Formway employs more than two hundred people throughout Australasia.
Primary production takes place in four separate plants, totalling over 7600 square metres. There is significant investment in leading edge CNC machines and robot welding. Laser fabric cutting commences soon.
This commitment places Formway at the forefront of furniture production in Australasia. Formway is one of the few local companies still designing and manufacturing product from the ground up.
Australasian Plant and Equipment
Sydney Factory, Rockdale
Two plants totalling 2100 square metres employing more than twenty personnel.
Key Functions: warehouse, worktop manufacture, upholstery and assembly.
Wellington Factories, Gracefield and Ngauranga
Three separate plants totalling 4500 square metres employing ninety production personnel plus thirty support staff.
Key Functions: custom joinery manufacture, worktop manufacture, workstation component manufacture, chair component manufacture, MIG, TIG & Gas Welding, upholstery, assembly and warehouse.
Quality Commitment
Quality Goals:
Formway defines quality as ‘delighting its customers’.
The company’s customer focus is integral to its performance and providing quality design, manufacturing and delivery is totally directed to satisfying the end user.
Formway is in the business of helping its customers add value to their business through creating enjoyable, productive workplaces. Formway aims to design and manufacture furniture solutions that add unexpected value to its customers by enhancing their work environments, which in turn contributes to the health, well-being and performance of their personnel.
Quality Monitoring:
Initial quality performance is scrutinised weekly using a measuring tool called 'IFOTIS'. The tabulated results are reported for all production units on a weekly, monthly and cumulative basis. All product dispatches by line item are measured to monitor if they are dispatched 'In Full, On Time and In Spec'. The Formway manufacturing team has an annual goal of achieving better than a 95% success rate in each of these specific performance categories.
Currently Formway is on target year to date.
Continuous Improvement:
An Improvement Opportunity Request (IOR) system is used to track concerns arising from warranty issues in the field. Each individual issue is tracked down in order to understand the root cause, with the goal of eradicating the cause so it does not occur again. In addition to this the IOR information is collated and reported on a monthly basis. Cumulative data is analysed and any issue trends are identified and managed appropriately.
Quality Assurance:
Formway Australia had its quality management system certified to AS/NZS ISO9001 in 1994. This certification was held for six years, but the company determined earlier this year not to seek further re-certification to this particular standard. Australia is now working to the Performance Excellence Criteria (otherwise known as the Baldrige Criteria) as Formway sees this giving a more effective and holistic assessment of its total company’s performance.
The process management documentation utilised as part of Formway's ISO9001 certified quality management system is still an integral part of how it manages quality within the company. Accredited outside assessors are used to assess Formway against the Performance Excellence Criteria.
To support its Quality Assurance, Formway runs an active workplace learning programme which is continually developing to ensure staff have the skills necessary to effectively maintain its Quality Management System. If a customer specifically requests, Formway Australia can develop and implement a specific quality assurance plan for the duration of their project.
Product Quality Assurance:
Formway's internationally recognised design studio develops the majority of its furniture products. All products are designed to meet internationally recognised standards. In house testing is employed during development to ensure that these standards are met.
In order to gain independent certification, Formway has its products tested by approved third party testing facilities. Third party independent testing with appropriate support documentation is the only way to ensure that the compliance claims being made by manufacturers are valid and ensures the customer is getting the quality and ergonomic compliance that they expect. If you are unsure about the testing on any Formway product or any other manufacturer's product you can access testing information on the AFRDI (Australasian Furnishing Research & Development Institute) website on www.furntech.org.au
Formway uses Furntech / AFRDI for most of its third party product testing. The AFRDI is located in Hobart, Tasmania and is the only officially accredited furniture testing lab in Australia. Formway has its products tested to appropriate AS / NZS standards for Australasia, and tougher international standards ANSI / BIFMA (USA), BS, DIN (Europe) as required by our international and/or local customers.
Formway 
Standards