Why Casework?
1. The design of a facilities storage requirements, can be a difficult and time consuming part of designing a project for the architect and owner.
2. Maintenance of large and multiple location facilities can be a difficult task, when each facility is different and unique. Maintenance personnel must often contact several manufacturers for each facility they maintain.
3. Storage requirements change, a medical procedure or teaching technique can change storage requirements and rooms must be reconfigured.
Manufactured casework offers many advantages to the owners of facilities as well as the Architects who design them. Manufactured casework is built to an industry standard specification. Architects who include a 12300 series casework specification and are assured they will get a consistent product of high quality.
Manufactured Casework helps reduce the cost of facility design and long term cost of facility operation by providing a standard method of construction, an expandable system with a modular design and long term product available by catalog. Selecting manufactured casework for a projects storage requirements provides a single source for Architects as well as the owner.
The manufacturers catalog allows the Architect to select the modules required to construct the various elevations required for a project. The catalog and specifications contain the exact material, hardware, construction methods and finish information. This allows the Architect to draw less complex cabinet details by relying on the catalog to provide the detail information. Thereby simplifying the Architects job. The manufacturer can provide recommendations on materials, hardware, and value engineering providing, additional cost savings.
The owner benefits from using cataloged casework, after the job is completed. Additional matching casework is easily obtained when required. Maintenance personnel receive the manufacturers shop drawings and the catalog upon project completion. Allowing procurement of replacement parts if an item becomes damaged.
Modular design allows for components like doors to be snapped off and replaced without tools. The ability to obtain casework and parts, sometimes years later, that exactly matches existing casework. Is one of the main reasons clients elect to use manufactured casework in their facilities. Obtaining replacement parts from a single source, saves time and money. The alternative is for maintenance to try and repair damage themselves or find someone to do the repair. A time consuming and more expensive option that may end up looking like a patch job.
The method of construction is a system by which the casework manufacturer builds cabinetry, not only today, but every day, year after year. One of the most common systems is the 32mm system. It utilizes increments of 32mm to establish relationships between the doors / drawer fronts and the locations of hardware. It is much like a "standard" that other industries use. For example any manufacturer can make VCR tapes and know that they will work in any VCR machine. Such systems are a must for casework manufacturers. A manufacturing system allows the manufacturer to use computers to control the machinery and logistical systems in the manufacturing process. It is this system that allows the exact same part to be reproduced years later, as the computer maching instructions can be stored via electronic media and archived with the project file.
A modular configuration means that you assemble modules together to achieve a desired requirement. This allows for additions, modifications, relocations, and reconfigurations in the future. Casework at one building could easily be moved to another building and have some other modules added to it for an entirely different use. This can result in cost savings for educational and medical facilities, where a medical procedure or teaching technique has changed and rooms must be reconfigured. Casework is easily reused, reconfigured and added to, when modifications are required.
Manufactured casework provides an economical solution for storage requirements, with support and warranty for long term commercial applications.
