Pictured: OFP Timber Frame – Delivery to Premier Inn Hotel, York
We recently posted on our LinkedIn that it takes OFP just 3 hours to produce one house in our factory. It received a great response, so we wanted to delve further into the topic and share some insights on how OFP Timber Frame achieve speed of production while maintaining a high-quality level.
Background
At OFP Timber Frame, we expect one house to be produced in 3 hours, including the trusses and joists. This production time starts when the manufacture paperwork arrives on the factory floor. Of course, plenty of work happens in the design office beforehand to make this possible.
This is a statistic that we are incredibly proud of and that we have worked very hard to achieve.
OFP Director, Alex Leroy shares, “Speed in the factory comes from design works, processes, automation, and efficiency and should never compromise the quality of your products.”
In this article, we will look at how we achieve speed and what quality checks we have in place to ensure you only receive the best quality products onsite.
How do we achieve quality at speed?
OFP Timber Frame panels, joists and trusses are produced using offsite manufacturing techniques in our purpose-built factory in Sandwich, Kent. Offsite manufacturing is a cost-effective and speedy construction solution compared to traditional building methods.
The time required to construct and commission an offsite building is typically reduced by 50% – 60% in cases where large elements can be prefabricated (e.g. houses, budget hotels, small schools, prisons, etc).
At OFP, our speed comes from processes, automation and efficiency. We have heavily invested in our factory over the years with a focus on expertise, innovation and quality. Our factory combines quality and capacity through the utilisation of fantastic equipment such as our Hundegger Speed-Cut SC3, CNC Saw, Open Web Joist Press, Truss Press and more. Utilising our machinery allows us to quickly and accurately cut materials, reducing energy consumption and reducing the risk of human error.
There is no doubt that offsite manufacturing offers a number of benefits, including time-efficiency and precision, but how do we achieve speed AND maintain quality?
Certified quality
At OFP, we have achieved and maintained ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems for many years. According to ISO, “Implementing ISO 9001 means your organisation has put in place effective processes and trained staff to deliver flawless products or services time after time.”
Being ISO 9001 certified at OFP means that we have policies, procedures and standards in place to ensure quality is never compromised. In September, we have just passed our ISO 2024 audit.
In addition to having achieved ISO 9001 along with ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, we are a Structural Timber Association (STA) gold member. Being a gold member means that not only do we comply with quality standards set out by the STA, but we also achieved 85%+ in our assessment.
OFP Director Alex Leroy continues, “We are proud to have ISO 9001, STA Gold, and we internally audit and take care and pride in all of our work at all stages.”
Conclusion
We deliver fantastic results by combining efficient processes achieved through offsite manufacturing and strict quality control and compliance and take pride and care in what we do.
“We do quality checks in design pre-manufacture and pre-delivery site checks before anything leaves the factory, and once on site, we do quality checks before we hand over, and then again with our experienced site managers before saying we’re complete. We also walk around with the client and follow on trades to make sure everything is right and everyone is happy.” says Alex Leroy.
If you would like to learn more about how OFP Timber Frame can help you design and construct quality buildings at speed, get in touch with us to learn more.
We would be happy to discuss your next project or arrange a factory visit so you can see our manufacturing in action.
Contact
T: 01304 613298