How equipment can help relieve the skilled-worker shortage

The welding industry is suffering from a critical shortage of skilled welders at a time when welding job opportunities are increasing annually. One way for welding shops to help combat this shortage is to use high-tech, modular welding tables that enable one skilled welder to do jobs that normally would require at least two pairs of hands.

Skilled-Welder Shortage

The American Welding Society (AWS) has predicted that by 2024, the welding industry will have a shortage of about 400,000 welding operators. This is not surprising since data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that from 1988 to 2012, the number of welders in the U.S. declined from 570,000 to 360,000. Coupled with this, the manufacturing industry in general, and oil and gas industry in particular, has grown exponentially since mid-2009, adding even more jobs for specialist welders.

Another BLS stat indicated that the decade from 2010 to 2020 would show a 15 percent growth in welding-related positions, which is higher than those for most other occupations. According to the statistics, by 2020 there will be around 50,000 more welding positions available than there were six years ago.

Well-trained career welders are in greater demand in manufacturing than ever before and can pick and choose where they work. Proper certified training enables a career welder to cherry-pick jobs in a wide range of manufacturing industries.

How a Welding Table Can Help

It stands to reason that any company hiring welders wants to ensure high-quality workmanship. Careful consideration also should be given to the welding equipment provided. Using equipment that can minimize downtime and enable one welder to do the same job two or more welders normally would be expected to do, in the same (or shorter) period of time, makes good sense.

Few elements, other than the appropriate welding machine and the bits and pieces required for the specific process chosen, are needed to complete a welding job.

So what role does a welding table play?

In a nutshell, if a welding table is modular, easy to clean, easy to maintain without having to splurge on replacement parts, and it’s efficient, then it’s going to save time and money.

A welding table with a tabletop and rails that have soaked in an oil formula enables a welder to get rid of spatter instantly. What this means is that spatter simply pops off the surface while the welder is working. Then the table can be cleaned easily without any grinding or elbow grease. That feature saves a lot of time.

Because there is no need to grind off spatter, these tables last a lot longer. Furthermore, if one rail of a well-designed modular welding table is damaged, only the rail needs to be replaced, not the whole tabletop.

Ultimately, the best modular tables available today don’t simply make it easier for welders to work, they improve uptime. One welder can do the job two (or more) welders would normally do in the same amount of time. A well-trained, qualified welder seldom needs assistance manipulating a workpiece in the middle of a project using one of these tables.

How They Work

Once upon a time a welding table was simply a table with a flat surface made of metal—commonly mild steel but ultimately depending on the metal being welded. To weld different components that had to be positioned at different angles, welders had to use jigs and clamps and other quite basic, but often custom-made, aids to get the job right.

Technology advancements led to 3-D modular tables designed with a T-slot system. These welding tables incorporate modular parts with slots that can be opened and adjusted to accommodate different metal parts within the design of the item being welded.

The best modular tables can be tilted, moved, and customized with built-in jigs in a fraction of the time it would take a typical welder to set up a mid-job welding position. Better still, one skilled worker can do it alone, which is good news in an industry that has fewer workers than it did a decade ago. The secret about so-called cutting-edge welding tables is that they can hold a full range of 3-D welding components and accessories required to complete many welding tasks.

Whether you are a welder or you employ welders, equipment is available to take your business to the next level. You might need to hire more staff, but you also should look at what upgraded equipment can do for you, particularly a welding table that’s going to minimize your downtime.