Tanglewood Conservatories Blog

I’ve been asked to participate next April in a panel discussion at the Woodworking Industry Conference in Monterey California. The program is entitled “Green User’s Forum, Simple Steps To Take To Go $Green”. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Michael Galiazzo, Director of the Regional Manufacturing Institute (www.rmi……com) and along with myself and Dr. Galiazzo, David Beachley President of Beachley Furniture Company and Greg Moores Vice President of DEWALT Construction Engineering will share the podium.

In my experience, it is difficult for most small companies to make significant progress towards becoming greener. We have enough of a challenge just to keep the doors open, the product going out and the money coming in, especially in tough economic times. However, at Tanglewood, we’ve discovered that “going Green goes hand-in-hand with going Lean.”

What I mean by this is that if looked at from the right perspective, “green” initiatives can actually be major contributors to higher levels of efficiency in a company and increases to the bottom line. Oftentimes, we think of green initiatives as costing more money in the short term but yielding some long term or greater benefit in the larger picture. An example of this might be the recycling and re-use of our scrap wood into material that can be used in new product.

This is actually quite labor intensive and costs much more than using virgin material but we understand that the resources of the world are finite and we must do our part to utilize them in the least wasteful manner. If we were a larger company, we could purchase specialized equipment that would automate much of the process and bring down the costs however most small companies (and by far most companies out there are “small businesses”) cannot justify the expense of something like this.

In the big picture however, the recycled material is actually stronger and more stable than the virgin product so there is a bit of an advantage there to offset the higher cost. If we looked at the picture close enough and spent enough time, we might be able to verify this with real numbers. Right now however, we are content to just “know” that we are doing the right thing.

Another opportunity to combine Lean with Green is through our use of technology. For example, for years we’ve put our construction documents on sheets of paper and passed out multiple copies to everyone on our shop floor and in our office. This is not only expensive (uses lots and lots of paper) and very wasteful, but it is difficult to keep all those sets of drawings up to date with changes that one person or another might be making to the job.

The solution of having electronic copies instead of paper copies avoids wasting a huge amount of paper, eliminates the need for all the printing from ink to electricity AND makes it much easier to keep everyone updated on changes which could affect them and the job. Instead of having to have someone run around the company collecting and updating paper and hopefully not missing any copies, the electronic update is done instantaneously and everyone is always working off the same pages. A nice win-win situation. Green and Lean.

I will be presenting examples of Tanglewood Conservatories’ efforts to become a greener and more environmentally friendly company at the conference and in my blog in the future.

Here’s the blurb on the conference session in case anyone is interested in attending.

“Going $Green means cost savings, increased profits and less impact on the environment. Over the past two years, The Regional Manufacturing Institute of Maryland brought together leaders of business, education government, labor and the community at large to talk and learn about Going $Green. The results were surprising. In this presentation you will find out what companies are doing to be more sustainable and why. Increased sales, decreased costs, employee involvement, supply chain value, and corporate responsibility will be discussed. You will learn about the Lean To Green initiative of the Technology and Innovation in Manufacturing and Engineering (TIME) Center, a National Science Foundation sponsored initiative through the Community College of Baltimore County. EPA programs, like the Green Suppliers Network will be discussed. Specific ways your company can save money by Going $Green will be presented. Most important, this session will call on the audience to respond to questions about Going $Green and to engage in discussion, questions and information sharing.”

The 2010 Woodworking Industry Conference will be held this year at the Monterey Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa in Monterey California April 22- 24th 2010.

Alan

A few weeks ago we were invited to participate in a Home Show hosted by the prestigious firm of Crisp Architects. The firm is located in the town of Millbrook – the Hudson Valley region of upstate NY.

We had never visited this part of the country and were eager to meet our colleagues and tour the region. We were immediately struck by the beauty of the landscape and the vast amount of craftsmen directly and indirectly involved with Crisp specializing in historic renovation, custom home design and “accessory buildings” as they call them which are stand alone guest houses and pool houses.

Many of these projects utilize the expertise of Tanglewood Conservatories. We are often commissioned outside of the firm to act as catalyst in achieving many of these special design requests at various stages of the project.

We develop partnerships and design collaboration with firms such as Crisp in order to execute design elements that Tanglewood is uniquely equipped to handle. This is something we are being asked to do more and more of.

Many clients that may want the feel of a conservatory or greenhouse but unable to financially support such a project – are opting for a scaled down version such as a glass shingled roof addition, copper domed roof or cupola, stained glass windows, detailed copper finials… Perhaps a historic structure in need of an attached or unattached green house designed to replicate the historic elements of the main home. These are projects well suited for Tanglewood Conservatories’ craftsmen.

At the show we met with a wealth of experts in landscape design, solar alternatives, geo-termal technology, millworkers, traditional artisans and were in awe of the multitude of talent in such a quaint historic village but also with the beauty of the scenery. Rolling farm land with horses abound, historic stone houses, polo fields, charming restaurants and shops.

We viewed the work of local artist Anthony Henneberg a bird painter from Zimbabwe who has chosen the area as his new home for it’s bucolic attributes and vast array of bird specimens, we wandered around Mashomack Polo Club and even did a little wine tasting and antiquing! Special thanks to our friends at Crisp Architects for introducing us to such a beautiful little village – Millbrook is a must see!

We get a lot of people telling us that we’ve done a great job, but since we take very good care of each and every one of our customers, naturally we’re happy, but not surprised when they tell us how happy they are with our customer service.

But a recent thank you note surprised us because it came not from a satisfied homeowner, but the owner of a company we rented some equipment from.

Jeff Chipetine, president of ABC Rental wrote: “Thanks for the chance to work with your exceptional crew. The people with whom I had primary contact, were skilled, well spoken and just terrific!”

“They reflect well on you and on Tanglewood Conservatories.” This came on a handwritten card via snailmail from a guy we rented some scaffolding and a skytrack lull for a couple of weeks from!

We appreciate the compliment and also recognize that Jeff is doing right by taking care of his customers as well.

Another note we got this week was from someone we built a conservatory for some fifteen years ago. He had a small leak in the roof and being the do-it-yourself type, climbed up on a ladder and squirted some caulk into what seemed to be the troublesome spot.

When that didn’t fix the problem, he called and spoke to me. I immediately remembered him, as I do most of our customers, and I asked him to send some pictures of the leaky spot on the inside and the outside of the room to help me diagnose the situation.

When I saw the pictures, it was very clear to me that though he had correctly identified the place where the leak was coming from, the sealant was not adhering adequately to the aluminum and glass. I suspected that he was using the “dimestore” variety of silicone sealant which would account for his lack of success.

I suggested that he strip the area in question of all the old built up caulk he had put on, clean the surfaces with denatured alcohol and use the special glazing sealant that I would send him.

Two weeks later and I received the following note:

“We have had two heavy rains since I caulked with the caulking you sent. There was no leak confirming that you are a genius.” I still have the American Airlines magazine containing your ad if you want it although you probably have several copies.” “Thanks for your help.” Bill

I know that we aren’t perfect, in fact we make more mistakes than I’d like anyone to know, but I’ve always believed that the measure of a company (and a person) is not what they do when everything is going well, but what they do when things aren’t going so well.

That is why we are so obsessive about taking care of our customers even when it costs us dearly or it isn’t so clear that the responsibility for a problem is ours.

Alan