Factory of the Future?

It seems that everywhere you look today everyone is talking about lean manufacturing. The concept is not new, really. I mean people in every industry have been trying to find better, more efficient, ways of doing things since time began. It's just the way of things.

Competition is also not a recent development. There has always been someone out there who will make whatever it is you do for less or faster or better than you. It's just the nature of the beast.

What I find mind boggling is the way in which the woodworking industry is responding to said competition.

I was reading an article this morning over at CabinetMaker/FDM.com titled What's the furniture factory of the future look like? Surprise, surprise, it was talking about the need for furniture manufacturers to be efficient in order to compete in the global market. "To compete globally, U.S. producers must strip their existing plants to the floor and install newer means of building furniture that will satisfy their customers."

Now, I have no problems with efficient building. My husband is a 'yankee', which means he uses every scrap of wood he can before he's forced to call it waste. Most of the wood that ends up in our scrap pile is less than an inch wide and the thickness of shims. There's not a whole lot you can do with that other than use it as kindling. Even our sawdust gets reused by either local farmers as bedding for their animals or as mulch in our garden.

The question, however, becomes... How lean is too lean?

The article goes on to say, "This operation can build semi-custom, upper-medium priced wood furniture for consumers who demand a wide selection of style, configuration, species, and finish." My question is, where are the craftsman? Where are the people who, for years, to learn their craft, to perfect it?

Unfortunately, this is something as a woodworker's wife I see all too often. Skill and quality are pushed aside for price and speed. The end product is only as good as the person behind it. Where is the pride?

That is one thing I never have to worry about with anything my husband builds. Every piece is important to him. If something goes wrong, he takes it personally. He inspects every board of wood that comes into his shop and finds the best use for it. Machines alone can't do this. We need quality people behind them.

Maybe if we focused on quality verses quantity, the industry as a whole would be better.