Efficiencies

Reducing Materials Waste

The biggest contributor to waste is a lack of attention to detail. Paying attention to the details and eliminating waste in numerous areas makes a big difference. It has a cumulative effect. The difference between how a business currently operates and the way it could be operating if it were operating at optimum performance should be considered waste. Reducing the gap between the level of efficiency at which we currently operate and making the necessary changes to raise the bar and improve performance is in and of itself the elimination of waste. Waste comes in all shapes and sizes and can be found in every department of a business. We are passionate about identifying and eliminating waste. Waste adds up and by saving materials substantial dollars are saved over the course of a year, not to mention decades. To get a sense of the kind of money that can be saved through waste reduction, view the PDF below.

Eliminating Wasted Time

Everything from the way we hire to the way we distribute paychecks has been streamlined to improve efficiency. When we find opportunity to reduce the time it takes to perform tasks through technology and innovation it reduces cost to the customer and makes us more competitive. We are constantly reviewing our approach to business so as to deliver more value to the customer at less expense.

Operations Versus Completions

Most drywall companies are currently hiring small groups or crews to complete each home, unit or project. This approach is commonly called “completions”. Alta takes another approach referred to as "operations," this assembly line approach of specializing our employees to perform particular aspects generates a consistently better product at a lower cost. The typical approach most drywall companies use is much less efficient and less safe. With groups of 2 to 4 men, tools and necessary equipment must be provided to each small crew. These crews do both the high work and the low work. They do the house complete. The quality of work they produce varies depending on how good they actually are and how well they are managed.

You can imagine how many tools and how much equipment the typical company needs to equip everyone to do the work complete and how much variation there would be in the quality from house to house. This is especially true during busy periods when workload can dramatically increase overnight. Typically drywall companies are looking for more crews and hire groups of unknown individuals, equip them and send them out to complete homes, units or projects. Not so with Alta. We invest in ongoing specialized training for our core group to complete specific tasks, as well as specialized high crews to complete the most dangerous portions of each unit. This requires fewer tools and equipment and results in a consistent, quality product. We also reduce our risk for injury by only allowing a small group of qualified individuals to work in high risk areas. Consequently, every wall and ceiling we finish gets done right and it gets done safely.

Alta Drywall has devoted considerable resources to training programs aimed at improving the quality of the finished product. Of equal importance are the varieties of cost-saving measures we are implementing on an ongoing basis that affect the bottom line:

• Step by step written procedures ensure each task is performed efficiently
  
• Modernizing methods, embracing technology, empowering our staff to fully utilize modern methods
  
• Eliminating waste with a passion wherever we find it, including annual incentives
• Partnering with suppliers to reduce overhead and cost to the customer
• Striving to be as innovative and creative as possible to find ways to lower cost to the customer and drive up productivity.