EDUCATION CONNECTION
Get in the Fast Lane with a Digital Templating Solution By Dan Peter, edited by Sarah Peiper Whether it’s the labor shortage, supply chain ramifications, capacity or operational costs, businesses face all kinds of uphill battles when it comes to creating growth opportunities or even just keeping up with demand. With advancements in technology, there are certainly a few ways you can make your operations more efficient, increase profitability and up your capacity by allowing you to complete more jobs per week or even expand your services. The emergence of digital templating and fabrication offers a host of solutions that can keep you ahead of the game. Increase Productivity The average kitchen (60 square feet) can take an hour or more to template by hand depending on the complexity of the job. With a digital templating system, you can template the same kitchen in about half the time. Create cut-ready digital files in the field, email them back to the shop and move on to your next job. Slick, right? Productivity soars and you’ve just solved for at least some of the labor shortage you may be facing. No need for ladders or scaffolding to access hard-to-reach areas. Point-andclick templating from a single location reduces operator fatigue
Tackle Complex Jobs with Ease With a digital templating solution, you can let the software solve complex problems for you. It makes it easy to template curves, arches and other complicated designs, as well as capture imperfections and contours of walls for accurate measurements and installs. Select from several DXF files of sinks, outlets and more to add to your template. You can even add new DXF files to build your library. If there is no DXF file available, template it digitally — no problem. Expand your business beyond countertops. Now you can template vertical or complex applications such as full-height backsplashes, fireplaces, windows, showers, balustrades, stairs and more. Streamline Your Workflow A lot of solutions will include the ability to create estimates, shop sheets, customer signoffs, contracts, saw pages, slab layouts and jobsite photos into one complete package that keeps all job
and risk of injury, too.
information together. Eliminate paperwork, filing systems and
Reduce Consumables
comprehensive dashboard.
There’s also a cost savings to be had. Manual templating requires an ongoing budget on materials such as luan, coraplast, glue, staples and more. A digital solution will help you template,
other outdated processes and stay on top of the job with one
Making the Leap to Digital You’re interested, but where do you start? Digital templating
fabricate and install correctly the first time (no remakes!) without
is the first step in the transition to becoming a fully digital
the need for a lot of these materials. And let’s not forget the
shop, but it doesn’t have to be intimidating. While there is
sustainability we’re all looking to achieve — this means less waste
an investment to be made when going digital, the increased
for the landfill, too. You can reduce gas consumption, emissions
revenue and operational cost savings provide a quick return on
and your overall carbon footprint with the use of smaller, more
investment. Often providers will offer flexible financing options,
fuel-efficient cars due to the compact design of digital templating
so the investment can be affordable.
systems and the elimination of cumbersome physical templates.
There’s an entry point to a digital workflow for every kind of International Surface Fabricators Association • Vol. 14 / Issue 3 • 25
