How Automation is Reshaping the Future of Fabrication Shops
At a Glance:
- There’s a shortage of skilled fabricators, with a projected shortfall of 1.1 million workers under current federal investment scenarios.
- Companies must balance quality and speed in production despite workforce limitations. Strategies include boosting efficiency with data-driven automation, minimizing errors with the support of early defect detection solutions, and scaling smart with human-centric integration in mind.
According to research from the National Skills Coalition and the Political Economy Research Institute, skilled fabricators are in high demand. Without an influx of newly qualified workers, there is a predicted 1.1 million shortfall of trained workers to fill jobs under current federal investment scenarios. Companies face a dual challenge: maintaining fabrication quality without sacrificing speed.
Automation offers a way to optimize workflows and enhance operational output. In this piece, we’ll explore some common use cases for fabrication automation, examine the benefits of implementation and offer strategies for integration success.
Common Use Cases for Fabrication Automation
Automation relies on digital workflows to eliminate inefficiencies and increase throughput. Some common use cases for automation in fabrication shops include:
Shop scheduling. Orders have different component requirements, timelines and urgency. Total order volumes are also bound by current capacity, which may be affected by unexpected machine failures, proactive maintenance or staffing issues.
Automated tools take all these factors into account when creating shop schedules, allowing teams to prioritize projects by deadline, priority or capacity.
Quality control. Poor-quality fabrication leads to reputation damage and the need for expensive rework. Automated quality control checklists and inspection tools can help identify potential problems before outputs are sent out for delivery or pickup.
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By deploying multiple quality checkpoints across the fabrication process, companies can identify and resolve issues as early as possible. In addition, analysis of this checkpoint data helps teams pinpoint common concerns that impact overall quality.
Reporting and documentation. Automated reporting and documentation free up time for staff to focus on technical fabrication tasks. When combined with platforms that provide dashboards and visualization tools, automated reporting helps companies quickly spot key trends or bottlenecks in production.
It’s also worth noting that automated reporting and documentation streamlines compliance. For example, fabrication shops are typically subject to safety rules mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The rules include both a duty to keep workplaces free from recognized hazards and to document the processes taken to ensure worker safety.
While manual reporting is an option, it carries the risk of mistakes via data errors, omissions or duplication.
Proactive maintenance. Automated workflow processes can help determine when fabrication machinery or tools require maintenance and send notifications for proactive repair or service.
Consider a critical piece of machinery scheduled for regular service every six months. If this machine fails unexpectedly, it could cost businesses days or weeks worth of lost productivity. Using automated data capture makes it possible to spot patterns that indicate premature failure, such as a steady rise in temperature or pressure. By taking machines offline before they fail, fabrication shops save time and money.
Benefits of Implementing Automation
One benefit is error reduction as automated processes replace manual operations, such as data entry and file conversions. Even small errors can create big problems if data is incorrectly entered or files are not stored in the right format. Automated tools are both faster and more accurate than their human counterparts.
In addition, automation frees up more time for skilled staff to focus on tasks that are time- and resource-intensive. As noted above, the demand for fabricators now outpaces supply. Using automation means fewer manual tasks for skilled employees and more time for them to deliver top-quality outputs.
Finally, automation can help companies better navigate facility upgrades or expansions. Consider a fabrication company expanding its physical footprint to increase throughput. This growth requires the reconfiguration of some machinery, the replacement of other tools, and the redesign of all shop floors. The challenge? Halting production isn’t an option.
Instead, the business needs to make the best of a tough situation. For example: They might use industrial temporary lighting while workstations are being modified and deploy short-term conveyor solutions to manage materials delivery.
Automation ensures that processes remain on track and on time. Equipped with data about fabrication changes, automated tools can create temporary workflows and schedules that make best use of available resources.
Automation Integration: Strategies for Success
While automation looks different for every shop, four strategies help kickstart this process.
1. Identify Areas for Improvement
Automated tools aren’t limited to a single operational function or workflow. Instead, they can be applied to almost any process or practice. To make the most of automation, companies should start by identifying areas for improvement.
For example, if material and output quality are high but throughput is lower than expected, automation may help streamline this process. The more teams know about current operations before deploying automated tools, the better.
2. Test, Then Scale
Once automated workflows are in place, testing is essential. This testing should be tied to key performance indicators (KPIs) that speak to the efficacy of new tools. Consider a process automation tool designed to complete capture and record operational data, in turn improving throughput.
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To test efficacy, companies must compare current to past values. If the average production time for a single component was 12 min. before automation and 10 min. post-deployment, the solution is working as intended, and it makes sense to scale. If values remain unchanged (or increase), processes should be reevaluated.
3. Bring Staff on Board
Even the best tools won’t deliver value if staff don’t use them. To reduce this risk, bring staff on board as soon as possible. This means being transparent with employees about what new tools are designed to do, how they will impact current workflows and when deployment will happen.
4. Prioritize Augmentation, Not Competition
Automation isn’t a replacement for human skills. And in some cases, human capabilities can’t compete with automated efficiency.
To get the best of both worlds, fabrication shops need to prioritize augmentation. Working in tandem, tools and technical experts can deliver higher-quality outputs more quickly and consistently.
Don’t Wait—Automate
The sooner fabrication shops deploy automation, the better. While slow and steady wins the race when it comes to integration and application, the evolving market for automation tools means companies can now choose from on-premises, hybrid or cloud solutions, and opt for full control or managed service provision.
Equipped with automated workflows, processes and documentation frameworks, fabricators can enhance productivity, reduce error risk and ensure high-quality outputs.