{"id":601169,"date":"2023-01-24T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/24\/major-mechanical-leverages-new-kitting-service\/"},"modified":"2023-01-24T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T00:00:00","slug":"major-mechanical-leverages-new-kitting-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/24\/major-mechanical-leverages-new-kitting-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Major Mechanical Leverages New Kitting Service"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By John O’Reilly<\/b><\/p>\n

EDEN PRAIRIE, MN \u2014 Among the many critical challenges facing a plumbing foreman on a multifamily job site is the need to maintain efficient and consistent installation methods across the entire project. This mandate applies as much or more to the rough-in plumbing as to the finishing trim: the larger the job, the bigger the challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery plumber has a better idea of how to run pipe,\u201d says Pete Erny, only half-jokingly. A 21-year veteran of the plumbing industry in Minnesota, Erny currently serves as a plumbing foreman with Major Mechanical in Maple Grove, focusing on commercial and multifamily plumbing projects. As such, Erny has ample experience coping with the headaches and do-overs that inevitably occur when too many plumbers go in too many different directions on a job site.<\/p>\n

<\/lazyweboembedimage>This need for consistent installation quality is one of the prime reasons Major Mechanical chose to use Uponor Kitting Services for the rough-in plumbing work on a \u201ccooperative homes\u201d development called Applewood Pointe, located in Eden Prairie. The value-added service is designed to streamline the PEX-a pipe and fitting installation process for the plumbing or mechanical contractor.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically, piping-system layout and procurement for rough-in plumbing has been coordinated on the job site, with the foreman having the responsibility for ordering all the materials needed, including chasing down any unexpected shortages,\u201d explains Daniel Worm, manger, Commercial Segment, at Uponor.<\/p>\n

Problems often arise in the form of communication and information gaps between the field and home office. These gaps are \u201cmanaged\u201d through over-buying by the foreman, just to make sure crews aren\u2019t left to stand around, waiting for materials to arrive. <\/p>\n

\u201cUponor Kitting Services is structured to close communication gaps,\u201d says Worm. \u201cIt reassures everyone that the right material in the right quantities will be on the job and ready for installation precisely when needed. The goal is to smooth worksite-to-office communications, reduce procurement errors, minimize installation mistakes, and ultimately boost productivity.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his experiences at Applewood Pointe, Erny sees the service as a welcome relief from the old ways, and not just for its impact on material procurement. Kit contents are based entirely on rough-in designs created by Uponor Construction Services, working closely with the contractor. The result is an installation consistency that drives workforce efficiency.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe service takes the thinking out of the rough-in install process, so the temptation to freelance is much less,\u201d Erny notes. \u201cYou still need to figure out how to get Pipe A to Pipe B, however putting all the essential piping-connection components in a single kit for a single apartment unit gives each installer a running start and a clearer direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s in the Bag<\/h3>\n

<\/lazyweboembedimage>Aimed at individuals aged 62 years and up, the Applewood Pointe complex consists of 100 apartment units, each with two baths, a kitchen, and a laundry area. But the floor plans for these 100 units are not stamped out with a cookie-cutter. In fact, the condo-style development strives for creative variations and features 25 different configurations\u2014each with a different, trunk-and-branch plumbing plan. That complexity strengthened the argument for a new approach to planning and executing the rough-in install.<\/p>\n

Major worked with the Uponor Kitting Services team to create plumbing layouts for each of the 25 configurations. Kits, which consist of\u00a0plastic bags carrying precise, hand-counted numbers of elbows, tees, rings, and other PEX system components, are then assembled to meet the specific needs of each design and marked clearly with the name of the individual apartment where they are to be installed.<\/p>\n

Just as importantly, Uponor ships each plastic bag to the job site with a 3D isometric drawing, detailing the designated apartment\u2019s plumbing layout, plus a material list. This approach has the happy advantage of reducing the amount of \u201cexplaining\u201d a foreman like Erny finds himself doing on a job site, especially with less-experienced installers. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just hand the installer the bag with the fittings and the drawing, saying \u2018Follow the diagram.\u2019 All by itself, that speeds up the install process,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Erny has also found the purchasing and material handling headaches to be much less, thanks to kitting. \u201cUponor delivers the kits as we need them on the project, one zone at a time,\u201d he explains. \u201cThe kits contain what we need where we need it, so there\u2019s no one running to me, saying, \u2018Hey, we are out of half-inch tees.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Eliminating material shortages, of course, spares Erny from the time-wasting dash to a local supply house for fill-ins, while his install crew cools their heels. \u201cIt may not seem like much, but that plastic bag containing everything we need takes a lot off my plate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Period of Adjustment<\/h3>\n

<\/lazyweboembedimage>There\u2019s a learning curve to climb at the onset of any large commercial plumbing project, particularly one as complex as Applewood Pointe. That was as true for the new kitting service as it was for the Major Mechanical team. But scaling the curve was not all that difficult, reports the project\u2019s lead plumbing installer, Jared Hudalla.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the early stages of the project, we went through the kits to see what worked best for a particular application in terms of fittings and other components and whether plumbing-layout changes were required,\u201d he says. \u201cWe wrote our adjustments onto the isometric drawings, and the manufacturer reps took them back to the Uponor team.\u201d<\/p>\n

This process ensured all the changes would be incorporated into the next set of kits shipped to the job site. \u201cOur corrections were routinely made, allowing us to concentrate on installing,\u201d he says. \u201cWe worked together to streamline the process to drive the results we wanted.<\/p>\n

Hudalla, who became a plumber in 2008, shares his colleague\u2019s enthusiasm for Uponor Kitting Services\u2019 ability to foster installation consistency. <\/p>\n

Sidebar: The Benefits of Kitting<\/b><\/p>\n