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A-3 Organizes work
Communicating with customers and other trades and interpreting documents and prints lets cabinetmakers organize their work efficiently. They carry out basic design and layout together with other professionals to deliver a quality product.
Sub-tasks
- A-3.01 Interprets prints and drawings
- A-3.02 Plans project
- A-3.03 Creates design
- A-3.04 Performs layout of cabinets, furniture and architectural millwork
Organizes work
Interpreting prints and drawings, planning the project, creating the design and laying out cabinets, furniture and architectural millwork.
Key points
- Project requirements are determined by locating and cross-referencing information in drawings and specifications.
- Material take offs are produced from shop drawings to make ordering and estimating material easier.
- Symbols on architectural drawings listed: mechanical, electrical, finishing.
- Types of views listed: plan, elevation, section, detail.
- Rough sketches (isometric, orthographic, floor plans) are drawn to make communication with the client easier.
- Construction challenges are resolved through change orders, project specifications and communication with the general contractor.
- Site conditions to template include curved and angled walls, walls out of plumb and floors out of level.
- Site accessibility (passage doors, elevators, parking, stairways, loading docks) is checked so product pieces can be delivered to their final location.
Overview
Cabinetmakers organize their work efficiently by communicating with customers and other tradespersons and by interpreting documentation and prints. They also carry out basic design and layout together with other professionals, so that the final product is of good quality. Task A-3 has four sub-tasks: interpreting prints and drawings (A-3.01), planning the project (A-3.02), creating the design (A-3.03), and laying out cabinets, furniture and architectural millwork (A-3.04).
A-3.01 Interprets prints and drawings
What you do
- Determine project requirements by finding and cross-referencing information in drawings and specifications.
- Verify job site measurements.
- Create shop drawings and notes, based on the drawings and specifications, to communicate project tasks.
- Produce material take offs from shop drawings. These make it easier to order and estimate material.
- Determine the millwork required from the symbols and specifications on architectural drawings.
- Interpret and apply industry standards and building codes.
What you need to know
- Types of drawings and prints, and their characteristics and applications.
- The information found in drawings and specifications, and the symbols used on architectural drawings.
- Regulatory requirements: Canadian Standards Association (CSA) documentation, industry standards and building codes.
- Procedures to create shop drawings and notes, and to produce material take offs.
Range of variables
| Category | Includes |
|---|---|
| Types of drawings | rough sketches, shop, plans |
| Information in drawings and specifications | dimensions, materials, finishes, specification books |
| Symbols | mechanical, electrical, finishing |
| Industry standards | AWMAC, AWI, WI, CKCA, shop-specific standard |
A-3.02 Plans project
What you do
- Help set daily, weekly and project objectives according to project specifications.
- Determine material and hardware requirements according to project specifications.
- Determine tool, equipment and shop space requirements according to project requirements.
- Help work out time and labour requirements according to project requirements.
What you need to know
- Drawing specifications, and the types of views with their characteristics and applications.
- Sequence of work and schedules.
- Materials and hardware, and requirements for tools, equipment, shop space, time and labour.
- CSA documentation and other regulatory requirements.
Range of variables
| Category | Includes |
|---|---|
| Types of views | plan, elevation, section, detail |
A-3.03 Creates design
What you do
- Interpret what the client needs and prefers, so that the final product meets the client's expectations.
- Recognize potential construction challenges by reviewing project specifications and job site conditions.
- Resolve those challenges through change orders, project specifications and communication with the general contractor.
- Draw rough sketches to make communicating with the client easier.
- Use efficient design to get the most yield from materials and labour.
- Create basic dimension drawings with computer-aided design (CAD) software, a manual method, or both.
- Verify design requirements according to project specifications.
What you need to know
- Basic design concepts and terminology, and standard dimensions.
- CAD software and the manual method of producing basic dimension drawings.
- AWMAC manuals.
- Procedures to recognize and resolve construction challenges, create basic dimension drawings, verify design requirements and get the most yield from materials and labour.
Range of variables
| Category | Includes |
|---|---|
| Potential construction challenges | inability to access, obstacles, services, obstruction of utilities, conflict between function and appearance, conflict within specifications |
| Rough sketches | isometric, orthographic, floor plans |
| Design requirements | accessibility, site measurements |
| Standard dimensions | table, chair and counter heights, mattress dimensions |
A-3.04 Performs layout of cabinets, furniture and architectural millwork
What you do
- Select and use layout tools so that the work is accurate.
- Transfer drawing information and specifications to a full scale layout so that the product will function.
- Identify potential problems on site and tell the other trades about them.
- Take site measurements so that the work is accurate and does not obstruct utilities.
- Template site conditions so that the work is accurate.
- Perform basic geometric calculations.
- Check site accessibility so that product pieces can be delivered to their final location.
- Verify design requirements according to project specifications.
What you need to know
- How cabinets, furniture and architectural millwork are laid out, and the materials used for layout.
- Cabinet, furniture and architectural hardware.
- Where installed cabinets, stairs and architectural millwork are located.
- Basic geometric calculations and design requirements.
- Layout tools and how they are used, and procedures to lay out work, transfer drawing information to full scale, take site measurements and template site conditions.
Range of variables
| Category | Includes |
|---|---|
| Layout tools | trammel points, straight edges and tape measures, levels, electronic measuring devices, CAD measuring devices |
| Site conditions | curved and angled walls, walls out of plumb, floors out of level |
| Geometric calculations | radius, slope, circumference, angles |
| Site accessibility | passage doors, elevators, parking, stairways, loading docks |
| Design requirements | accessibility, site measurements |
| Layout materials | hardboard and medium density fibreboard (MDF), paper, plastic |
| Cabinet, furniture and architectural hardware | hinges, slides, locks, pulls |
Source: Red Seal Occupational Standard – Cabinetmaker, Task A-3 (pp. 41–46).
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Sources cited on this page
- Red Seal Occupational Standard – Cabinetmaker, Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship (CCDA) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) (2021 (Cat. No. Em15-3/37-2022E-PDF, ISBN 978-0-660-44580-9)). Where: Task A-3, pp. 41–46.