Anchor-Ventana Glass - Taking Proactive Measures

NACC Case Study:
TAKING PROACTIVE
MEASURES
NACC Certified Glazier
Anchor-Ventana Glass
Round Rock, TX
Team
Owner and President: Felix Munson, Sr.
Vice President, Commercial Operations: Richard Danek
Safety Coordinator/Manager, Operations: Johnny Brabandt

About Anchor-Ventana Glass
Anchor-Ventana Glass provides full-service residential and commercial glass design and installation from its showroom and office hub on the historic Chisholm Trail in Round Rock, Texas. In business since 1977, Anchor-Ventana prides itself on 100+ employees with a combined 550 years of industry experience, all of whom are dedicated to quality, trust, and customer service. Anchor-Ventana Glass attained NACC certification in October 2016 and was recertified in December 2018.

Introduction
Guided by the motto, “I’ve got great glass,” Anchor- Ventana Glass employees tout advanced technology, professional installations, and guaranteed warranties to demonstrate that they don’t just talk about quality, they deliver it. Since its founding in 1977 and relocation to its current state-of-the-art facility in 1999, the company has embraced ongoing improvement. When company leadership learned about NACC in early 2016, they were intrigued. “We saw certification as an opportunity to recognize what we’re doing well and a way to see where we needed extra effort,” explained Anchor- Ventana Safety Coordinator and Manager of Commercial Operations Johnny Brabandt. President and CEO Felix Munson, Sr., agreed, “Certification keeps you on your toes. Industry standards change and we want to be in a constant process of improvement.” Pursuing the NACC program meant a renewed dedication to quality.

About NACC
The North American Contractor Certification Program provides architectural glass and metal contractors with certification recognition through a professionally administered, third-party assessment, as a means of creating a baseline for competency and adherence to industry-accepted guidelines.

Group Knowledge
Anchor-Ventana applied a team effort to certification. After an initial evaluation by Administrative Management Services, Inc., the organization that administers NACC, Anchor-Ventana put a team in place to ensure any deficiencies could be resolved. Two people handled quality control measures in the field; another handled internal organization, assembly of a quality manual, and ensuring everyone stayed on track. Company leadership remained involved throughout.

Vice President of Commercial Operations Richard Danek explained they had most of the required information and processes, but lacked ways to track and document procedures. “We had a lot of tribal knowledge,” Danek said with a chuckle. “The good news: the tribe was wise. The bad news: the tribe was illiterate.” Luckily, Anchor-Ventana was doing a lot of things right. The documentation exercise was easier because processes already existed.

Hand in Hand
Anchor-Ventana has been involved not only in the NACC Program but also in the Architectural Glass & Metal Technician program to certify members of the workforce. “NACC goes hand in hand with AGMT,” Munson, Sr., explained. While company leadership confirmed glaziers’ knowledge and ability to properly perform glazing procedures through AGMT, they found NACC gave those same glaziers added measures to perform well. “We realized we weren’t giving our installers all the info they needed,” explained Brabandt. As a result of the NACC Program, installation instructions are on every job site and all lead technicians use iPads and online file-sharing to access information in real time. “The guys appreciate having all the info at their fingertips.”

Lone Star
Anchor-Ventana has seen many benefits of certification, including improved financial systems, record keeping, and vendor processes. The insurance company and bonding company saw certification as a proactive measure, contributing to a stronger surety partnership and helping the company earn bonding for bigger projects. Currently, Anchor-Ventana is the only NACC certified contractor in Texas, but it hopes not to remain the lone representative of the program for long. “We want to be able to go to architects and contractors and encourage them to specify quality companies that are dedicated to doing every job right the first time,” said Danek. “We highly recommend other companies become certified because it benefits the whole industry.”