The DMark® Process
Of course, every project we undertake is different. It’s one of many reasons we love what we do. Even projects that might seem similar on face value have their unique challenges and nuances… and occasional curveballs.
That’s why we place such emphasis on process. It ensures we fully and properly understand and document your brief – and can contribute our expertise and experience to it from the very outset. It also provides a key point of reference for every stakeholder, for every aspect of the project.
Consultation
Ideation and understanding
This is the free-thinking bit, where we look at your overall vision or need, without getting too hung up on the detail… yet. It also helps us to understand you, and to help clarify what you have in mind.
This may already be specific and clearly defined, or you might be seeking our creative input at this early stage. Either way, we’re here to provide knowledge, insight and expertise so you avoid project lag, overspend or re-design later on.
Possibilities and development
With your metalwork vision or need clearly defined, we start looking into the best ways we can help you realise it, with bold and collaborative exploration of approaches and techniques. Of course, the seemingly straightforward can turn out to be surprisingly complex – but it can also work the other way.
Depending on the project, we may also suggest anything from hand-drawn sketches to technical drawings, to scaled samples, or more involved prototyping iterations where appropriate. While this is still very much a preparatory stage, it’s always best to explore technical and creative approaches fully before getting your project underway.
Scope and timescales
DMark will always discuss and fully clarify your metalworking project’s scope in detail before we start work. Our decades of experience on projects of diverse scale and complexity ensure we don’t over-promise, and can better define scope, timeframes and costs.
Our communicative approach alleviates potentially difficult conversations in the future, regarding project creep, timelines or any engineering or monetary constraints. This means you can plan any linked and dependent aspects of your project more effectively.
Ongoing consultation and support
Our rare depth and breadth of metalworking expertise – and our experience with projects large and small that involve and depend on other providers – mean we offer advice and support not just for what we do, but in its wider context.
Whatever the size and scope of your project, having a broader contextual understanding of the skills and services we provide can save you time, money and reputation, and we’re here to support you and liaise with any other stakeholders.
Creation
Fabrication
Having meticulously defined and agreed our approach to realising your vision or solving your complex problem, we’ll move from the drawing board (or software) to the fabrication stage. We’ll apply the perfect blend of DMark’s metalworking capabilities, skills and experience, and begin the hands-on process of creating your masterpiece.
This will often start with template and buck creation, custom tooling or 3D printed dies and presses, jigs and fixtures, and then move to the preliminary stages of fabrication, typically achieved with our own state-of-the-art specialist equipment.
Creation
So fabrication is where things take shape. Creation is where your project will start to come to life, and to truly reflect your brief and vision. It’s where attention to detail really becomes paramount, and our passion comes to the fore. This is when extraordinary metalwork happens.
It may involve deft handcrafting, pinpoint machine accuracy, fine-margin assembly and joining… or most likely a combination of all this and more. This is arguably the aspect of metalwork that brings us the most pleasure. We enjoy nothing more than seeing your concepts realised, and our expertise borne out.
Scope and timescales
Ensuring and safeguarding the highest of standards applies throughout every aspect of our briefed requirement; from specification to sourcing, to production and placement, to the type and quality of the consumables, to the way we fabricate, hand-craft and finish your piece.
Nothing leaves the DMark workshop that hasn’t met every aspect of your brief, and our strict quality standards.
Ongoing consultation and support
By instinct, we simply don’t relent until your bespoke metalwork is in situ and everything is to your full satisfaction, whether as a standalone item or integral to a wider requirement or project. In fact, we’ll probably insist you check everything several times, just like we do!
We see it as fundamental to our involvement in any project that we can stand by our craftsmanship, precision, and attention to detail. This ensures you have no issues further down the road, or along your project’s timeline or supply chain.
