Malcolm McGrath is a cabinet maker in Toronto, Canada, who used folding Metaltech Jobsite Series scaffolding as the basis for a rolling work station used to assemble cabinets. Not a workbench, it’s a place to store the tools and supplies used during assembly. McGrath has altered the scaffolding so it stacks and cut the legs shorter so a stack of two can pass through a standard door opening. The scaffolding holds a series of specially outfitted shelves with a place for everything. When I say a place for everything I don’t mean a suggested place where something “might” go, I mean a place with a number and letter that corresponds to a number and letter on a particular tool. If something is missing McGrath can tell right away and if he finds a tool lying around he knows exactly where it goes. Some would call this obsessive-compulsive behavior, to the people who practice lean manufacturing, this attention to detail and focus on avoiding waste is just common sense.
I get where McGrath is going with this and have no doubt it makes him more efficient. About a year ago I bought a label maker and have been labeling things in my shop—not individual tools but boxes and cases, and the particular shelves where they go. This insures that the same box always goes in the same place so I can always find it. Labels are particularly helpful when items are stacked two deep and you can’t see what’s behind. The label on the shelf lets me know “hey, the box with your trim router is in back”.
But enough about my shop; McGrath’s is way cooler and far more organized. You can see him describe it in the video below.
