Changing the lineup in a shop

Stack of stainless steel parts ready to be assmebled via GTAW.

Being proactive is something my dad has always been good at in business. He has always had the foresight to know which new equipment or tools we might need for jobs over the horizon. His timing has been pretty good, as has his ability to put the right people in front of the new equipment.

Lately we’ve tried a few new things around the shop. We hired a guy named Colby Shepard from New Hampshire, and we moved our laser operator, Jason Barnes, back to the fabrication table. Before the move, Jason trained Justin Mullins to run the laser.

Justin has spent the last several months on the press brake and has turned out to be a jack of all trades around the shop. He has been enjoying the laser just as much as Jason has enjoyed a change of pace.

We seemed to make these changes at the right time, and it has been working out for us. It’s kind of like a sports team changing its lineup to get more points on the board and play more efficiently. We aren’t the Cleveland Cavs or anything. You can still win games without dropping the majority of your team. Anyway, the Cavs are doing good now, but that is beside the point.

Justin, Jason, and Colby were dialing up the pace, while the rest of the shop continued to put work out the door. In the office, we’ve recently seen a surge in orders from a variety of customers. One in particular threw us a good amount of stainless steel gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) work.

Without missing a beat, dad realized we didn’t have enough manpower to complete this work with the GTAW machines we had available. There are only so many hours in the day, and we don’t have a second shift. He had to call our local welding supply house, Arc3, and get some GTAW machines on order for rent.

It wasn’t long after dad ordered the machines before we got another purchase order for yet more work that required GTAW welding. So, again, his timing was spot on.

Dad was running a couple errands one morning when the two GTAW machines showed up. The delivery guy told my coworker Randy Davis that they were here. He replied, “I didn’t know we were getting any new welders.” He turned to me, and I told him we had some more work coming down the pipe. He smiled and said OK.

It wasn’t long before we had four guys putting together assemblies and laying down beads. I’m used to seeing good welds around here, but I’m not used to four guys at a time doing GTAW. Not in our shop. Not yet.

Our lineup change has proven to be very effective. A change of scenery is good for everyone now and then. Jason seems to be very happy to get away from the laser for a little while. The nice thing about him training Justin, is that we now have three skilled laser operators at the shop. If things get a little hairy, someone else can fill in where needed.

Folded parts ready to have the corners pulled.

Cross training is great for small shops like ours, and being able to do something different is good for the mind. And the GTAW rentals were crucial to making our customer happy. They were pulling orders ahead to get out of a bind, and we were able to produce.

Sometimes, when a customer tells you to jump, you need to say how high. Keeping them happy with steady deliveries is very important! Being able to jump when the times comes depends on how prepared you are. Our work is always improving, and so are our workers. If you can’t say the same about your shop, you aren’t doing it right.

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