Modern metal fab shops: Have a technology plan

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When FMA President/CEO Ed Youdell walks around FABTECH and other shows these days, he sees the obvious: higher and higher laser cutting power, as well as more and more sophistication in robotics and automation.

However, looking to the future of all the technology that’s wowing everyone in the present, Youdell sees something a bit deeper for metal fabricators—the need not only to invest in and embrace the emerging technology, but also to manage it well and find partners that will help them do that as it grows ever more complex.

Moving Material, Moving Skillsets

In terms of machine technology itself, Youdell has his eye on two aspects, starting with raw material movement—and the software and people to manage it.

Managing, Moving Raw Material. “If we’re cutting faster, we can process more, so we need to be able to load and unload those machines faster with more precision,” said Youdell, who has headed FMA since 2011. “The automation of the tower material storage systems is a game changer, as well as the software that’s going to speak across the platforms and pieces of technology on the floor.”

Of course, adopting this new fabricating and material handling technology influences staffing decisions, which can bring even more change to an organization.

“In a business where we struggle to attract people and we have many job openings, I don’t think that’s going to go away, because we need those people on the front end of production,” Youdell said. “But then, the people who are going to manage the technology—I think that’s where I believe you’re going to see a different skillset developing.”

When asked who the model keeper of technology for a shop might be, Youdell didn’t miss a beat.

“When I think of what that person looks like, they look like an applications engineer from one of the machine tool builders,” he said. “That person is a highly coveted individual because of their ability to work across the platforms of the technology. They’re going to be smart in their approach to using the software to maximize the operations.

“If I were a young person coming out of an engineering program or any kind of a technical program, that’s the career I’d be pursuing: applications engineer.”

Moving Finished Parts. A corollary sector that captivates Youdell is the movement of finished parts, especially as it pertains to nests of laser-cut parts.

Ed Youdell, FMA President/CEO

“The second piece of this is, we can produce more parts and cut them faster, and while that’s great, if you cannot process them, you still have a bottleneck in your operation,” he said. “I think the next area where there will be great emphasis in the shop operation is parts picking—technology that removes the parts—because it’s a very manual process.

“Now, it’s a person who has to sometimes struggle to remove the parts from the skeleton. We’ve got to be able to get the parts out of the laser cutting machine and onto downstream processes as fast as possible. In theory, parts picking is an approach with much promise. I am interested to see what developments come. If we’re in a nine-inning game, I think we’re in the first inning of that game.”

Finding Great Partners

In the metal fabrication arena, Youdell said he believes artificial intelligence’s greatest impact will be on the machine tools and automation systems and then drive changes to the shop operation.

Because of that, and how dependent businesses already are on their machine tool vendors to guide them in how to use that technology, it behooves shops to foster close relationships with machine tool companies so that they can both stay abreast of the latest technology and have a go-to ally when things go sideways. Keeping close ties with lenders who can help shops invest in that technology also is key.

“One thing—and FABTECH shows this over and over again—is that in addition to all the world-class technology, relationships matter,” Youdell said. “You’ve got to have a reliable technology partner. You have to be able to trust, when you make the investment, that the technology’s going to do what it says it’s going to do and that the partner is going to be there with you along your journey.

“You [also] have to have a relationship on the capital side,” he said. “You’ve got to have good bankers and financial partners. When I think back to 2009, I recall many manufacturers being in a difficult position because some banks suddenly decided manufacturing wasn’t a good industry to be invested in. And a lot of banking relationships were upended and left some manufacturers scrambling to find new banking relationships. So, you need to be smart about who you can partner with—who’s going to be there when you need them.”

In addition, in a new labor environment that has rewritten a lot of workplace rules, fabrication businesses also must rethink their relationships with their employees—especially because of the dearth of skilled workers out there.

In fact, Youdell said FMA might need to focus more time on helping its members figure out the costs associated with downtime, recruitment, and replacing employees. In today’s world, it’s all about nurturing a retention versus recruitment mindset.

“At the end of the day, you really have to have good people to move your organization forward,” Youdell said. “Everybody wants different things in today’s work environment in terms of flexibility or work-life balance. The days of a company telling its employees, ‘Punch the clock at 8 and you leave at 4:30,’ and not caring that a person’s kid has a ball game or after-school event at 4:00 which they ultimately miss—those days are over if you want to have good people.

“The industry will quickly figure out who has a retention strategy versus who has a recruitment strategy, because it’s expensive to recruit. I think pay structures really need to be evaluated.”

Get a Tech Plan

So what should FMA members be thinking about, and how they should invest their resources as the fabrication game plays on? Youdell was quick to answer that too.

“You’d better have a technology plan,” Youdell said. “I think you’ll find the most successful shops have [one]. And it’s got to be a rolling three- to five-year plan because you can’t fall behind anymore. We don’t just compete in our particular regional area. It’s a global environment. So, you have to be thinking about competitiveness.

“My unwavering belief is that the people in our industry are really bright and smart,” he added. “I don’t think what I’m saying here is revolutionary. What I’m focused on is making sure that FMA is delivering valuable content in a platform-agnostic approach—from The Fabricator magazine to our Annual Meeting and all our educational events plus FABTECH—that helps position our industry’s professionals on the top end of the global competitiveness curve. There is no doubt in my mind that the metal fabrication industry is arguably the most advanced manufacturing industry in the world.”