Free Productivity Audit

TIME IS MONEY

 

We’ve all heard it. In most cases it’s true. You want your company to run as smoothly as possible, with productivity at its peak.

 

With the ever growing technology in gasses, welding equipment and filler metals, now would be a good time to have your company’s welding procedures audited for productivity.

 

What Is A Productivity Audit?

 

The simple explanation is it’s the recording of what kind of welding equipment is on your work floor or on the job site.  Most purchases of welding machines are made into a  compromise because of budget concerns and the type and amount of work it needed to do. Are those compromises still holding true or has your work changed?

 

Assumptions that held true a few years ago may not be holding up today. Your workforce is it changing? Your talent pool, is it getting smaller? The quality of work that is being demanded from your customers and/or regulatory boards has that changed? There are welding machines that can help address those problems.

 

Audit of the Welding Equipment

 

Welding machines get the most attention, but there’s also the guns used to feed the welding consumable. Are they set up correctly? Are there any new changes in these areas? For example, when welding with water-cooled TIG torches you can forget to turn on the water pump. Within seconds the cable heats up and blows apart, creating a shower of coolant for all who are close by. Is your machine set up so that doesn’t happen? An audit finds that information and other things you may not be aware of.

 

Audit of the Welding Wires

 

With welding wires, the audit records what type of wires you’re using. It is then matched to the type of welding that’s being done. And are there any future plans for different types of welding?

 

Welding wires have changed, and are changing. Manufacturers are constantly looking for the Winning Recipe. Regulatory boards are constantly changing their levels of acceptance.

 

Even if there was the “Ultimate Wire” out there for you, it may not be that easy to change. You may have procedures or other challenges that will prevent you from changing tomorrow morning.

 

There are other issues that come into play: pre-weld cleanup and post-weld clean up. How big of an issue are these things for your operations?

 

Audit of the Welding Gases

 

An audit can lead to some good changes. Sometimes by just changing the gas you use, can reduce the generation of welding fumes. Expensive, exotic gasses can sometimes be replaced by changing the wire. Your level of consumption of certain gasses may have gone down, but has your delivery costs decreased? Or maybe your consumption has increased but your delivery system hasn’t changed. Is this lack of efficiency costing you more money?

 

Audit of The Welding Processes

 

We record the type of welding processes that are being used:  Stick, Mig, flux Core welding, Tig and Robotic. And looking at the type of welds being done: horizontal, overhead, butt welds, fillets,  etc.

 

What are your welding procedures? Is there a need to make a big change to gain a higher level of efficiency? If you’re a CWB shop,  you know this isn’t going to change at the drop of the hat. There is a rigorous procedure that must be followed.

 

Audit of Safety in the Work Area

 

The productivity audit doesn’t go looking for safety infractions, but it can uncover some unsafe practices. For example, we sometimes find two to three sets of flashback arrestors on one torch. This could be a problem, if you’re doing any heavy preheating with the torch. You need a good flow of gases and without it you’re going to have popping and possibly flashbacks.

 

Conclusions of the Audit

 

This is where the success of the audit lies. When the auditor(s) knows their stuff, they can be like the printer salesperson, who delivers some excellent advice to people who are a lot smarter than themselves.

 

Contact us today to schedule your free productivity audit   Contact Us

A Few Brands That We Are Proud To Carry

  • miller
  • victor
  • esab
  • avesta
  • hypertherm
  • hobart
  • walter
  • weldmark