Every metal fabricator needs technology to get things done. But that’s not tough to manage if you are willing to invest on the technology. So what separates a good metal fabrication shop from a bad one?

Well, it’s the employees.

In this day and age, everyone needs their work done within the shortest amount of time. So metal fabrication shop owners are bound to invest in top-notch technology and increase productivity.

These machines are the heart of every stainless steel fabrication, aluminium fabrication, and steel fabrication processes. But you need a brain to guide these machines and the machine operators and workers fill that role.

So unless you have an excellent team of skilled workers, you are handing over Superman’s power to Lex Luthor. And if you are a pop culture fan, you’d know that’s not a good idea.

So, if you think that handing over the powerful machines to your untrained employees is not a bad idea, then you should get your head straight. There’s no doubt that the advanced laser cutting machines, metal bending, and metal rolling machines are way too much power in incompetent hands of your employees if they don’t know how to get things done.

Yes, I agree that modern machines are developed to be simple and easy to learn or operate. But they are extremely productive and the workflow is smooth with their involvement. However, these days, customers demand speed. In some situations, 5-6 weeks of turnaround time is not ideal anymore. But all those automation and advancement give a lot of power to the inexperienced workforce who aren’t engaged.

To be honest, you simply can’t make a metal fabrication process fool-proof. A careless algorithm or even a job routing fault can lead to a pile of unnecessary and incorrect parts fabricated in a rush. That’s why you just can’t afford to have an unskilled team in your metal fabrication shop.

And believe me when I say this, unskilled and untrained labor has been one of the major problems in the metal fabrication industry7, from long before the fancy laser cutting machines were introduced. That’s why metal fabricators are trying hard to get rid of this age-old problem.

However, as far as I can tell, they didn’t do a very good job in this department. There are many possible reasons why they weren’t successful. Maybe they didn’t address the issue properly to the human resource or the problem wasn’t harsh enough compared to the ones at hand like, the steel rates or updating the press brake, etc.

Anyhow, the problem needs to be addressed and solved. First of all, asking your recruitment department why the recruiting talents still remain this challenging would be a good start. You can expect multiple answers for that, low unemployment, tight labor market, etc. But successful metal fabricators have looked inward.

Anyway, what should metal fabrication shop owners should do? They need to strengthen the terms of recruiting. Everyone who gets included in the metal fabrication industry should understand the importance to be educated about the department they work in. That’s how metal fabrication industry will be free from the burden of the unskilled labor force.