Squeezing more productivity out of your business

Trying to get more done in the same amount of time? Metal fabricators might want to look at their front office activities to find some overlooked productivity boosters. Yossakorn /iStock/Getty Images Plus

Are you pulling out your hair as you try to figure out how to keep up with new job opportunities because you don’t think you have the capacity to chase the work?

That’s understandable. If you are in the manufacturing business, you know things have been busy for the past couple of years. In fact, the U.S. manufacturing economy has been expanding since June 2020, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s PMI. The August PMI was 52.8, which matched July and was the lowest reading since June 2020, but it still indicated that manufacturing was robust. (A score over 50 indicates expansion, while anything below 50 suggests an economic contraction.)

Compounding the challenge is the fact that companies simply can’t hire people to assist with new work. Metal fabricating companies have long talked about the struggles in trying to find skilled workers; now the rest of the world is singing the same tune. The expedited exodus of baby boomers from the workforce and people generally looking for a break from the rat race have made good help truly hard to find.

Many manufacturers have turned to machine technology to try and add manufacturing capacity, but that only works when you can get the equipment. Stories of companies having to wait six to 12 months for a new piece of equipment are not unheard of.

In this search for capacity, maybe metal fabricators are looking in the wrong areas. Perhaps the answer isn’t exactly found on the shop floor.

An upcoming webinar, “3 Unexpected Productivity Boosters for Metal Fabrication,” scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 4, will look at how programming and nesting software can unleash productivity gains that many shops aren’t taking advantage of. Veteran industry experts Doug Wood and Olaf Körner of Radan Software, a division of Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, will focus on three areas of the business where the right technology can deliver these productivity improvements:

• Enhanced offline press brake programming
• New approaches to quoting for more streamlined and accurate results
• Tips for taking nesting operations to the next level

Interested in learning more? Sign up for the webinar here.