Process · Design & engineering
From the first drawing to dispatch
Every order walks the same road, from the first drawing to the lorry. These are the stages, who signs each one off, and what is checked before it moves.
3 hold points: nothing moves on until you approve it.
- 01 · planning
Brief
A drawing, a reference, a photograph or a sentence. We ask what the piece is for before we ask what it is made of.
- Comes in
- Your drawing, sketch, reference photograph or a sentence
- Checked
- What the piece has to do, and where it lives
- Whether it is interior, exterior or a wet area
- Rough sizes, quantities and when it is needed on site
- You receive
- An honest answer on whether it is buildable
- A first indication of cost and timeline
- Approval
The workshop.
- 02 · planning
Sample
The finish is decided in the hand, on the metal you are considering. The approved sample becomes the standard the batch is measured against.
- Comes in
- An honest answer on whether it is buildable
- A first indication of cost and timeline
- Checked
- The finish is seen on the actual metal, not on a screen
- The sample is agreed in the light the piece will live in
- You receive
- A physical sample, approved and kept
- The standard every piece in the batch is compared against
- Approval
Yours. Nothing moves on until you sign this off.
- 03 · planning
Shop drawings
Sections, joints, fixings and tolerances resolved on paper and issued for your approval before anything is cut.
- Comes in
- A physical sample, approved and kept
- The standard every piece in the batch is compared against
- Checked
- Sections, joints and fixings resolved
- Sizes checked against the opening on site
- Issued for approval before any metal is cut
- You receive
- Drawings issued for your approval
- A cutting list, once the drawings come back approved
- Approval
Yours. Nothing moves on until you sign this off.
- 04 · production
Production planning
The approved drawing becomes a cutting list, a material order and a place in the workshop schedule, under one job number.
- Comes in
- Drawings issued for your approval
- A cutting list, once the drawings come back approved
- Checked
- Material ordered against the approved drawing
- The job is scheduled against the date promised
- One job number follows the work from here to dispatch
- You receive
- A cutting list and a material order
- A production schedule for the job
- Approval
The workshop.
- 05 · production
Workshop
CNC cutting, forming, welding and hand craftsmanship under one roof, against the approved drawing and sample.
- Comes in
- A cutting list and a material order
- A production schedule for the job
- Checked
- Each piece is cut and formed to the approved drawing
- Welds are dressed before the piece moves on
- Work is checked against the drawing at each bench
- You receive
- The piece, fabricated and ready for finishing
- Approval
The workshop.
- 06 · production
Finishing
The approved sample comes back out and the piece is finished against it, on the same metal it was agreed on.
- Comes in
- The piece, fabricated and ready for finishing
- Checked
- The finish is compared against the approved sample
- Colour and grain run consistently across the batch
- The surface is protected before it is packed
- You receive
- The piece, finished to the approved sample
- Approval
The workshop.
- 07 · quality
Final check
The finished piece is measured against the drawing and compared against the sample one last time, before anything is packed.
- Comes in
- The piece, finished to the approved sample
- Checked
- Sizes measured against the approved drawing
- Finish compared against the approved sample
- Fixings and loose parts counted against the list
- Photographs taken of the finished work
- You receive
- A checked piece, cleared for packing
- Photographs of the work as it leaves
- Approval
Yours. Nothing moves on until you sign this off.
- 08 · dispatch
Packing, delivery and site
Packed for the journey it actually has to make, then delivered, installed and checked against the drawing by the people who made it.
- Comes in
- A checked piece, cleared for packing
- Photographs of the work as it leaves
- Checked
- Packed for the journey, not just for the warehouse
- Every item on the dispatch note is in the crate
- Checked against the drawing again once it is up
- You receive
- A dispatch note listing what was sent
- The piece installed and checked on site
- Approval
The workshop.
What we do for every order, whatever its size
A single job number follows the work from the first drawing to the dispatch note. Nothing leaves a bench until the stage before it has been signed off.
Start a project
Have something extraordinary in mind?
Send a drawing, a sketch, or a photograph of something close to it. We will tell you what is buildable, what it costs and how long it takes.