end up buying a solution where one of the major benefits is reduced rework.
So what did that rework cost?
Imagine a window fabricator who's taking a load of custom made windows to their customer site one hours drive from their factory. Along the way one of the windows, an average sized and valued unit, is scratched and the factory glazed DGU gets cracked. What does this actually cost the window fabricator? Is it the cost of the unit? The steps involved in fixing this issue could include the following :
1. The driver phones the business owner
2. The driver tells the customer
3. The customer and the business owner talk
4. Someone tries to work out why this happened, and what the business can do differently to reduce the likelihood of the same thing happening again. This may lead to new policy and procedure, training, and/or corrective action.
5. The business orders more aluminum or PVC and a new DGU
6. The business owner and the supplies haggle over delivery times and who is to pay
7. The business owner advises the customer of likely dates/times for the replacement window
8. The business owner schedules the manufacture of the replacement unit in the factory
9. The business receives the raw materials and manufactures the unit
10. The unit is delivered to site
11. The customer is disappointed and the credibility of the business is impacted
12. Payment for the windows may be delayed
I spoke to a few window fabricators about what the actual dollar value of the fix is. I estimated the cost at around $400. One window fabricator said it would be at least twice that. What do you think?
Most agree that the cost of rework can be calculated and that the cost is high.
The keys to reducing rework is to stop hard surfaces from touching finished product, reduce the unwanted movement of finished product (such as when being transported), and reduce the number of "touches" of the product post manufacture. The Glass Racking Company has many products to achieve this. Some of these products are very low cost and have an immediate benefit and cost saving for the business using them. I believe these are "no-brainers".
So I challenge you to think about your most recent rework. What was the cost of the fix, why did it happen, and how could you reduce the likelihood of this happening again?
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5 December 2011
Is this the best use of my time right now?
I'm writing this as I sit in a small town on a late Sunday afternoon after having my flight home cancelled. How ironic.
This is the second blog is a series of questions for executives and staff in the glass and window industries to ask ourselves, our staff, our customers and our suppliers. This particular question "Is this the best use of my time right now?" is a question to ask ourselves, although it can be turned around a little and asked of others.
All this question does is remind us of what our goals are and what you've already worked out you need to do to achieve them. Focus is just a way of not being distracted – and we are often offered distractions from what we know we should be doing.
My main goals for the coming week are well defined. If I can avoid distractions, and my flight tomorrow morning leaves on time, I should be able to achieve them.
However, the best use of our time is not limited to the working on our business goals. The best use of our time might be to take time to reflect, to reminisce about the good old days with a friend, to get exercise and stay fit, to let your kids know that you care and want to spend time with them, or to socialise with colleagues. We all need to spend time doing these things to be balanced, and when we're balanced we're most productive at work – we achieve more of our work goals.
I believe the key is to always be considering whether or not this is the best use if your time, and if it isn't, change what your doing to something which will give a better outcome.
Simple questions. Better outcomes.
For me a better outcome is to go fishing in the rain with an old friend, so that's what I'm going to do right now ……
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28 November 2011
What can I do to help?
This week I start a series of blogs on questions which make you think.
Its often said that successful people ask more questions than unsuccessful people, so I thought I'd run a series of blogs on good questions for the owners, managers and staff in the glass and window industries to ask themselves, their staff, their customers or their suppliers.
To kick this series off, here's a very simple question : "What can I do to help?". As I say to my kids, the more times they ask that question of their parents the better the household and our family runs. Kids being proactive and helping around the home leads to less stress and happier parents. When the home is running well the kids get more of things they want. It's that simple.
Relating this to business in the glass and window industry, the same applies. We tend to want to help those who want to help us. If someone has a problem, whether they've admitted it or not, to ask what you can do to help is often all it takes to improve the relationship and lead the way towards better results and outcomes.
In dealing with customers it's essential to find out what issues the customer is facing. This creates opportunities to promote your company and its services. My prospective customers often experience broken or damaged glass and window units during transportation to the customer site. What can I do to help? Well, my solutions from The Glass Racking Company help reduce transit damage and reduce costly rework ….
Think about it - when was the last time you said "What can I do to help?". Say it a few more times today and see where it takes you. Let me know how you go.
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21 November 2011
Movember
Yes it's that time of year again. Movember, the month when over a million men around the planet grow moutaches to raise funds and awareness for mens health.
Movember is something that I've supported for the last few years, and this year I'm again sporting some facial hair for the month. Men's health issues have been in the closet for too long and if Movember helps get them out into the open and assists with funding research into cures and preventions then I believe it's a good cause.
You'll see attached a photo of my moustache after 21 days growth. It's reasonably bushy and unfortunately even more grey than my moes of previous years, providing fodder for my friends, colleagues and families humour.
If you're sporting a mo for Movember please send me a pic. It'll be good to have the support of others in the glass and window industry.
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14 November 2011
Planning for the future
Imagine you're given the ability to see the future. Imagine you can see that in your home town the number of new residential and commercial building constructions will increase by over 400% for the next 10 years. The start date is uncertain, but most likely a gradual increase over the next 12 months.
What goals would you set for your business, and what changes would you make to your business, starting today?
To make the game more interesting think of the changes you could make to your business in terms of the 8 P's :
Product development (Will your product address the new market and is now a good time to invest in product improvements)
Pricing (What volumes will you sell at what margins)
Placement (Where in the market will you focus your sales effort)
Promotion (How will you advise new and existing customers about what you do)
Packaging (What services will you offer around your product and service)
People (How will you motivate and hold your best people, and how will you recruit)
Process (Will your processes meet your future needs)
Physical presence (What are the non-product things which your customers will see)
This is the challenge offered to the glass and window industries in Canterbury following on from the series of earthquakes and destruction of the last 14 months. Interestingly the number of glass and window companies which have made radical changes to their businesses is quite low.
If it were up to you, what would you do?
7 November 2011
Retail glass.
Our retail industry in New Zealand seems to be over-run by chains of stores that focus on price. Sports shops, as an example, seem to be more about selling low cost branded bags and hats and less about assisting the customers to use the right sports equipment for the sports they enjoy. My personal experience buying tennis equipment for my son is that good advise about racket selection from a retailer is hard to come by, and the entire retail experience was frustrating.
I also hunt. Hunting retail shops are brilliant. There are many very good specialist hunting stores, with staff who are hunting fanatics and happy to share their knowledge and wisdom. Shopping for hunting equipment is both enjoyable and educational, and most times I leave the hunting shop feeling I've achieved something and moved forward. This retail approach helps me as the customer and also sells their product.
In the evolution of the sports stores there must have been some point in time where they decided to stop focussing on employing experts in favour of cost reductions. A dark day indeed.
I believe that our glass industry has some similarities to hunting stores. The industry is full of experts who give good advice and good service. When a customer buys a houselot of windows or retrofit double glazes their house they are investing in a key component of their biggest asset. Surely this is the time to seek good advise before price.
Hopefully the nature of the product and the people in the industry will prevent the glass and window industry going the same way as the general sports stores.
The older I get the more appreciative I become of good advice, and the more accepting I am that good advice comes at a price or with a premium.
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31 October 2011
What makes the glass and window industries special?
The People
This is the last blog in a series of 13 weekly blogs on things I like about the glass and window industries.
One of my reasons for setting out to write this series of blogs was that the industry is depressed in terms of volumes which has made being a business manager or owner very challenging, with many having to make hard decisions they thought they'd never have to make. Additionally local businesses in my home town of Christchurch have been affected by the natural disaster of major earthquakes which have severely impacted our lives and businesses. The net result has been a glumness in the industry, a lack of confidence by business owners, and general negativity. As one business owner said to me last week "I've just had it with business and everything. I'm not sure when or how it'll come right and I'm sick of pouring my savings back into my business". Unfortunately this sentiment has been quite common. The glass and window industries people have become depressed and are not at their best.
I've been a part of that and find myself also down at times over what's happened. It's only natural.
So, what better way to cheer myself up (and hopefully a following of readers) than to get back to basics, the things we enjoy about the industries we work in! The glass and window industry is a wonderful industry that I'm very pleased and proud to be associated with. It has dynamics which make it unique, it's chocka full with interesting people and characters, and it's changing at a rapid rate. Coming up with a list of 13 things I like about the industries has been a piece of cake.
Taking a stance that the cup is half full, the economics of the industry will come right. We'll see a lift in house and commercial building construction which will lead to increased volumes in the industry, and we will see a return to more normal profitability for businesses. In the meantime lets all keep doing our best, and enjoy the good things which the glass and window industries have to offer. Being glum won't help, but being upbeat and positive will. Continued rolling in the mud doesn't make you any cleaner!
We are the people of the industry and the industry is its people.
I hope you've enjoyed this series of my blogs. Any feedback is welcomed, as are suggestions on what else you'd like investigated and reported on.
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24 October 2011
Today is the day after the New Zealand All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup for the first time in 24 years. Most years we have been positioned as the top team in the world in every aspect except winning this trophy, so to finally win is a huge monkey off our backs. For many this win was as much a relief as a reason for celebration, and for me its both.
Back to the blog on reasons why the glass and window industries are such a great place to work :
What makes the glass and window industries special?
Health and Safety
Glass is a heavy flat panel product which is fragile, and when broken creates sharp edges and shapes with the ability to injure. The glass and window industries all require significant manhandling of glass, so our staff are in physical contact with the product during processing and installation.
The industry knows it has health and safety challenges. The Window Association of New Zealand is completing a document for its members on glass handling, and Viridian Australia just released a safety handling manual on DVD. At the recent annual awards ceremony for the AGGA/AWA the opening address challenged the attendees to help make the industry safer stating that the industry has had too many injuries. We all know we need to do health and safety better. What was good enough in the past is no longer good enough.
No safety, know pain
Know safety, no pain
The Glass Racking Company supplies a range of products to address health and safety needs within glass and window factories. Even in my home city, with over 8500 earthquakes in the last year including the most violent earthquake ever recorded anywhere on the planet, our success rate of selling safety solutions is low. We get asked for solutions. We design and quote a lot of solutions. But the number of customers who actually proceed to installing a solution where the primary outcome will be a safer work environment, whether from us or sourced elsewhere, is for me, surprisingly low.
Where we do get health and safety improvements is where they are built into solutions. Where the primary benefit of a product is for example a time saving, and the secondary benefit is health and safety. This helps the industry move forward with health and safety, but is it enough?
Health and Safety is a hobby-horse for me. I cringe when I read reports of staff from the glass and window industries being injured. I particularly dislike reading reports where the equipment used or staff training were to blame for the incident. These incidents are unnecessary and we are all responsible. I wish I could do more.
However, this series of blogs is about what makes the glass and window industries an interesting place to work, and despite my frustrations with health and safety, it is something that interests me.
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17 October 2011
What makes the glass and window industries special?
Glass is an international industry with local manufacturing
Congratulations to the All Blacks for their stunning victory over the Wallabies last night. Unlike the previous days rugby world cup semi-final between the Welsh and the French, the best team on the day did win. The final is now set between France and New Zealand, the two countries with largest number of rugby players – what a segway into this weeks blog …….
There's no such thing as a small glass float line. They're all massive, and they need to be. The volume produced from a single glass float line is enough to feed a pyramid of glass companies, window fabricators, and glaziers. This volume capability means that many float lines export their glass product to offshore markets. Glass is truly an international product.
However, in many markets the processing of that glass into finished product (cutting, edging, creating DGUs, etc) is completed in the home market, and most times relatively close to the site where the glass item is finally installed. In this way glass is truly a locally manufactured product.
For a variety of reasons, many glazing businesses are very small operations. Much of the work they do requires local processing and manhours and will never be replaced by larger highly automated offshore production.
The glass and window industry supports businesses from some of the largest to some of the smallest. The businesses bear little in common except that they work with the same core product, and in my opinion this is something which makes the glass and window industry an interesting place to work. Many of the smallest operators started their careers working for the larger companies, then broke away to do their own thing and run a business their way. Other smaller businesses are growing and will some day be major players – maybe not a float line operator but a key glass processor for their local area. Others are clearly happy with their lot and will just keep doing what they do.
The Glass Racking Company is a provider of glass and window transportation and factory handling solutions. We have the pleasure of dealing with all sized companies across many countries.
The glass and window industry provides opportunities to everyone who works in it, which creates change, and for me, makes the glass and window industry an interesting place to work.
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10 October 2011
What makes the glass and window industries special?
Many senior managers and owners are young and innovative, new blood
This is a series of blogs on what makes the glass and window industries an interesting place to work. One of the majors for me is the people, and I especially enjoy time with the more senior or older members of the glass and window community - their wisdom and practical knowledge is always a pleasure to experience.
In this particular blog I'm going to focus on a different group, and one which I see as growing in momentum. It's the young and enthusiastic new blood which the industry has attracted.
Although the world economy may be in the doldrums, we see many new entrants to the industry taking on senior roles as boards and executives try to find ways to innovate their way to a better financial position.
While manning a trade show stand for The Glass Racking Company, a young man boldly walked up to our stand, introduced himself, and asked "What new innovative products have you got to show me?". What a great question! It turns out he is a general manager and very focused on using technology to enhance his business and gain competitive advantage. We talked for almost an hour. Senior Managers with this kind of passion for their business lead the industry.
In my home town one of the busier window fabricators is a new start-up, with an owner and manager who is new to the industry. He studied the industry, worked out where an opening for a new player with a new approach would fit, employed a very good right hand man, and went into business. Their model is working and they're succeeding in a depressed market.
On a recent sales trip I visited a window fabrication business which had been under new ownership for around a year. The owner was working his way through the business investing time and money into each area to make it better before moving to the next area of the business. We discussed window transportation and agreed some actions to work on – some were about understanding the business and issues better, and some were about technology and solutions. I enjoy these meetings and I'm sure that the purchases he makes from The Glass Racking Company will make a major difference to his business.
The key to introducing new innovative executives to an existing business is that the business maintains a backbone of experienced and skilled staff and that both the new and experienced staff respect that each has a role to play. Allowing a new person to change things they don't fully understand is just as harmful as having all new ideas squashed before they are fully explored.
It's the people in the glass and window industries that make it an interesting place to work. This blog has focused on the new blood, and some time in the future we'll have a look at some of the characters.
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3 October 2011
What makes the glass and window industries special?
The risk of low cost imported commodity products
I live and work in a western economy and in a western market. My company and others which operate as we do have investment in R&D, tooling, skilled employees, requirements in terms of government legislation, and a similar cost structure to the glass and window companies which we supply.
Our competitors can be broken into two groups – those which operate in the same environment, and those which manufacture at lower cost offshore locations, typically Asia. Those which operate in lower cost offshore locations most often have a lower priced product to offer the market, but price is not everything. This is the same challenge for the glass and window industries. To be successful local manufactures must justify their price premium through differentiating their product.
In many of the markets in which we operate, suppliers of glass and windows from these lower cost offshore manufacturers are quite new and are seen by many of the incumbent suppliers as being a threat to the local businesses and economy. And they are. In some cases local government legislates to protect local businesses while other governments are more free market.
The reality is that there will always be countries which have a lower cost of manufacture than traditional western countries. It seems unlikely that will change in the short to medium term. This is a challenge which is here to stay and each business must work out their place and how they can be successful.
This is a challenge which is not unique to western economy glass and window companies. Most if not all western manufacturers have the same challenge.
In general, most lower cost offshore manufacturers are best at doing large runs of identical product. When it comes to standardisation they are the kings. However, short runs of highly tailored product present a challenge. This is where local manufacturers can differentiate. In many ways the architects who design difficult glass and window solutions are the best friends of the local manufacturer. In fact you could say they are essential to the ongoing viability of many local manufacturers in some markets.
How ironic that the architects who create difficult projects, and are often criticised for it, are also the life blood.
This is another aspect of our industries which challenges us, generates concern and discussion, creates decisions and change, open doors of opportunity for those who are prepared to change, and helps make glass and window an interesting industry to participate in.
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26 September 2011
What makes the glass and window industries special?
The vital role of the large glass manufacturers and the aluminium die holders
In most of the markets which The Glass Racking Company operates there's at least one large dominant glass supplier to the market. This company generally supplies the smaller glass companies and glaziers with both raw product such as packs of glass, plus finished product such as DGUs. Likewise for aluminium and PVC supply to the window fabricators, there is generally at least one dominant supplier, typically a die holder.
These companies and their staff play a vital leadership role in the glass and window industries. Key responsibilities to the industry include :
1. Supply of goods to the industry
2. Participation, management and funding of industry bodies and associations
3. Technology leadership
4. Health and safety leadership
5. Marketing to the general public (such as the benefits of DGUs or value added glass)
6. Marketing to the architects (such as the benefits of structural glass)
7. Distribution of equipment (many smaller customers utilise hand-me-downs)
8. Training (many industry staff start their careers with these large companies)
And I'm sure there's plenty more roles they play. However, perhaps the most interesting role is as a trusted partner to the industry. Most medium and small glass companies, glaziers and window fabricators will turn to their key suppliers for advice on important business decisions, and in most cases they will get good advice. Through their dealings with the industry the senior managers of the dominant suppliers tend to be positioned with the knowledge and experience to offer good advise, and for free.
New entrants to the glass and window markets are often surprised at how strong the bond is between a small glass company, glazier or window fabricator and their major supplier. A new offering has to be significantly better than the incumbent to even get a look in, and even with a price advantage, companies may be hesitant to change. Such is the strength of the bond. Well done to the incumbent suppliers – this proves their worth.
Many other industries don't have a structure with dominant suppliers who are trusted partners, and this helps make the glass and window industries unique. This is another aspect of the glass and window industries which makes it an interesting place to work.
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19 September 2011
What makes the glass and window industries special?
The unique challenges of transportation of glass
20 years ago when we entered the market developing and manufacturing glass transportation vehicles much glass was transported by general freighters in what is often referred to as furniture trucks. These were general purpose vehicles, with general purpose retention systems (straps, ropes and cleats), loaded and driven by staff with general truck driving and delivery skills – not specialists in glass in any way.
If the industry had continued supplying small single glaze glass panes this may have continued to be a viable delivery solution. However, our glass industry developed and continues to develop, creating a need for purpose built systems to handle the new types and size of glass units, reduce the load and unload times, reduce damage in transit, and create cost effective glass transportation solutions. Likewise many glass companies are now training glass factory staff to be truck drivers and delivery staff as they want those front line staff representing their company to be recognised as glass specialists, and handle the product appropriately.
I could write a book on what makes glass transportation unique, but for the purposes of this blog will focus on safety to the driver and other road users. Aside from some chemicals, no other product is as potentially dangerous to road users as glass. Glass is by its nature a very thin heavy flat sheet product with the ability to cut and slice which becomes even more dangerous when broken. If a glass load separates from a rack or vehicle during transportation (at speed) it's a killer and needs to be treated as such. If the glass vehicle is involved in a collision and the glass separates from the rack or vehicle then it adds another very dangerous element to an already dangerous collision incident.
The Glass Racking Company has a tried and proven glass retention system for securing glass to our racks, and our racks to the vehicles. This solution and its components have been certified by independent engineers and we are continually updating and improving on a system which works. We take this responsibility very seriously and often work with transportation authorities and industry bodies in the markets we service.
By comparison, some glass transportation systems still use ropes, straps and in some cases glazing rubbers to secure glass to a vehicle. In my opinion as a road user and industry participant this should be illegal. It's quite simply unsafe. The more the industry develops the more inappropriate these retention systems become.
I believe that the glass industry has a responsibility to rid itself of unsafe practises in all aspects of the business. We all play a part in this.
So, in summary, the product that we work with and transport is another aspect of the glass industry which makes it an interesting place to work. Looking forward we have much work to do to make transportation of glass as safe as what it needs to be. This will involve discussion and debate and I'm sure continued product development from companies such as The Glass Racking Company.
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12 September 2011
What makes the glass and window industries special?
The unique challenges we face on-site
I hope you had a good weekend. I spent the weekend enjoying the opening and first games of the rugby world cup, including watching Argentina almost topple England in Dunedin. It's been an absolutely brilliant weekend which sets the scene for my next blog in a series on what makes the glass and window industries interesting places to work.
When working on-site we are handling our product when it has the greatest value – any breakage, scratch or damage at this stage of the process has maximum cost. From a construction perspective, we are also handling one of the more difficult items on the building site due to weight, shape, and ease of damage. This is what makes the glass and window industries on-site challenges so interesting.
Additionally damage to a window or glass item on site is usually more challenging to replace than other construction products. Damaged timber or wall panels or tiles are typically an off the shelf item and relatively easy to replace. In many cases there is surplus items on site specifically for the purpose of replacement. By comparison in a lot of markets all windows are tailor made and not available as an off the shelf item. This increases the inconvenience and cost associated with the rework.
Equipment exists to address the site challenges we face on 90% of construction sites :
1. Lifting grips to help when staff need to lift glass and window items
2. Automated lifters for items which are too heavy to lift manually
3. Trolleys and frames for taking the weight of product, storing product, and assisting with moving product
4. Quality equipment built for the glass and window industries which has protection for the product through use of polymers and foams
At The Glass Racking Company we supply all of these products. We understand the needs of the industry and have spent 20 years developing solutions which work. Our website, product catalogue, monthly newsletters, weekly blog, Youtube videos, and activity on social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn are all ways in which we build awareness of our solutions to common industry problems.
For the really difficult sites and projects we're often approached to assist with coming up with an innovative solution to a particular need. A good example was a lifting crate for glass to fit through a narrow gap in the top of an air traffic control tower. Our protection products, engineering skills, and access to resources meant that a solution was quickly designed, checked, manufactured and put into service. A challenging on-site requirement was addressed.
If you have experienced damage to finished product, injury to staff, or simply can't work out how to complete a particular job, then please contact us. We're here to help and won't waste your time.
For me, this is what makes the glass and window industries interesting. Standard products developed for general construction most often just don't do the job for glass and window projects. Glass and window on-site projects are unique and are another aspect of the glass and window industries which makes it an interesting place to work.
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5 September 2011
What makes the glass and window industries special?
The unique challenges we face in factories
Glass is a unique product in so many ways. From a factory handling perspective it has some unique characteristics which impact the way we handle the product within our factories.
Glass is a heavy, fragile, expensive, and awkward flat panel product which becomes very dangerous when broken. Additionally it becomes worthless when its marked or scratched. These characteristics lead to the following unique challenges :
1. We need to minimise the time spent by staff taking the weight of the product. This is best done with the right trolleys and carts for the right jobs within the factory. This includes harps, A-frames, and tooth based trolleys plus specialist trolleys such as pin racks and tree trolleys. Staff should rarely have to carry glass.
2. When staff do take the weight of the glass load they need the right tools to do this. Lifting grips and handles (like the CarryMate) assist, and there is a range of both manual and automated lifting equipment available which is purpose built for the glass industry.
3. Most factories have cranes. Use them. Install cranes over and around specific machinery where lifting and positioning is challenging.
4. We need to ensure that no hard surface touches the product. This can be done with transit dots between items, polymer bearing surfaces on all trolleys and storage systems, and careful choice and use of all systems to store and move product. Storing glass items like a toaster rather than stacking them like a sandwich also helps.
5. We need to track all damaged or broken items to identify where the incident occurred so that we can make changes to reduce its occurrence.
6. We need lifting equipment for getting glass on and off processing machines and transportation. This could be an overhead crane system or a floor based device such as a driven lifter or manual lifter. As the size of the units continues to increase this becomes more of a necessity.
7. Quality industry specific safety equipment for all staff is available and mandatory.
8. Training is available and essential for all new staff.
9. We need to keep our experienced factory staff in the industry and preferably in the factories which they know and understand. With the right encouragement they provide the best training and factory improvement resource.
Window factories have many of the same challenges. Window companies are dealing with a higher value finished product than the glass shops, so the implication of damage or breakage to glass and windows within their factories is higher, with added delays and inconvenience. In some markets window companies have traditionally been gifted older equipment from the glass companies to assist with glass handling. In my opinion it's the window companies who should be leading the industry in factory handling as the rework costs and implications are highest for them.
All this of course is what makes our industries great places to work. The best glass and window factories are not just about efficient processes, but also about reducing rework and addressing health and safety needs. We are fortunate at The Glass Racking Company in that we've spent 20 years creating innovative solutions to address these challenges, and best of all, we enjoy developing products and processes for the industry.
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29 August 2011
What makes the glass and window industries special?
Positioning within the construction industry
This is the third in a series of blogs on what makes the glass and window industries special – what makes these two industries an interesting place to work. This week we focus on where we fit in the construction industry.
The positioning of the glass and window suppliers within the construction industry has changed in the last decade. Windows and doors have transformed from being gap fillers in a building, to being a structural component, and a key architectural item for a building. This has elevated our status. Glass and windows are now top of mind for quality architects and designers and we are now involved far more at the project inception stages of large projects. This is very good for the industry, and helps make the fenestration industries a good place to work.
In terms of the build we tend to sit near the completion of the building. This creates some challenges. Firstly by the time the building is 80% complete the project funders are often over budget and looking to reduce their overall costs, which can lead to some changes to the scope of the glass and window work. Additionally by the time we get on site to complete our installations the pressure on timeframes is often at its peak, and we have additional installation challenges bought about not only by the timeframes placed on us, but also by the timeframes placed on other tradespeople who are working around us. Although some would find these issues just a pain, others see them as characteristics which make our industry interesting, and provide an opportunity for those companies who can best deal with these challenges to set themselves apart and be successful.
Looking forward I believe that glass and window suppliers will continue to become more important in the overall construction industry. This will be due to the pace of change in our products, and the end customer trend to desire buildings with more natural light, more solar and green capability, and improved asthetics. Our products are trendy!
The Glass Racking Company is a supplier of factory handling and transportation solutions to the glass and window industries. We work hard to understand the industries in which we work so that we can identify opportunities for improvements. We enjoy the industry and work hard to be the industries best partner.
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22 August 2011
What makes the glass and window industries special?
The product – Windows
This is the second in a series of blogs on what makes the glass and window industries special – what makes these two industries an interesting place to work. This week we focus on the Window Industry, sometimes referred to as the Fenestration Industry, and why the core product of a window is interesting.
Windows have been manufactured for centuries. In basic terms they are an opening which allows light in and the home owners to look out. Have they really changed over time? You bet they have!
The speed of evolution of window technologies has been fast and continuous for at least a decade, and would seem to be continuing at the same pace with many new innovations just starting to be developed and released. This makes for change in all aspects of the window industry and keeps things very interesting. So what are some of those changes which the customers see :
1. A movement away from wooden window frames to predominantly PVC and aluminium
2. Larger window and door sizes
3. Increased options for door and window opening designs
4. Increasing colour options including different colours on the outside and inside
5. More glass options, including triple glazed
6. Increasingly strong designs to support heavier double and triple glass units
7. Changes to joint techniques bought about through improved processing equipment (multi-drop saws, CNC, robotics etc)
Additionally there are more changes that we as industry participants see :
1. Increased automation of the design, quotation, and manufacturing processes
2. Changes within factories to handle the heavier weight of parts within the manufacturing process, and finished goods
3. Changes to transportation and onsite installation processes and equipment to handle the heavier weights and sizes of finished goods
4. Increasing numbers of raw materials suppliers with dies and extrusions
5. The risk of standardisation and international trade policies leading to competition from offshore low cost manufacturers
6. Increased competition and lower margins
The Glass Racking Company is a supplier of factory handling and transportation equipment to the window fabrication industry. We have a fast pace of change to our product line-up and are continually releasing new offerings to the market to keep up with the demands of a changing industry. Not easy, but fun!
We are very fortunate to work with an industry which adopts and drives change so rapidly. In my opinion, it's the pace of change in the core product, the window, which makes the fenestration industry so enjoyable to be a part of.
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15 August 2011
What makes the glass and window industries special?
The product – Glass
I awoke this morning to see my city shrouded in snow as another polar blast layers snow and blizzard like conditions across New Zealand, and specifically in my home city of Christchurch.
This is the first in a series of blogs on what makes the glass and window industries special – what makes these two industries an interesting place to work. This week we focus on Glass, the main product within the industry.
You could say that glass is a simple product. It's a transparent building material. It predominantly gets fitted into frames and gets installed in building walls. Its manufactured from basic and common raw materials, and produced in most major countries. But we all know glass is much more complex and interesting than this.
Glass is a fragile, expensive, awkward shaped product which scratches easily and is very dangerous when it breaks. Glass is unique – no other common product is similar, and I can't think of any product which will ever replace it. Not many products in the building trade can claim that!
The characteristics of glass have spawned industry factory handling, site handling, and transportation equipment, processes and skills which are unique to our industry. The fact that copying the equipment, processes and skills used in other industries would result in glass scratches, breakages, unacceptable time delays and possible injuries has meant that our industries have created their own solutions. The industry is full of innovative, creative, and passionate individuals who want to do things better, often in a new way. That's what makes the industry interesting.
The Glass Racking Company has a 36 page catalogue of factory handling and transportation solutions for glass and window companies. Almost all of these products are specific to the glass and window industries, and almost all relate back to addressing the unique characteristics of the core product – glass. We've just released the mid-year version with some additional products and photos to enhance the document – we need to be continually releasing new products as that's what the industry wants and expects. The catalogue is available online at www.theglassrackingcompany.com click on your country of residence, and choose Company Information. The catalogue, website and videos on Youtube are very popular because staff in the glass and window industries are always looking for solutions would will provide them with an edge, by addressing the core challenges posed by the industries core product - glass.
I'm proud to be associated with the glass and window industries, I enjoy the work and I enjoy the industries peculiarities – most stemming from the uniqueness of the core product – glass.
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8 August 2011
What makes the glass and window industries special?
This is the introduction in a series of blogs on what makes the glass and window industries so special to be a part of. I like being involved with the glass and window industries. In the past I've worked with the IT and telecommunications industries and also a short stint in fresh produce – they were good fun and I enjoyed my time there, but glass and window is where I intend to spend the rest of my career. There's no shortage of aspects to this industry to keep it interesting. Furthermore I'm sure there's plenty of change ahead which means we'll all need to learn, adapt and change the way we think and work, with some capitalising on the opportunities that the changes bring. The industry will have an interesting future that I look forward to and want to be part of.
The titles for this series are :
1. The product – Glass
2. The product – Windows
3. Where we fit in the construction market
4. The unique challenges we face in factories
5. The unique challenges we face on-site
6. The unique challenges of transportation of glass
7. The unique challenges of transportation of windows
8. The vital role of the large glass manufacturers and the aluminium die holders
9. The risk of low cost imported commodity products
10. Many senior managers and owners are young and innovative, new blood
11. Glass is an international industry with local manufacturing
12. Health and Safety
13. The people
If there's anything else that you think makes our industry special to be part of please email me at the link below and I'll include a weekly blog on that topic – or you can be a guest blogger if you like – email me the words and you may get lucky!
Go on, flick me a note with your thoughts .....
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1 August 2011
Trends – Zero tolerance for poor service and product
This is the last blog in a series of trends in the glass and window industries, and is a business trend rather than a technology trend.
There used to be an advert on the telly for LV Martin and Son whose catch phrase was "… and if its not right, we'll put it right, because it's the putting right that counts!". They were very successful, 25 years ago. Today I believe that a company with this ethos would fail. Buyers in the glass and window industries don't want a company to fix errors they make. They expect the supply of services and products to be done right the first time. A simple and understandable expectation.
At The Glass Racking Company one of the common business problems we reduce is damage to stock resulting in less rework. Previous blogs have calculated the cost of a damaged DGU which is identified at site as being around $260. Others have estimated twice this cost for a single small scratch. The additional costs are in the time and hassle of sorting out the issue, all of which is non-productive and will only ever have negative consequences.
The issue of suppliers not getting it right first time is similar. It creates hassles and time wasting for the customer all of which costs the customer. Modern IT and management systems calculate time allocations and costs, and are often focused on "lean manufacturing" – see a recent blog. Understanding what the actual costs of events are has driven this trend to zero tolerance for poor service and product.
This trend is also driving the success of some of the traditional industry suppliers – those with the credibility, reputation, and track record for getting things right the first time. By working with these suppliers the additional costs of fixing errors is reduced for an overall lower cost solution.
Being good at fixing your errors is no longer good enough. This trend is good for businesses, and its good for the industry.
And so ends this series of trends in the glass and window industries. If there's anything you've seen in the glass and window industries that you'd like investigated or commented on please email me at the link below and I'll do my best. More feedback is a good thing!
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25 July 2011
Trends – Electronic Communication
Today I bought my 4WD to work. Our house is surrounded in a layer of around 150mm (6 inches) of fresh powdery snow, and as I write this blog large flakes of snow continue to fall all around my office and our factory. It's very picturesque, and cold!
This is the second to last blog in a series of trends in the glass and window industries.
Electronic Communication. The trend I'm referring to here is a way of customers and suppliers and business partners in the glass and window industries communicating with each other in a way other than meeting face to face or talking on the telephone. Communication being the sharing of information.
In my time at The Glass Racking Company I've seen a dramatic increase in email traffic, emailed newsletters, web based sharing of information, you-tubing, web enquiries from customers and prospects wanting further product information or pricing, Skype videoconferencing, and social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn. This growth has been matched by the decrease in our suppliers calling in to meet with us face to face. This is all good for us.
So why this trend, and is it good for the glass and window industries?
Just for a change, lets look at this from the perspective of The Glass Racking Company being a supplier to the glass and window industries.
The Glass Racking Company supplies predominantly capital items such as van and pickup racks, trucks, glass and window storage systems, trolleys and carts, etc. Each item has a technical specification and a list of common issues or problems which the features and componentry of our solutions addresses. This information lends itself to being published on the web as text, photos, and videos. This communication works very well and is popular with our clients.
The Glass Racking Company is a rapidly changing and growing entity. We frequently open new branches, release new products, and secure significant sales which are of interest to glass and window manufacturers. This kind of information lends itself to communication via emailed newsletters and via social media. This communication works very well and is popular with our clients.
One of our company strengths is our ability to understand exactly what a customer wants and is trying to achieve, and tailor a solution specifically for them. In some markets we know our customers well due to 20 years of doing business. In others we are new to the market and strive to gain more contact of this type with our customers. Increasingly the first point of contact is an electronic one, which leads to a face to face meeting, usually at the customer site, which leads to the understanding and product design. In this instance the benefit doesn't come from electronic communication, but electronic media is where the communication and relationship started.
Yep, as I write this its all becoming very clear – electronic communication is a trend which is driven by people within the glass and window industries wanting to communicate in this way. If we see (and maybe even drive) the trend at The Glass Racking Company I'm sure all other suppliers and partners to the industry do as well.
Looking forward it will be interesting to see how all the existing media – newsletters, emails, websites, Youtube, Skype, and social media come together to form one means of electronic communication. Taking disparate systems and incorporating them into one has been a key to the growth of Google and other large on-line companies, so I predict they will lead the drive and be linked to better desktop, mobile and handheld hardware.
It's interesting times ahead for the glass and window industries in this area with these trends. Be slow to endorse this trend and you will become alienated from your customers through a dependency on outdated communication.
Ah, I can't believe I forgot to talk up the importance of blogging as a means of electronic business communication. I'll blame the cold weather.
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18 July 2011
Trends – Lean Manufacturing
Lean manufacturing, lean enterprise, or lean production, or often abbreviated to just "Lean," is a trend in glass and window production globally. The term stems from the practises of Japanese car manufacturing giant Toyota. Lean implements a company culture and production practice that considers the expenditure of resources on anything other than the creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful, and hence should be eliminated. "Value" is any product or service which a customer would be prepared to pay for. So, in short, Lean calls on the company to eliminate waste – anything which does not directly contribute to something a customer will pay for.
This seems obvious. Simple. A no-brainer. So why is this a trend?
I believe that the reasons are twofold :
1. The benefits derived from a lean manufacturing environment are exactly what every Board, CEO and Production Manager want – a reduced cost to produce the companies core products with no-one wasting time and resources on any distractions.
2. There is a snowball effect. Lean has sparked conference speakers, courses, books, videos and other media. Like all good trends, it becomes a "must have" for successful companies, and it's relatively easy to get underway.
Cynics would say that Lean doesn't introduce much that is new, and is just basic common business sense and manufacturing principles. This may be the case, but the key is that a decision to implement Lean typically creates changes for the better of the company. If giving the processes a name (Lean) and creating a project is what's required then so be it. How can this be a bad thing?
The goal of reducing waste is far reaching. Waste can include raw materials, consumables, staff time and more. At The Glass Racking Company our factory handling and transportation systems assist with reducing damage to product as a raw material, during production, and as finished goods. When windows and glass are scratched they become worthless, leading to rework and waste, and are an ideal target for Lean thinking. Glass and Window businesses implementing Lean typically understand their business costs, and can quantify the benefits of our polymer bearing surfaces, protection products, retention systems, safety arms, and the like. The cost justification of these products becomes a no-brainer.
Interestingly, most companies implementing Lean are more focussed on the cost benefit than the cost. They tend to buy better and perhaps more expensive factory handling and transportation systems. Those not implementing Lean are more likely to choose the cheapest supplier to save on capital expenditure while missing the opportunity to reduce operational costs, reduce wastage, and be Lean.
Many large glass and window companies already claim to be "Lean" and most are somewhere down the track of implementing Lean. Certainly to say publicly that "Lean manufacturing is not for our business" is rare and potentially detrimental to a glass or window companies reputation.
This Lean trend may be in its latter stages. Many years ago the manufacturing trend was to "Materials Requirements Planning" or MRP. Once that became old school the newer and better MRP2 came in to vogue. So maybe the industry is poised for Lean2 – whatever that may be!
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11 July 2011
Trends – Right sizing vehicles
Around the world different markets tend to use different styles of glass transportation vehicles. For glaziers in California pickups are common (as they are in WA in Australia) while in parts of Canada vans are more popular (as they are in the UK). Delivery vehicle styles vary also. More interesting though is the trend – the change to the styles and types of vehicles being purchased.
Historically a fleet of glazier vehicles would usually all be very similar – often the vehicle, racks and fit-out were all standardised. All glaziers had the same tools available to them.
Linking to one of the trends previously discussed in this series, the size of the glass and window units is getting bigger and heavier. Rather than make all vehicles in the fleet bigger to handle these larger units many glass companies are mixing up their fleet – having some very small glazier vehicles (for small replacement jobs), some medium sized vans and pickups (for more common work), and a few larger site trucks (to allow for larger projects and larger unit sizes). This gives the operations manager the ability to schedule the right vehicle, the right team, and the right equipment for each job. In some cases specialist lifting equipment might be incorporated into one vehicle making it even more specialised – not that it can't be used for more common jobs, but when a project calls for lifting equipment its always scheduled in. And for good advantage.
Linked to this trend in the glass and window industry is delivery vehicles getting larger. Double glaze and triple glaze units require more capacity on a glass transporters (delivery vehicle) and hence the vehicles need to have larger racks and the trucks need to be larger. We also see the size of glass companies growing, often servicing a greater geographical area, and requiring larger vehicles to gain efficiencies on longer delivery runs. Overall as one glass customer once said to me "What we used to call a truck suitable for a large glass company is now common in a medium sized glass company".
Add to this that many companies are buying vehicles based on what they predict they will need in the future rather than what they need today. Reading the trends is key to reducing obsolescence costs in the future.
So the key to running a successful glass vehicle fleet can be as much about right-sizing the vehicles as it is about choosing the right vehicle. Or maybe it's about right sizing the fleet. Does this mean that standardisation of fleet vehicles is a thing of the past?
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4 July 2011
Trends – Retrofit Double Glazing and Warm Edge technology
Happy Independence day!
Warm homes. The expression invokes a feeling of happiness, wellbeing, contentment and success, especially if you live in a cold climate. Warm homes – aided by double glazed windows, in-wall and in-ceiling insulations, better use of the suns natural warmth. If you live in a cold climate why would you not want this? Unfortunately for many home owners and in many markets with cold climates the ability to have a warm home is dictated by financial constraints, and many are limited by the original design and build of their homes.
This is where the retrofit double glaze industry comes to the rescue. There are various techniques and products which offer retrofitting modern double glaze technologies to houses and buildings with older style windows and designs. Historically this has been about replacing a single glaze window pane with a double glaze one, or adding an additional cavity and glass/perspex barrier. More recently there has also been a focus on the edge technology – the amount of warmth lost through the window frame and around the edges of the double glaze unit.
The trend in many markets is for an increased uptake of retrofit double glazing, allowing specialist providers of this service to both make a dollar and also create efficiencies to bring their prices down, creating a nice snowball effect. Hence the trend.
There's a lot of opinions about edge technology and how much it affects heat loss.
I've designed and offered to build a demonstration kit for a couple of customers and am still waiting for someone to take up the offer and the challenge. The design is a fridge like box with a range of window frames and glass types set into the top. The temperature in the fridge unit can be controlled up and down to simulate the outside temperatures. Temperature readers on the frames, edges and centres of the window units would track the temperatures and record/graph the results. With this system we could simulate a real day – cold in the morning, warming up during the afternoon, then cool again in the evening, and track the efficiency of the window systems to keep the house "warm". The comparisons would allow customers to make informed decisions. Having this demonstration fridge environment in a window companies showroom would be a great selling feature and I'm sure all potential buyers would want to spend time studying it before making a purchasing decision.
So, the trend for retrofit double glazing and a focus on edge technology is likely to continue for some time. I believe that a tactile demonstration facility with accurate comparative data on the various options would speed this trend.
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28 June 2011
Trends – Health and Safety
How can health and safety be a trend? Owners and managers of businesses in the western world have been focussed on the wellbeing of their staff since the industrial revolution. Globally a few emerging economic powers have dubious and often controversial health and safety records and poorly defined health and safety standards. However, all businesses know that workplace injuries are expensive.
So is health and safety all about cost benefit rather than staff wellbeing? In the western world, health and safety is far more than this. Health and safety is about the companies brand, about how it is perceived as a employer, and whether or not it leads the industry in this measurement. I liken this to the ISO9001 accreditation which got so much business media attention 15 years ago – in laymans terms to be ISO accredited meant that you had to have all your processes documented, not working well, just documented. ISO accreditation meant you could promote your accreditation for the benefit of your business in much the same way as many large companies tout their health and safety records and policies.
Having a health and safety policy is good for staff, good for your business, and good for your brand and marketing.
In the glass and window industries we work with a very fragile, heavy, expensive and dangerous raw material. Injuries in the glass and window industries usually affect the victims long term health. The industry is well supplied with items for operational staff to wear and use to assist with their health and safety – glasses, helmets, wrist protectors etc. and these are typically enforced as part of the health and safety policy. Likewise the larger machinery items in a glass factory (DGU lines, edging equipment, furnaces etc) are generally very safe items.
The area which I believe provides an opportunity for improvement is the factory handling equipment which links the machinery together. The lifting equipment, trolleys and carts, and storage systems. It's here that staff are actually touching the glass and the greatest risk of injury occurs. It's here that the greatest opportunity for reductions in potential injury exist. Good solutions exist (the Glass Racking Company sells solutions with safety arms and protectors on them) and over the next few years many factories will migrate to safer factory handling equipment.
As this happens you'll be able to read all about the glass company health and safety successes in their marketing material!
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21 June 2011
Trends – Solar Panels
This is my second entry in a blog series on trends in the glass and window industries. This weeks trend is solar panels, and what this means for the glass and window manufacturers and industry.
We have a solar panel at home for heating our hot water cylinder, and also a solar system for heating our swimming pool. We installed both about 5 years ago. At the time the hot water cylinder heater was very high tech and claimed to be able to heat water even when under 3 feet of snow, but had a financial payback of 8 years. By comparison the swimming pool heater is very low tech, and simply uses lengths of black pipe on our roof to warm water and cycle it from the pool on warm days. This paid for itself the first year.
In the solar market today the primary glass industry emphasis is on photovoltaic cells and their inclusion in glass panels to generate electricity. These panels can be used to clad buildings to reduce the operating costs of the building in a way which is green. The secondary focus is on farms of convex mirrors used to heat water and hence produce electricity. In both cases the likely impact for the glass industry is being talked up, and most large glass companies have chosen to have some involvement in development of photovoltaic solar technologies.
I liken this to the router market when the internet first boomed. All IT companies needed to own a router company, and all thought they could make an easy dollar. In the router market a few companies (such as Cisco) eventually won the technology race and were able to mass produce to reduce production costs. The others all faded away. The end result was Cisco and a couple of others making moderate profits from mass produced commodities.
Will the same happen with the photovoltaic solar market and the glass industry? It's hard to say. What is clear is that an increasing number of buildings (both residential and commercial) will have a solar component in their design. Where there is change in design there is always a dollar to be made by someone. Whichever company can position themselves as the "standard" and produce sufficient volumes at manufacture, transportation and installation to reduce their costs (and hence their sale price) will surely make that dollar.
There will be other consequences for handling and installation. These solar glass units will no doubt be large and heavy with installation complexities not found with traditional windows. And will it be glaziers who install these units?
Perhaps the bigger question is which country the winner will come from. Will it be from the traditional innovators in the glass and window industries, or from the emerging low cost of manufacture countries?
I think we'll know in five years time.
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14 June 2011
Trends in the glass and window industry
It's time for another series of blogs. This time the subject is "Trends in the glass and window industry", and will cover the following topics :
1. Larger glass and window units
2. Solar panels
3. Health and Safety
4. Retrofit double glazing and warm edges
5. Right-sizing vehicles
6. Lean manufacturing
7. Electronic communication
8. Zero tolerance for poor service and product failure
The trend to larger glass and window units is spearheaded by architects and designers wanting to use flat glass for its primary purpose – as a transparent wall panel. Larger units with less transoms and vision rails provide a modern look to a building or dwelling and are aesthetically pleasing.
This trend is driving a movement towards more lifting and weight handling equipment within the factories, on vehicles, and specifically for site installation work. This equipment is expensive and there are companies who are committed to processing and installing bigger heavier items. There are also companies who are resisting the need for this investment and commitment who will ultimately position themselves out of this opportunity.
These trends are more prevalent in markets where standardisation of units is uncommon, such as in the south pacific. Where standardisation is more common and importation laws allow it, standardised smaller glass and window items are imported from low cost of manufacture countries to the detriment of the local industry.
In my opinion the trend to larger glass and window units is essential for the local industries. The more unusual the glass item, the better for the local industry. Accept and promote the trend to larger items and work out how to make a dollar from it. Resist this trend at your peril.
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7 June 2011
Woody Allen
I sold some equipment last week to the CEO of a window company who thinks our products are just great. They also work with glass and will continue to buy our products to upgrade their glass and window transportation vehicles and glass and window factory handling equipment as cash flow allows. What we have fits what they need. It's a good relationship.
So what.
For the last 3 years I've been trying to meet with the decision makers of this company. I've phoned. I've dropped off brochures and catalogues. I've called past and waited in reception. I've even tried to push my way past reception (The "wall of reception" created by the receptionist was impenetrable!). For some reason I just couldn't click with this company. Rather than question why they didn't want to meet with me, my view was always that I had failed to get in front of the right people. It was my job to make that happen, not theirs. When I did, things happened that were good for both companies, and that's the reward I get for not giving up.
Given the same challenge again I don't think I'd do anything differently.
Persistence was all that won on the day. Eventually I turned up when the CEO was prepared to meet with me. Woody Allen once said "80% of success is just turning up" and I believe he was right.
My relationship with the CEO and his company could be very beneficial for my company on many levels. Certainly it's a relationship I'll treasure!
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30 May 2011
Resistance to change
I had a funny experience recently. We had sold a pair of Carrymate lifters to a glass company. CarryMates are a lifting device which allows glass and windows to be lifted in a way which is more ergonomic to reduce fatigue and the likelihood of injury.
Feedback from the buyer was that one of the older staff members was not using the CarryMate lifters as he didn't need them, or they were "useless" or some such comment. It was all a bit vague, and I wanted to meet the user.
At the factory I saw the older staff member using the lifters to carry a plate of glass. He saw me and appeared to try and hide. It was as if he was embarrassed to be seen using equipment to assist with a job he and others had been doing without tools all their careers.
Is this resistance to change, or is it pride? Either way it almost put the skids on a product which has clear advantages. Furthermore this was a solution which the management of the glass company had already funded. How could I or the management have handled the purchase better to ensure the staff used the CarryMate lifters? Your thoughts please.
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23 May 2011
Creeping Elegance
Many years ago when I worked in the IT industry we used to describe some projects as having "creeping elegance". This meant that the customer initially defined what they wanted their system to do. A solution was designed, priced, and the process of implementation would begin. During the project the customer's specification would change – always making it more complex, and often addressing new needs which weren't part of the original spec or users requirements. Sure the new solution was better as it addressed more needs, but it often became overly complex.
Creeping elegance also occurred post implementation. Parts of the system which weren't quite right were rectified. Usually the rectification was through a "patch" rather than going back to the core system and making the changes properly.
The same applies in glass and window factories. Often processes designed by the management, factory staff, or office staff have creeping elegance. An example could be the process for quoting where the need for getting an accurate price to the customer is overly complicated by the need to have better reporting or including details of new products (whether they are needed or not).
We often see storage and retention systems having creeping elegance. A well designed storage system (such as Concertina racks or Swing racks) not only stores the product but also retains it. Other systems just built for storage that have retention added at a later date are often over-engineered and clumsy to use.
In the worst cases of creeping elegance additional engineering is added to accommodate larger items, or earthquake proof a system, or make a system which was never designed for transportation useable for transportation.
The test for any system is the sales test. If it was your job to sell that solution to a new start-up company, could you do it? If the answer is no, then creeping elegance has probably got the better of your company!
Fortunately at The Glass Racking Company we have a particularly good and experienced product development team. When we look to improve our product designs we always go back to stage one. This helps ensure our solutions are comprehensive without being complex.
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16 May 2011
Speeding up processing in a glass factory
During the last week I had two similar discussions with managers of double glaze glass factories. Both were experiencing difficulties unloading their lines fast enough. The difficulty comes from lifting, carrying, and placing a unit onto storage (or onto a vehicle), then getting back to the line in time to pick the next item before the line has overloaded. The challenge comes with larger units where the lifting and process cannot be managed by a single person, and is more time consuming. Modern automated lines will stop production if not unloaded, hence the benefit of the fast line cannot be realised unless the manual part of load and unload are also fast.
I know of two solutions to the unload dilemma. The first, and in my opinion the best solution, is for a small overhead crane system with a sucker bank. The overhead cranes typically have weight loading of around 1000kg and operate underneath the factory gantry crane. The overhead system has tracks and rollers so that a hanging sucker bank will "follow" the operator as he/she moves around a specific area, such as between the end of the double glaze line and the storage area. Quality technology in the overhead system is essential. A range of sucker options such as the Bystronics Armatec provide the sucker system. A video showing such a system can be found HERE
Another alternative is an electric powered site lifter which is driven around the factory. The arm at the front which supports the sucker bank have a range of swivelling and tilting options for picking and placing off the production line. These units are typically designed and manufactured for site glazing where the positioning requirements will be more complex and precise than most factory needs. Good examples of devices like this are the KS Schulten KS Robot 280 and the Winlet 350. Although not as fast as an overhead crane system at unloading, this equipment is more multi-purpose around a factory and can also be used for site work by staff or key customers.
As architects specify every increasing sizes for glass panels into new homes and buildings the need for lifting equipment such as this within glass factories will become more common. Additionally the equipment which was once only used by large companies will become more needed and more common in smaller companies. Fortunately the price for these items continues to reduce as production volumes increase.
If any readers know of other solutions for speeding the process of unloading heavy items from a double glaze production line please let me know.
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9 May 2011
Handling objections
Customers and buyers in all industries, including the buyers of glass and windows, will always place objections with the salesman. It isn't the customer being negative or challenging you, its just part of the process of the buyers satisfying themselves that they want to proceed with the order.
In many cases the buyer wants you to successfully address the objection so that they can get on with buying the solution. If you think of objections like this you're more likely to succeed.
A well proven process for handling objection is :
Customer "The concern I have with your solution is …."
Salesperson "If I can address this issue will you buy?"
Customer "Yes"
Salesperson "So what I understand your asking is ……."
Customer "Yes"
Salesperson "(Pause). Our solution addresses this by …. Are you happy that this answers your question?"
Customer "Yes"
Salesperson "Great, then lets proceed with processing the order"
Note the trial close at the start of this process. It's all about setting an expectation that at the end of the objection the order will be processed.
Note the attention to detail in restating the objection. This is to show the customer that you want to fully understand their issue and that you're taking it, and them, seriously. It also gives you time to think about how you'll address it. Banging out an answer, even a very good one which addresses the objection, will unlikely satisfy the needs of the customer and you'll get another objection. The goal with this process is to get the objection phase over and done with.
The (pause) is simply for effect. Many buyers like to feel that they've asked the salesperson a curly question that almost tripped them. It's human nature. Do the pause and make it look like you're having to dig deep to sort out their objection – it works. (Many salespeople think its their job to know all the answers to all the customers questions, and show the customer how knowledgeable they are. It's not. Making sales is the job!)
The "Are you happy that this answers your question?" is another trial close and leads nicely into confirming the order.
And so ends this series of blogs on the sales process. I hope you've enjoyed it. I've enjoyed writing it. Many years ago I ran a sales night class at the local Polytechnic so it's been enjoyable to review and update that material for salespeople in the glass and window industries, and also with content and things I've learned since then. Refreshers are always useful. You're never so clever that you can't learn!
This series started from a request from a customer, so please let me know topics which interest you.
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2 May 2011
The Close
This is either the last stage, or close to the last stage of the sales process. It's where we ask for the order. Much has been written about the best way to ask for an order – the way which maximizes the likelihood of a positive income. I've researched this and found nothing specific to the glass and window industries or glass and window buyers.
First some history. The first ever sales course was help in Dayton Ohio in the late 1890's by John H Paterson, the founder of National Cash Register (now known as NCR). The NCR sales course trained the NCR salespeople in a process for closing more orders. The process was all about closing. The salespeople role played the close in rows of desks, each taking turns to be the salesman or the customer. When the time was right in the conversation the salesman threw his pen at the customer so that it bounced off the customer's chest onto the ground. The salesperson then stared straight at the customers eyes. After a delay most customers (probably a little confused) reached down and picked up the pen. As they did this the salesperson very cleverly pulled out a contract and placed it in front of the customer. As the customer sat up, with the pen now in their hand, the salesperson said "Push hard, three copies". And that is how NCR increased its sales to become the world leader in cash register sales. Ah, the good ole' days!
During the century which followed the "art" of selling was further developed, the role of the salesperson became far more professional and comprehensive, and the sales process as I've documented over the last few weeks became better understood and used. In the modern world sales is more about forming partnerships and credibility than it is about sales tricks. Thank goodness. However, it is still true that some closes work better for some customers than for others, and if a customer is for some reason reluctant to confirm an order some of the techniques developed during last century may be helpful.
In my opinion the keys to any close in the glass and window industries are :
1. Ask for the order confidently. If you struggle with this then rehearse it.
2. Look the customer in the eye as you speak. Be confident and expect the order.
3. Once you've asked say nothing more. Just wait.
4. Once you get the order leave. Don't delay.
When faced with a closing question the customer has only two options. They can either say "Yes", or "No, because ….". Either way you have just got closer to an order. Once the customer says "because" it gives you the opportunity to trial close by replying with "If that issue went away , would you place an order?". If they say "Yes", then you know what you need to do to get the order. You then need to use your creative problem solving skills to come up with a solution which is acceptable to you and your company, and addresses the "because" issue. Once done ask for the order. Again you will either get a "Yes" or a "No because …" which can cycle several times before the customer says "Yes". Job done.
Next week more on handling objections.
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25 April 2011
Proposing Solutions
Ah, the stage of the sales process which most failing salespeople in the glass and window industries focus on. If you've done your work right up to this stage the customer is already sold on the idea of buying off you as you have shown more interest in their business and needs than any other salesperson. Best of all you haven't come across like a product pusher, and no doubt there are a few of those if your window or glass community!
Proposing solutions should come simply and naturally to both you and the customer.
Before presenting your solution it's a good idea to recap and trial close the customer. Some good phrases to use with glass and window buyers are "My understanding of your needs is …." and "If my solution can meet these needs is there any reason that you wouldn't do business with me?". This confirms your professionalism and again emphasises your focus on assisting this customer to find a solution which addresses their needs. This sets the tone. Then tell the customer that you're now going to show him/her how your solution meets these needs, and get on with it.
Proposing solutions is really easy. It simply a matter of relating the features and benefits of your product or service to the known needs of the customer. Make sure you use the phrase "which means that…" lots of times. This phrase forces you to talk about the benefits of the feature.
For many glass and window sales props or demonstration systems assist with showing the features of the offering. Glass and window products rarely sell themselves – if they did then all salespeople would have been replaced by websites and showrooms years ago! It's the salesperson who ties the products features to the customer needs and makes the sale.
In any competitive market each player will have product features which are unique. Each competitor will most likely have some aspect of their solution which could be seen as weak. These are often known by all salespeople in the industry, and are usually far more important to the salesperson than they are to the customer. Relating features to the customer needs and articulating the actual tangible benefit for the customer is the best use your words.
For some customers it's a good idea to check off each need as you go by asking "Can you see how this need will be addressed with this solution?". When done right this comes across as being highly professional. Done poorly it can be offensive. Be careful.
At the end of this stage of the sales process you should have shown the customer that your solution meets all of their needs. The job is all but done.
Like all stages of the sales process there are things to avoid :
1. Make sure you have finished all the previous stages of the sales process before you start proposing your solution
2. Avoid any feature of your product which does not address an identified need of this particular customer
3. Make sure you address each and every agreed need. If your solution is weak in a particular area then tackle that head on. Be honest.
Next week we look at the "Close", which is the fun bit.
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18 April 2011
Understanding implications
This week we look at understanding implications – the third stage in the selling process for a new customer. This series focuses on selling in the glass and window industries – a topic I have been asked to feature.
The Understanding Implications stage is all about reconfirming for yourself and also for the buyer that this is a project that is worth pursuing and that they will eventually make a decision on. Some prospects are "Eager Seekers After Knowledge", or ESAKs, or often referred to as "time wasters". These are the buyers who are all enthusiastic about a pet project of theirs, make you run in circles and jump through hoops designing and pricing solutions, but never actually get around to making any decisions. The reason is simple – there aren't strong enough implications of them not proceeding.
Understanding implications is as simple as asking "What are the implications for you if this project doesn't got ahead?", and should only be asked once the needs are fully understood. Often customers will be surprised that you asked, and most will give you a straight answer. The answer will assist you in deciding how much time to commit to this project. If you believe that this is a time waster you may decide to provide an estimate rather than a fully spec'd quote, or you may choose to withdraw from the opportunity by saying something like "This is not really core business for us and I don't want to let you down". You may even choose to divert this time waster to your opposition with "For what you want XYZ may be a good option…".
A strong implication has a compelling event. A compelling event is a date or thing which must happen, and if it doesn't, there will be dire consequences. The consequences need to be well known to everyone involved, and ideally the buyer will be scared by them. An example could be a penalty clause in a housing contract which the buyer cannot sustain, window installation equipment which is essential for a specific installation on a specific day on a specific project, or a new government regulation for health and safety around glass handling which needs to be in place by a certain date. The beauty of compelling events is that they have a time frame that you can work back from to push your order through, and there are well understood implications or consequences for non-delivery.
Don't be afraid to withdraw from an opportunity if the implications aren't strong enough. If you commit enough time to looking for them, once in a lifetime opportunities arise about once a week in the glass and window industries.
Things to avoid :
1. If you want to withdraw from an opportunity don't just stop responding. That's rude. At least be upfront and tell the customer.
2. Don't get fooled into thinking that because the customer is excited that a project will proceed. Everyone has to justify their buying decisions to someone.
Next week we look at "Proposing Solutions".
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11 April 2011
Understanding needs
Thanks to those who provided feedback on last weeks blog about building rapport. This week we look at understanding needs – the second stage in the selling process for a new customer.
By the time we start understanding needs the customer will think that we may be alright to do business with. All purchasing decisions include some element of emotion and are never 100% logic, so the understanding needs phase is an opportunity to step yourself above the competitions rep by doing it better.
So what's the best way to understand the needs of a buyer or business owner in the glass and window industries? Here's some thoughts :
1. Remember that this phase is as much about selling yourself as a professional as it is about understanding what the customer wants. The more thorough you are, the more questions you ask, the more detail you want to clarify, and the more ideas you can put to the customer the better.
2. Most customers will have a standard list of needs which they will share with all prospective suppliers. This is their minimal list so that each supplier can quote so that they can choose the cheapest. If you only get this list (which may be written down, may be a set of building plans or a tender document, maybe told to you) then you are simply in the pool with everyone else. Behind these needs is another layer that you'll have to dig to uncover. They are needs that relate to things like status, image, reduced stress during the build, resale value, use of "green" supplies and services, time they need to commit to the project, and the like. Asking questions like "Who is the best supplier you've ever used on your projects, and why were they the best?" and "What are the key attributes you look for in a business partner?" often uncover these needs. Once you truly understand this level of needs you are positioned to create an offer with differentiation over the competition.
3. If the customer doesn't have a defined project for you to bid on, then try asking open questions to identify the opportunities. Try questions like "What's the biggest cause of rework in your factory", or "What were the biggest issues resulting in unforeseen costs with your last project?", or "What do you think is the biggest opportunity for increasing you profits on jobs like this?". These type of questions will uncover opportunities which the customer will want to pursue, and maybe only with you.
4. If the customer contact is particularly businesslike try opening questions like "Where do you want your business to be in 5 years?" then after he/she answers ask "Do you have the right business partners to get you there?" followed by "What characteristics do you need in your business partners to help you?". To the right buyer these questions will set you apart forever.
5. Once the customer has finished with their list of needs, ask a few questions which draw the customer towards the unique selling benefits of your solution. Questions like "Will you insist on XY spacer bar due to the benefits of ..?", or "Have you considered the new satin finish aluminium window frame finishes which provide ….?" are a subtle way to set yourself up to win.
6. Use your industry knowledge to help define any area of the customers needs which you think needs more thinking.
7. Qualification of sales opportunities is a much talked about and documented part of the sales process which I have chosen to exclude from this series. My reasoning is that with the depressed global economy few if any supplies can afford to qualify out sales opportunities on the same basis as we did a few years ago.
8. Follow-up to understanding the needs. Try sending an email back to the customer after the meeting thanking them for the opportunity, and documenting what you understand their needs to be. This further confirms that you are professional and focused on the project and the agreed customer needs, and also provides the customer with the opportunity to add to your list or clarify points for you. Additionally it provides a level qualification if you get no response!
Some things to avoid
1. Don't accept the need of "I will buy the cheapest". Always clarify with searching questions like "Cheapest purchase price, or lowest cost of ownership over the life of the product?", or "How will you factor in you own time to the overall costs?". Make them think.
2. Don't tell the customers how well your solutions meets these needs as you uncover them. This comes later on. Talk of those benefits now will distract from what you're trying to achieve.
3. Don't try to remember all the needs. Take the time to write them in a notebook.
4. Don't finish discussion on any individual need until you fully understand it. Even if the customer appears frustrated, they will appreciate your attention to detail. These discussions sometimes uncover errors in the customers thinking, or lack of thinking the issue right through. Again, this leads to credibility for you, and qualification of how much time you want to commit to this project.
Next week we look at "Understanding Implications".
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4 April 2011
Building rapport
This is my first blog of series on how to get more sales.
When trying to establish sales to a new prospect establishing rapport is the first step and its essential to get this right before you move on. In laymans terms, rapport means getting the prospect to think that you might be the kind of person that he or she wants to do business with. We've all met people that we just didn't "click" with – the memories of bad rapport are often clearer than those of good rapport.
Establishing rapport doesn't mean "blowing them way", that comes later on …..
So what's the best way to build rapport with a buyer or business owner in the glass and window industries? Here's some thoughts :
1. Introduce yourself and shake hands. Make sure you are dressed appropriately for the person you are meeting. Groom yourself tidily and don't go out of your way to appear as an individual. Most buyers and business owners of building companies, and the glass and window industries dress conservatively. This is the very first impression, and although much has been written about the importance of making a good first impression, in my opinion the goal is to not make a bad impression. Prove your uniqueness and abilities later in the meeting.
2. Pronounce the persons name right. This is becoming more important as all countries become more multinational and multi-cultural. If the name is challenging for you check the pronunciation with the receptionist (or telephonist if you are phone calling) and practise it till you get it right.
3. Use the persons name in the conversation. You have to say someone's name a lot of times before it comes across as being said too often!
4. Research the company and the person so you have something interesting and topical to include in the conversation. Challenge yourself to somehow introduce that knowledge in the first 5 minutes of the meeting. Lines like "Oh I see, have you used that at the supermarket project at the XY mall?" show that you know more about their business than the last rep.
5. Make sure you ask questions to get him/her talking, and leverage off the answers you get to develop the conversation.
6. Use open ended questions which start with "What" or "How" or "Which" and can't be answered with a "yes" or "no" answer. Your first question should immediately engage the prospect into the conversation.
7. Be an active listener. Active listeners says things like "Yes" and "Really" and "Wow" and "Mmmm" at just the right times to keep the person talking.
8. Always have a question to ask the CEO that will make them think you understand their business. Even if your meeting is with someone else have a CEO question. If you bump into the CEO in a lift don't ask" How's things going" but instead ask "Have you seen good reductions in product damage since you put that new 6 wheeler truck on the road". They like to talk business issues.
9. Only talk about positive things. If there's been an issue talk about the opportunities arising from it. Avoid discussions about your problems.
10. Be honest. It's a rare skill and will gain respect from most prospects.
11. Know when to stop the initial chat and move onto a business topic. This comes with experience and again the most memorable examples of timing are often when someone gets this wrong. Too quick and you come across as aggressive, too slow and you're a time waster. Just right and you have rapport and are good to do business with.
12. Once the rapport is sorted out open the meeting with a bold statement of why you are there. Rehearse it. Say a phrase like "I represent The Glass Racking Company. We specialise in transportation solutions for glass and window companies which reduce rework and save time. There may be some areas of your business that we can help with". Don't rush it, and use intonation in your voice – it's the first time the prospect is hearing what you do, and they should be interested as they have already agreed to meet with you.
13. Most senior managers in glass and window companies are tactile people. They often come from a manufacturing background and have often spent much of their careers using their hands at work. Bring one of your products to the meeting and place it on the desk between you. If the buyer is tactile he/she won't be able to resist picking it up. I like to ask "What do you think this is" which usually leads to good rapport building conversations.
Some things to avoid
1. Often customers will have family photos or trophies in their offices. If you see a photo of a guy trout fishing don't say "Do you go trout fishing?" as that's what all the previous reps have said. Try "That looks like the Tongariro River" or "Have you fished Montana?" as at least you show some knowledge of the sport. If you have no knowledge avoid it altogether.
2. If you're meeting a new CEO for the first time don't ask why they left their last job. Most are fired, that's just the nature of the CEO role.
3. When you ask a question and get an answer avoid the temptation to bore the customer with your thoughts on the topic. Its far better to appear interested in their thoughts. The time for your thoughts and knowledge will come later in the sales process.
Next week we look at "Understanding Needs".
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28 March 2011
Earthquakes and Sales
Firstly a quick earthquake update. Since the earthquake of 22 February (over a month ago) around 390 tons of sand and silt has been removed from Christchurch city – that's around one ton per man women and child. We still have a cordon over much of the CBD and some areas within the city are without drinking water and on limited power. The future direction of the city is very uncertain and those responsible for the big decisions for the city and its people have not yet been forthcoming. Emotionally it's a very challenging environment to live and work in, and many Christchurch residents are "frayed at the edges".
Most glass and window companies are now fully operational, and many have seen an increase in volumes and workload, especially in repairs, as residents and businesses start the rebuild. The long range forecast is very positive for glass and window businesses and many are planning to expand their use of technology to capitalise on this.
Our business The Glass Racking Company continues to serve our customer base and through all the turmoil of the last few months few if any of our customers have had their service from our company impacted. For that we are very proud. Our customer base has been very loyal and supported us through this time with communication and orders so that our factory is working full weeks and our staff have had surety of being paid 40 hours a week. For that we are very grateful.
That's all about the earthquakes. I'm sure many of you have heard enough about it already and are suggesting that I get over it and move. I'll do my best!
In these blogs I've recently completed a series on safety and a series on reducing rework.
When I ask customers how I can help them many answer "get me some more sales", so I'm starting a series on sales skills tailored to the glass and window industries. Many readers of this blog are involved with customer interaction and sales so hopefully each of the next few weeks blogs with give you at least one little gem to use so that I may somehow "get you some more sales".
A typical sales process with a new prospect has these steps :
Build rapport
Understand needs
Understand implications
Propose solution
Trial close
Close
Handle objections
Close
In this series over the next few weeks I'll cover one step per week and hope you enjoy.
All feedback always welcome.
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21 March 2011
Safety Arm Video
This weeks blog is very short and sweet. Click HERE to checkout a video of our safety arms retaining stock sheets of glass. This retention system meets the requirements we've identified for this role, as follows :
