Project Scheduling

A project at Whitehouse Floors could be considered the process of getting a job, to actually completing the job. This circuit is different yet similar for each project. A single project starts with scheduling an appointment with the customer to actually go out to their homes and measure the rooms they are considering having re-done. At that time measurements are taken and then brought back to the office. The customers’ information and job specifications are put into the system, QuickBooks, and then either e-mailed, mailed, or delivered to the customer. Once the customer approves the quote, a 50% deposit is taken, along with the signing of the contract. At this point any material which needs to be ordered for the specific job is ordered. Once ordered, an estimated time of arrival is given and this date is used to schedule the work to actually take place. Once a date is arranged with the customer and the installers, a work order is faxed to the proper installer and the customer’s job is put on our calendar. A day or two before the work is scheduled to take place, the installer is contacted for a time they are expected to arrive on the site and the customer is given notice as to when to expect the workers. Once the job is in progress the owner of Whitehouse Floors, Tim Ryan, oversees all work taking place to ensure the job is going smoothly and up to the customers high standards. At the completion of the project, the balance of the invoice will be taken and the project is then complete.
Whitehouse Floors does not use Gantt charts in the physical form. However, we cannot start the job without the material, or order any material for a job without a 50% deposit. Therefore in some way, Whitehouse Floors LLC does use Gantt charts, however, they are more of a known process then actually written out. If Whitehouse Floors were to start using Gantt charts, however, training new employees would be much easier. This way employees who are new to these projects can actually see how things run from start to finish. This could save time in the long run, because the project scheduling would be clearly shown. Whitehouse Floors should strongly consider this because overall it could be extremely helpful in completely understanding the way things run.

Supply Chain Management

Whitehouse Floors LLC’s supply chain consists of many different components. These components will vary depending on the type of material needed for each specific job. The process for the supply chain remains constant, even though the suppliers may change according to the job specifications. The supply chain for Whitehouse Floors is an upstream chain, starting with the manufacturers, moving to the distributors, then to Whitehouse Floors’ warehouse, then to the customer. The supply chain function can be described as smooth moving and very functional. The process starts with placing an order with a specific distributor. This distributor already has information from the manufacturer as to what inventory items they have, how much they have, when they are expecting a new shipment, and what the quantity of that shipment will compose of. Therefore when Whitehouse Floors calls to place an order there is an abundance of information translated from the distributor to the retailer and vise versa. At this time of order the distributor will enter an order into their system, provide Whitehouse Floors with a reference number and an expected time of arrival for the order. Once this information is retained, Whitehouse Floors notifies the customer as to when the order is expected to arrive at their warehouse, and the job is scheduled at that time or when the customer is ready. Once the job is scheduled, a call is made to the subcontractors to confirm the scheduling of any job, and then the proper paperwork, also known as a work order, is then faxed to the proper installer. Once the scheduled date and all materials arrive, the material is then picked up from Whitehouse Floors’ warehouse and is brought to the customer’s house or a particular job site. Installers then install the material for the customer and the supply chain is then complete.
When determining the performance of delivery, Whitehouse Floors operates under on-time delivery; however, there are exceptions to this type of operation. Job scheduling depends strongly on when all materials will arrive for a specific job. When placing an order, Whitehouse floors always states the fact they would like the order being placed to ship complete. This means that an order cannot be shipped in pieces as the materials become available. This gives a more accurate date of arrival time for the order and also reduces shipping costs from the distributor to Whitehouse Floors. In some situations, however, there is a lead time on materials. In most cases, this lead time is due to production dates, which is when the manufacturer has run out of stock on a particular product and is in the process of producing more. When this occurs, the customer is made immediately aware, and the status of the order is checked on twice a week. Until the distributor is able to provide an exact date of arrival to Whitehouse Floors’ warehouse, the customer is constantly updated and the job will remained unscheduled. Once a firm date is given for the arrival of the material, the job is then scheduled. This can issue can be avoided simply by checking stock on the order before the actual order is placed.
Quality performances for products are very high. Customers are given an abundance of information prior to even making a selection. This allows the customer to make an informed decision on the particular flooring they chose. In most all cases, customers are extremely happy with the quality of product and its performance. Whitehouse Floors only sells products in which they support and believe in. This helps avoid any quality performance issues.
Time for the entire supply chain usual runs a week to two weeks. This depends mostly, however, on when the customer is ready for the material to be installed into their home or job site. The average total supply chain throughput time is usually about two weeks. Again there are different variables which can affect this, but in majority of cases the performance of this timing is very effective and strong.
Whitehouse Floors prides them selves on being very cost competitive. They cut costs by all means possible to ensure the customer that they are getting a great quality product for an extremely great price. Of course there are the costs of the actual material, shipping and fuel costs charged by the distributor, and labor costs charged by the subcontractor. Whitehouse Floors is the kind of business whose accounts payable are taken care of within 15 days time, while their accounts receivable ranges from the start time of a job to the end time. Generally speaking this process could take anywhere from a month to two months time. The total supply chain costs varies depending on the type and amount of material ordered.
In terms of the supply chain management, the office manager is responsible for ensuring all things run smoothly between the distributor and the end customer. This manager is responsible for the materials flow, ensuring the material has arrived as scheduled, and scheduling the job. What Whitehouse Floors should consider is finding a way to make this process smoother than it currently is. Because the warehouse is not located at the physical showroom known as Whitehouse Floors, they should consider some form of an electronic device in which once material is received in at the warehouse it can be scanned and that information sent directly to the system at Whitehouse Floors. Currently there is a paper receiving slip that is signed and left at the warehouse until the owner checks the material in. By skipping this step, time could be saved, jobs could be scheduled faster, and a record of what is in the warehouse could be constantly and immediately updated.

Quality Control

Whitehouse Floors does not have any specific method set in stone for quality control. In other words, they do not use any kind of Quality Control chart. However, they do strongly believe in the stabilization and maintenance of a process to produce a consistent output. Installers are required to perform at their highest level on every job they work on. Quality work and quality products are required for every customer. Because Whitehouse Floors is in the retail segment and service segment, it is difficult to set a particular method in place. It is mainly difficult because each job requires different skills, tools, and time, along with the fact that our services themselves are intangible. Whitehouse Floors generally measures each job to itself. They determine how well a job is going, by comparing it to the standards of that one particular job. They do not compare it to past jobs and this can be seen as a weakness. Whitehouse Floors must realize how helpful measuring their jobs can be to their success and finding out their areas they should most improve on.
Whitehouse Floors LLC always expects the installers to perform at the top of their game. Right now they partake in continuous improvement; however this is a difficult task because they do not have any formal way of measuring their quality. It is known to employees and installers what is expected of them and they have previously been measured by all of the successful jobs they have done. Though this has never really been tallied or formally noted, the installers know they are expected to go through every job so the outcome is a completely over satisfied customer.
Whitehouse Floors definitely needs to develop a way of measuring their quality. This can be done by measuring how many customers are pleased with the service provided of them and how many are not. Whitehouse Floors is always striving to become better and they have previously done this just by evaluating each job on their own. Instead, they need to develop a system in which they can compare each job to the next. This not only will show if the work is improving or depleting, but will overall, help make Whitehouse Floors know where their weaknesses are and therefore, where they need to improve.

Managing Quality

The four dimensions of quality apply to Whitehouse Floors LLC in many ways. When examining the Quality of Design, Whitehouse Floors tries to truly understand what their customers’ needs and wants are. Customers first want a quality, long lasting floor that will coincide with their every day needs. They also want a floor with a great warranty and that will perform up to their standards. Whitehouse Floors also realized that customers want undivided attention by employees in the store. They want to enter a showroom and not have to wait around for someone to help them. They want immediate attention by someone who is knowledgeable in the field and can advise them on what flooring is best for them.
How well the product Whitehouse Floors is selling or the Quality of Conformance actually meets the Quality of Design is truly what sets Whitehouse Floors apart from its competitors. By understanding what it is customers want and then following through with that, is what makes Whitehouse Floors different. Whitehouse Floors’ showroom only shows good to top quality flooring. They only carry flooring that they believe in. Though they can get you pretty much anything out on the market, their showroom consists of great quality flooring that ranges from affordable and up. All products have at a minimum of a 15 year warranty backed by their manufactures. Whitehouse Floors also understands customers want attention in the showroom. They do not want to wait around or search for someone to help them. They have met this need by having a smaller showroom and a smaller staff. When a customer enters the showroom or calls they are immediately greeted and helped by someone who is trained very well in the flooring industry. They are given opinions, recommendations and an abundance of information regarding any floor they may be interested in.
The “Abilities” are an important aspect of quality to understand. The first being Availability, it is difficult for Whitehouse Floors to actually calculate the percentage of time a product will be available. It is a rare occasion in which a floor is not available once installed. If the flooring fails to meet the customer’s expectations once installed, it is then Whitehouse Floors implements their correctional steps to fixing problems such as this. In most or majority of cases flooring installed by Whitehouse Floors will be available 100% of the time meaning it is a lifetime floor until they want to change the color or type of flooring. We have installed an enormous amount of flooring and very rarely do customers encounter an issue. In terms of Reliability it is kind of the same idea. The length of time a floor can be used before it fails should be infinite. There are concerns however, for example, if Whitehouse Floors were to install wood or a laminate in a customer’s home and then that home floods, the flooring will need to be replaced. Another example would be if the floor was installed improperly, it is then the floor would need to be ripped out and installed again. However, all customers should rely on their flooring as being a lifetime product as long as there are no uncontrollable mishaps or installation problems. The Maintainability or the restoration of the floor once it fails is a different case. Once the floor fails or has issues, there are certain steps Whitehouse Floors must follow. If a wood floor, laminate floor, or carpet is failing or having issues, first Whitehouse Floors must contact the manufacturer to schedule an inspector to come and look at the floors. This will determine whether the floor was installed improperly or if the floor has a defect. Once this is determined, Whitehouse Floors will order new material if necessary and re-install the product as soon as possible. This process should only take one to two weeks all together; this includes an inspector coming out, shipping times and installation of the new floor. Field of service for Whitehouse Floors consist of a one year warranty of our labor and immediate response to any issues, questions or concerns. If replacement is needed then the steps explained in maintainability will be followed. However, in most cases, if the flooring performs perfectly over the first, the customer should have no issues with the installation of the flooring.
Whitehouse Floors should consider faster ways of fixing issues that do occur. They could also look do more research on what their competitors are doing. Price is a large factor in the decision; however, they should look at how their competitors treat customers and learn even further from that and differ themselves further from their competitors by giving customers an .

Service Process Design

Tangible Services of Whitehouse Floors
Whitehouse Floors offer a huge selection of colors and patterns for flooring. Customers have the opportunity to visit the showroom with a lot of displays and large selection of samples to make their decisions. Additionally, customers are welcome to take any of these samples home or to their place of business to aid in the decision-making. We also provide refinishing services and hardwood and laminate cleaning kits, and if clients would like to install their own flooring, then we can furnish with just the materials. We love helping customers create the right flooring for their decor and lifestyle. We have a professionally trained crew, with all the members licensed and insured, in addition to criminal history checks performed on everyone. Customer can trust us with our superior flooring and services. Every customer is treated with the utmost care and experience. Whitehouse Floors LLC prides themselves on being extremely involved with their customers on every level, from picking out colors to laying out a design for their floors.

Psychological benefits of Whitehouse Floors
After several years of experience, customers feel satisfied with our variety of floors and customization. Costumers count on us for proper flooring materials as well as neat, top-quality floor and carpet installation. The fact that our installers are required to pass a criminal background check and be fully insured makes customers feel safe in opening their doors to our service. Service is supplied by professional trained, licensed and insured staff. Customers also feel assured being in the show room, by being given personal attention from the minute they walk through the door, until they leave. They are all offered refreshments and given all the help they could possibly need, while in the showroom. The showroom is meant to be a place where our customers feel comfortable to make all their flooring decisions now and in the future an easy and pleasant process.

Physical goods of Whitehouse Floors
-Carpeting (Residential & Commercial)
-Hardwood Flooring (Unfinished & Pre-finished)
-Porcelain Tile
-Ceramic Tile
-Natural Stone or Slate
-Cork Flooring
-Laminate Flooring
-Vinyl Flooring
-Hardwood Refinishing (New & Old)
-Cleaning Kits (Hardwood & Laminate)


Whitehouse Floors’ customers are offered customer-routed services where customers want a unique, highly customized experience. Customers have a great deal of decision making power to determine the components of the service. We facilitate an onsite-consultation and after customers decide how, when, and the sequence in which it is delivered. We provide personal service, one on one with each customer.
Whitehouse Floors uses high customer contact. For example, when customers enter the showroom they are immediately greeted face to face with a highly trained professional for all their flooring needs. They are also greeted to a neat showroom with a large variety of flooring samples. We use rarely technology is the service process design. For example, we have no bar codes, scanners or computers that track our inventory. The customization and practical work is done by employees with different type of machinery specified for each individual type of flooring and job needs.
Whitehouse Floors supports its employees; buy providing them with the most recent training in the industry and backing up their decision making. Employees at Whitehouse Floors are looked at as the front line to the business. They are there to ensure a pleasant and informative experience for all of the customers. Whitehouse Floors realizes the importance to content, well trained and trusted employees.
In terms of service recovery, Whitehouse Floors LLC does everything they can to ensure a job goes extremely well. However, there have been cases where a distributor will send the wrong product to the warehouse, therefore resulting in a postponement of a job which was due to completed with in upcoming days. This is handled by immediately verifying the material, re-ordering the material which was expected, scheduling pick up or a return authorization on the wrong material, and then rescheduling of the job. We also guarantee the job will be done professionally and properly. If this does not take place, Whitehouse Floors immediately sends their crew back out to the job site to correct any issues. Everything is done to ensure the customer that the job will be done correctly and Whitehouse Floors has every best intention in mind.
When looking at service guarantees, Whitehouse Floors always checks stock before placing an order. This ensures the customer with a date the product will be arriving. A standard of 1 week is generally used; however, there are many cases where special order products take numerous amounts of weeks. By checking stock with the distributors prior to ordering and making customers aware of the products arrival date, gives the customer relief in knowing when their product will be arriving and that Whitehouse Floors is keeping track of every job. This immensely helps in improving the service process and eludes from any complications from the start of the process design.

Process Selection

Whitehouse Floors LLC uses a product flow process known as the batch flow. Once the product or in this case, flooring, is brought to our warehouse it is then and only then, the product is owned by Whitehouse Floors. There are many different operations or work centers that are used for each different type of flooring. For carpet there is a different process in which one installer is responsible for and the same goes for wood, laminate, tile, and refinishing processes. Each group or category of flooring has its own individual process for installation, yet at the same time all have the common goal to lay the floor properly and professionally. Each group uses their own machines; however, are all floor laying machines. Because there are different operations to laying each individual floor, the flow path varies depending on the type of flooring being laid. Other characteristics which would change the “work centers” would be items such as the type of sub floor, what type of product the customer prefers, as well as, other personalized issues for each job.
Whitehouse Floors LLC uses a make-to-order customer order process. Because each customer has many different preferences and job specifications, each is tailor made to the customer specification. In addition to this, the jobs in process are extremely dependent on the customers’ wants and needs. Another characteristic Whitehouse Floors holds with the make-to-order customer order process, is the fact in which the cycle of production and order fulfillment beings with the customer order being placed. It then follows through the MTO process exactly until the cycle is completed.
Using this information, when looking at the process characteristics matrix, it is clear that Whitehouse Floors LLC falls under the batch and job shop and the make-to-order cell.
Factors which influence Whitehouse Floors process selection are very common to the flooring industry. Usually, most installers specialize in a particular type of flooring. Because of this, they know how to use each piece of machinery, etc. The customer itself is a huge factor. Each customer has different preferences as to what type of flooring is put in their home. Along with that, there are many different types of sub floors, requirements which must be met, and wants and needs from the customer.
When considering mass customization methods, it does not seem reasonable for Whitehouse Floors LLC to adopt any. There is not a common process in which one can use to lay all types of flooring. Because each different floor type requires different techniques, tools, labor, and attention it is highly difficult to arrange a common process for all categories of flooring.

Inventory Management

Whitehouse Floors LLC has many different forms of inventory. Of course there is flooring that is kept in stock, however there are also supplies which keep the office running and open for customers. For both forms of inventory Whitehouse Floors uses a technique very similar to the Periodic Review System, where we periodically check stock and order only the amounts needed to keep a set amount of inventory. The system that is currently in place for flooring that is held in stock is very simplistic. The only items that are stock are unfinished or raw wood. Every other type of floor is ordered based off of what the customer chooses. Whitehouse Floors LLC always keeps two pallets of wood in their warehouse. One pallet consists of 2 ¼” unfinished red oak, while the other consists of 3 ¼” unfinished red oak. This wood is commonly used for repairs and refinishing projects. The process is fairly simple. The office manager orders a pallet of both types of wood. An invoice is kept aside and as jobs come in which require the wood, the quantity used for the job is subtracted from the original pallet square footage. Once either of the pallets reaches half of their original square footage, another pallet is ordered. The reason there is not a set system in place for the re-ordering of the wood, is demand. There are slow seasons in the flooring industry as well as busy times. Wood is easily available from the distributors and only takes at a maximum 1-2 days to arrive at Whitehouse Floors’ warehouse. Whitehouse Floors does not inventory any other type of flooring, as mentioned before; all other types of flooring are specially ordered for the specific job needs.
Whitehouse Floors does however inventory other types of materials. The showroom is another side of the business. This is where people come in and actually choose the flooring for their projects. This showroom has many different forms of inventory. Deal jackets (Manila Folders), pens, printer paper, toner, post-its, and brochures are just a few examples of the types of inventory kept at the showroom. Every two weeks it is the office managers’ responsibility to update the inventory within the store. This is done by evaluating how much of the inventory has been used up and predicting how much will be used over the next two weeks. The amount ordered to refurbish the inventory fluctuates each time, again depending on whether or not Whitehouse Floors is in a busy month or a slower month. The busier they are, the more showroom inventory they will need and vise versa. Materials are easily accessible with a lead time of approximately one day.