A roll of paper by the saw
A joiner phones in a cutting list for a staircase job: several sections, a dozen lengths each. The counter writes it on a pad and tapes it to the order. The sawyer picks stock lengths by eye, cuts, stacks the pieces and chalks a name on the top one. The lorry leaves with most of it. Two lengths are wrong because the handwriting was hard to read, and the offcuts pile up in a rack nobody sells from.
The next morning the joiner rings, the wrong lengths are recut, and the job is charged twice for timber because the first cut was never written off.
Why cutting jobs slip
Timber machining is a small factory inside the branch, run on paper. The order system knows what was sold; it knows little about how it was cut.
- Cutting lists are handwritten or retyped from an email, and dimensions get misread.
- Stock lengths are chosen by eye, so more is wasted than needed.
- There is no queue: the loudest customer gets cut first.
- Cut pieces are not labelled to an order, so they get mixed up on the loading bay.
- Offcuts are stacked but never recorded or offered for sale.
What the mistakes cost
Recuts cost timber and saw time. Wrong or missing pieces on site cost the customer a day and cost you a second delivery. Waste from poor length choice is timber paid for and thrown away. And the mill's capacity is never visible, so the counter promises same-day cuts the sawyer can't deliver.
There is also a knowledge problem. The sawyer who has run the mill for years knows which customers want which tolerances and how to squeeze a cutting list out of the rack. When they are off, the cover sawyer works from the same handwritten sheet without that knowledge, and the mistakes show.
Cutting lists from order to lorry
- The counter enters cutting lists on a screen linked to the order: section, length, quantity and any machining. Customers can also upload a list, which is read and checked against the sections you stock.
- A length optimiser works out which stock lengths to cut from to meet the list with the least waste, using the lengths actually in the rack, including usable offcuts.
- The job goes onto a mill board in the order your rules set, with the promised time, so the sawyer can see the day's work.
- The sawyer works from a clear cutting sheet on a tablet or printout and marks the job as cut.
- Labels print for each bundle with the order, customer and delivery run, so pieces reach the right lorry.
- Offcuts above a length you set are recorded as stock, and waste is recorded against the job so the stock figure stays right.
| Step | Now | After |
|---|---|---|
| Taking the list | Handwritten on a pad | Entered or uploaded and checked |
| Choosing lengths | By eye | Optimised from stock in the rack |
| Order of work | Whoever shouts loudest | Mill board with promised times |
| Identifying bundles | Chalk on the top piece | Printed label with order and run |
| Offcuts | Stacked and forgotten | Recorded and sellable |
Life at the saw afterwards
The sawyer starts the day with a list of jobs in order and a sheet that says exactly what to cut from which length. The counter can see how busy the mill is before promising a time. Joiners get what they asked for, labelled, on the right lorry, and the offcut rack becomes stock someone can sell.
Is your mill running like this?
- Cutting lists are handwritten.
- Recuts happen often enough that nobody is surprised.
- The offcut rack keeps growing.
- The counter promises cut times without knowing the mill's workload.
- Cut timber is identified by chalk or memory.