OsBlog

July 10, 2009

AWFS Press Release - Capitalizing on CAD

Filed under: Shows — Melody @ 1:08 pm

So, this week we are finishing up preparations to head out to Vegas for AWFS. Our team includes company CEO Leon Osborne, as well as members of the office, shipping, and production (listed alphabetically): Christian, Dennis, Haden Liz, Melody, and Nathan. You can find us at booth 1419 (which also happens to be the part number of this popular island leg). The following text is a press release that will be featured in our local paper in the upcoming week.

Osborne Wood Products to Present in Tradeshow

The tradeshow season in the woodworking industry is underway, and the team at Osborne Wood Products is preparing for the trek out to Las Vegas, Nevada; the site of this year’s Annual show for the Association of Woodworking and Furnishings Suppliers (AWFS), which is convening July 15-18. This is a big year for Osborne, as they not only have a booth, but also have an employee making a presentation at the show.

Christian Smedberg is giving a presentation entitled Capitalizing on CAD; Enhancing Sales and Choosing Software. Smedberg will be drawing upon the experience from his position as drafting engineer, in conjunction with his relationships with various software companies. He has seen firsthand how CAD (Computer Aided Design) can be utilized in marketing and sales, as well as in design.

The presentation will be geared toward cabinetmakers; and intends to educate the attendees on how to use cabinet software to market and sell their products. Smedberg also deals with important design issues involved with using CAD programs, such as which software program to use, techniques such as photorealistic rendering, and how to display the digital representations of their work to their customers.

Smedberg will be demonstrating six different CAD software programs and discussing what to look for when deciding to purchase a program. He will also address the fact that in the last five years manufacturing and design software have merged into one package, and that importance of having both in that same package.

Smedberg is looking forward to the show, commenting, “I am privileged to be a featured as a speaker at the upcoming AWFS Fair. I hope to continue the education of many cabinetmakers as they learn more about integrating their software with sales and marketing.”

On the tradeshow floor, the team from Osborne will be getting to meet customers face-to-face and get feedback on current products, as well as new product ideas. While they hope to hear about the things they are doing well, a significant reason for this type of customer interaction is to learn what they can improve on as a company. In fact, the driving force behind creating a full DVD catalog of their items as CAD images was the feedback they received from customers at a prior AWFS show in 2007.

Company CEO Leon Osborne is looking forward to the trip as well as Osborne’s opportunity to make this presentation. He remarked, “This opportunity to provide needed information to experts in the architectural design field is timely. I am delighted to see Christian Smedberg to be selected as an educator assisting cabinet makers to learn how to effectively present their products.”

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June 30, 2009

Osborne Implements Drugs Don’t Work Program

Filed under: Daily Life at Osborne, Osborne in the community — Melody @ 7:45 am

This is a press release sent to the local paper in regard to our new membership in the Drugs Don’t Work initiative.

Osborne Wood Products Implements Drugs Don’t Work Program

Toccoa, Georgia

06/19/09 — Osborne Wood Products has implemented a state-certified drug-free workplace program. The company has joined with more than 7,800 certified drug-free workplaces in Georgia in providing a safe, drug-free work environment for employees. On June 19^th, Chuck Wade – the director of the state’s drug free workplace provider, Drugs Don’t Work in Georgia – conducted employee education for the employees of Osborne Wood Products. Employee education is one of the five requirements of state certification. The other requirements are: 1. Substance Abuse Policy, 2. Drug testing of employees, 3. Supervisor training, and; 4. List of treatment and counseling centers in the area. The Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce assists companies in achieving certification in Stephens County. State certified drug free workplaces in Georgia receive a state-mandated 7.5% discount on workers’ compensation insurance premiums.

When asked about implementing the program, Osborne Wood CEO Leon Osborne responded, “It is important to us to provide drug prevention information and education to our employees. This is information they can take home and share with their children to help keep them drug and alcohol free. We are proud to be a member of the Drugs Don’t Work in Georgia program.”

Above (L-R) Drugs Don’t Work State Director Chuck Wade, Osborne CEO Leon Osborne, and Executive Assistant to the CEO JR Muretisch with the new Osborne Wood Products Employee Handbook, edited to include information on the Drugs Don’t Work program and the related Substance Abuse Policy.

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June 25, 2009

Lean Manufacturing Part II - Lean Accounting

Filed under: Daily Life at Osborne — Melody @ 9:11 am

Osborne Wood Products is continuing on the endeavor to streamline the production process through Lean Manufacturing. To that end, Osborne has recently hired a Lean Accountant. Lean accounting is so new on the fiscal scene that only a handful of companies in the country have anything like it. It is such a cutting edge field that training for it can only be found in a few places. Among the few, however, is South Carolina school Clemson University.

The reasoning behind changing to a lean accounting system is this: whenever a company seeks to implement lean manufacturing methods, they learn very quickly that clashes will occur between these lean techniques and the conventional cost accounting methods. The methods of traditional accounting can almost actively counteract lean manufacturing procedures.

Traditional accounting processes are complicated and generate a great deal of work that adds no value to the products being manufactured. Additionally, the reports generated often encourage keeping large levels of inventory, when in fact a large amount of inventory indicates that those monetary resources are unavailable for any other use. In addition to being a poor indicator of the exact impact of lean changes made, traditional cost accounting reports are generally understood by few, if any, of the people using that data to make significant company decisions. These reports, typically done on a monthly basis, often provide information at a point when they are too late to be the most beneficial.

Lean accounting methods seek to provide only that information which is necessary to make good decisions, in a frequent and timely manner, typically on a weekly basis. These reports are cultivated in ways that indicate the effects of the lean processes, and help to better facilitate those changes in ways that will increase the value of the products, the growth of the company, and the flow of fiscal resources.

Lean accounting is not simply pushing numbers around or “selective” reporting. Rather, the principles and procedures of lean accounting comply with the complete extent of GAAP, or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, insofar as requirements and regulations. Essentially, lean accounting applies the same lean manufacturing principles to the gathering and processing of financial data, to eliminate waste in that process, as well. In doing so, the reports generate information in a way that wastes less time and fewer resources, and provides information that helps indicate the performance of lean manufacturing processes, while also indicating ways that the capacity of the company has increased or diminished.

Joining the Osborne Wood Products team as the new Lean Accountant is Bill Thomason, who lives in Cornelia, Georgia, with his wife, Sheila, and their three children. Thomason has a BBA in Accounting, and is currently working toward an MBA, including studies in lean accounting. He has over 15 years in accounting and fiscal experience, including 3 years with the Eastanollee-based American Woodmart.

Osborne Lean Management Coordinator, Bob Ward, commented, “In our search for a lean accountant, we sought out an experienced financial professional who was open to change, an individual who could embrace lean accounting principles. We found that person in Bill Thomason.”

Company CEO Leon Osborne also commented on Thomason and the newly created position, saying, “Lean Management is a part of who we are, and goes hand in hand with the ideals we have been committed to since our beginning in 1979. While traditional accounting is often at odds with the lean management processes, lean accounting augments the implementation of lean management in every aspect of the business. We at Osborne are proud to have Bill Thomason supporting our lean initiative as our Lean Accountant.”

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June 23, 2009

Scout’s Honor

Filed under: Osborne in the community, Customer Photos — Melody @ 8:35 am

Recently we were privileged to receive pictures from a scout project we were able to help with. Parker, an Eagle Scout in Gilbert, Arizona sent us pictures from his recent project. Parker’s project was to make tables for the Chandler Preparatory Academy’s new drama department. To make these tables, Parker and the boys helping him needed tapered legs. They came to us, and because it was an Eagle Scout project, we were able to give them a discount on the legs they needed.

Parker wrote us a letter, thanking us for the legs. In his letter he described the process they went through in order to make the tables: “Everything went smoothly during my project. We used a drill press to drill holes for attaching [the legs] to the table apron. Once the legs were attached and the rest of the tables and benches were assembled, the legs held the furniture up very sturdily. [The other helpers and I] are very happy with the outcome.”

Here are some pictures of Parker’s project!

Thanks for sharing your pictures with us, Parker! This is beautiful work!

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June 20, 2009

Lean Manufacturing Press Release - Part I

Filed under: Daily Life at Osborne — Melody @ 8:46 am

For some time now, Osborne Wood Products, Inc. has been exploring the world of Lean Management, and striving to make it a part of the way that they do business. Lean Management took Osborne by storm when Leon Osborne initiated consultation from Georgia Tech University, in order to make the facility more efficient. Processes were revamped and the shop was rearranged completely, while lead time and cost were greatly reduced. Recently, it was realized that a new team member was needed, in keeping with that goal; a coordinator and facilitator of the changes needing to be made, helping to educate about the lean process, along the way.

Bob Ward has come on board with Osborne as their Lean Management Coordinator (or, in lean terms, the “Lean Champion.”). Ward’s role will be to work with each department and determine the ways that each can run more efficiently. He lives in West Union, SC with his wife Elaine, and they have two grown children. Though he lives in South Carolina, Ward is no stranger to Toccoa, having worked out of Toccoa for 18 years with Coats North American.

Consistent use of lean management in the US is still fairly new. Although technically lean initiatives got their start with Henry Ford and the Model T, they were not commonly used and practiced until the last 25 years or so. In Japan, however, lean management and manufacturing techniques have been in use for the last 50 years. In fact, it was this very same technique that enabled the Japanese to rebuild so strongly in the Post World War II era.

Osborne hopes to use Lean Manufacturing techniques to give them a competitive edge, and to prepare the business to achieve excellence in any economic climate. To achieve this, they needed to create a role specifically for an individual who could both educate current employees concerning lean processes, and also coordinate and facilitate the changes that would need to be taking place. This is the role that Ward is now occupying.

Ward has had a great deal of training in lean processes, having worked extensively in Engineering Management positions, with training and specialization in Lean Management. Ward worked for Coats North America for 22 years, 18 of which he had spent in Toccoa, as previously mentioned. He also worked for Milliken, a global producer of chemical and textile products, carrying out similar roles. In addition to his experience, Ward has a B.S. in Administrative Management from Clemson University, as well as additional courses in lean training and ergonomics from North Carolina State University. Ward has also completed a year of training with Harris Lean Systems.

When asked to give a definition for Lean Management and Manufacturing, Ward said that people are often confused about what “Lean” really means, so he clarified, “Lean is about eliminating waste. Anything that adds cost without adding value is waste. That can mean unnecessary steps, extra motion in transportation, defects, or even too much inventory.” Ward added that too much inventory, while usually seen as an asset, is actually waste because all of the money invested in that inventory is tied there, it cannot be used anywhere else if need be. Ultimately, lean manufacturing is involved with speed, flexibility, and elimination of waste.

One area of waste can also be the failure to take advantage of employee knowledge. For this reason Ward is taking a few weeks with each department to learn the ropes of each department and getting feedback from the members of each team. For instance, Ward spent some time in the office with Osborne customer service representatives, learning the ins and outs of taking customer orders, and troubleshooting any customer service issues that might come up. From there he spent time in the warehouse with the shipping department; learning about Osborne’s process of keeping inventory, and shipping orders. He also spent some time with the director of marketing, and is presently finishing up by spending time on the shop floor with the production crew. While he observes and even participates in the processes that keep things going at Osborne, he will be gaining experience that will inform his analysis of the value of each process. This information will prove invaluable as he progresses in his role with Osborne.

Six Sigma – so named for the statistical measurement of quality level – is a system that goes hand-in-hand with Lean. Six Sigma is a process that strives to improve the quality of a process’ results by finding and eliminating the causes of errors and variations in the manufacturing process. An error or “defect” is defined very broadly as anything which might lead to the dissatisfaction of the customer. The process is highly structured, with sequential steps and financial targets. An expert in the Six Sigma process is referred to as a Black Belt, and Mr. Ward hopes to achieve this status by June 26.
Leon Osborne, CEO, has said, “Lean Management embraces the values that we have been committed to since our inception in 1979. The strength of Lean is in combining the involvement of associates in every business activity with the process of measuring waste, having a goal of continuous improvement. We are excited to have Bob Ward join our team as our Lean Champion”

Above: Bob Ward, Lean Management Coordinator

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June 2, 2009

Picture Perfect!

Filed under: Daily Life at Osborne, Customer Photos — Melody @ 3:43 pm

A customer of ours was recently featured in Home Living, A magazine that makes a monthly appearance as an insert in the News Tribune, a Missouri newspaper. Wayne Wardenhausen of Countryside Woodworks had recently done an extensive kitchen remodel, which Home Living featured on their front page. Below is the press release Osborne issued concerning this event.

Wayne Wardenhausen is a contractor who understands how to provide value to his customers at a reasonable price. Wardenhausen, owner of Countryside Woodworks, specializes in unique kitchen cabinet concepts, specifically tailored to individual customer tastes. One of his most recent designs was the cover article featured in the March 2009 issue of Home Living magazine, which is an insert to the News Tribune, a Missouri Newspaper. The photographs taken for the article include several items from the Osborne Wood Products line.

Wardenhausen believes that it is important to get excited about every job that one does. In a time when many designs are generated on a computer, Wardenhausen’s concepts come from his imagination; the culmination of studying articles, pictures, and products combined with a high degree of personal creativity. In his words, “The best ideas come from the imagination, not out of a computer.”
Wardenhausen utilizes components such as corner corbels, kitchen island legs, corner molding, and crown molding to bring his concepts from ideas into reality. Osborne Wood Products is proud to be a supplier of many of these components. when asked why he does business with Osborne, Wardenhausen stated that he can bank on on-time delivery, knowing his costs up front, and depending on people who know how to do their job.

Wardenhausen’s current kitchen project involves a set of cabinets with a design incorporating Osborne’s new Basket Weave corbels and kitchen island legs for a range hood and a corresponding flat-screen TV installation. Sure that it will be a real “attention getter,” he reports that upon seeing it for the first time the customer exclaimed, “That is massive!” It is reactions such as this which inspire Wardenhausen in his unique designs. Similarly, it is feedback from customers like Wardenhausen that inspires Osborne Wood Products to constantly update our product lines, in order to help our customers continue to generate their artistic designs.

Wayne, keep those ideas coming! We cannot wait to see pictures of your latest job incorporating the Basket Weave Components. We will have new products in our next catalog for you to choose from, and we can only imagine what design concepts might be created utilizing these new components.

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May 15, 2009

KBIS Review!

Filed under: Shows — Melody @ 2:10 pm

A couple of weeks have passed since the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Atlanta, GA. After a bit of time to gather our thoughts and sort through photos, we wanted to share some of our experiences there.

We enjoyed the opportunity to connect with some of our customers that we had not yet had the opportunity to meet. Speaking for myself, particularly as a customer service representative, that is the part of shows that I enjoy the most. We had a much larger booth this year, and so were able to invite more of our current (and hopefully new) customers in to chat with us about their favorite products, customer service likes and dislikes, etc.
We also got a great deal of good feedback on some recently released items; as well as on some new items that have not yet been released. In addition to all of this, we also got some good feedback on items that some of you would like to see.

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our time at KBIS (and now we look forward to AWFS!), and hope that - if you were there - you did, too! Thank you to everyone who stopped
Here are some pictures from the show.These first three pictures are our booth. At the center of our booth stands a triangular tower, and these three displays are of the three sides around the middle of the tower.

What follows below is a selection of shots from our customer interactions while manning the booth.

ABOVE: Christian helps a gentleman at the counter.

Above: Dennis is putting his shop floor knowledge to use as he assists someone at the counter.

Russ discusses some of our new metal corbels with this customer.

Finally, these last two pictures are group shots:

From Left to Right: Christian, Leon, Russ, Haden, Dennis, and myself.

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May 13, 2009

Website Maintenance

Filed under: Daily Life at Osborne — Melody @ 8:46 am

Due to the growing popularity of our 24-7 website, we are upgrading our server to handle the increased demand. Basically, we are undergoing scheduled maintenance to continue to improve the quality of our site and the amount of traffic it can handle.

This maintenance work will cause our website to be down for a few hours tonight. Between 12 AM and 4 AM Eastern Standard Time, our website will be offline. We apologize for any inconvenience, though we are sure that any work to improve our site and its user-friendliness is much appreciated, as well.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

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April 28, 2009

Osborne Participates in Bob Jones U. Job Fair

Filed under: Uncategorized, Daily Life at Osborne, Osborne in the community — Melody @ 8:55 am

Recently, Osborne Wood Products was able to participate in a job fair held at Bob Jones University. Leon Osborne and JR, his executive assistant, traveled to Greenville to attend this event.

For those unfamiliar with the school, Bob Jones University is a Christian university, and has a high reputation with area businesses. Other notable facts about the school include that the Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery is said to hold one of America’s finest collections of Italian paintings.

Twenty to Thirty businesses were present at the job fair, with around 500 students having walked through in all. The event was set up in a large conference hall with the business each represented at their exhibit tables. The atmosphere was business professional, in keeping with the school’s dress code. Booklets were made so the students were aware of all of the job opportunities, with attention being given to jobs specifically geared toward graduates. The participating businesses were also each given the opportunity to post job listings on a free web site the school posted for the students to browse.

From the job-oriented school tours we have done to college and university events such as this, we are always excited about opportunities to be a part of that process in the life of a student; helping to equip them for the transition that begins at graduation.

In the above photo, JR speaks with a student at Osborne’s exhibit table. Products featured on the table from left to right are: 1456 Classic Reeded Island Leg, 4070 Bridle Bun Foot, 8005 Venice Classic Corbel, 8030 Milan Corbel with Acanthus Leaves, and 1301 Colonial Coffee Table Leg.

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April 20, 2009

Thanks For Telling Us!

Filed under: Daily Life at Osborne — Melody @ 8:56 am

Recently we had the privilege to receive an email from a satisfied customer (we love those!), and we just wanted to say thank you for telling us. It is always good to hear what we’re doing well.

We use customer feedback as a guage of sorts, to tell us what we’re doing well and need to keep up, what we could be doing better, and even things like whether or not to proceed with new products that are in development (see the previous post and feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think)! Your feedback, for any issue or reason, is very important to us.

Here is what Alex had to say:

“I ordered some island legs last week and asked if they could be shipped same day to help me meet an installation schedule. When I ordered, it was already passed your cutoff time. I gave my home number, but I called from my work. Something happened with my credit card information and Cindy took the time to track me down back at work so that the order could get sent out. I received the legs the next morning and made the installation deadline. Rarely have I experienced such great customer service. Her care and concern to ensure the order was shipped says wonders about her and your company. Osborne Wood will definitely be my first choice for purchases. Thank you, Alex”

So, thank you to Cindy J. for taking such good care of him! And thank you to Alex for sharing that with us.

You can feel free to send any feedback to info (a) osbornewood . com (just remove the spaces, and replace the (a) with @).

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