Blogger: FabTrol - Brian Williams
FabTrol Insights
Thoughts and insights from our General Manager
Experience the benefits of old school paper and spreadsheet drawing logs without the tedious data entry.
Once upon a time (and to this day in some shops) steel fabricators maintained drawing logs on paper, by hand. For most fabricators this moved to a spreadsheet but they continued to rely on a human hand to enter every new revision and status-changing action. While tedious, this delivered huge benefits. Anyone could find the project notebook (which typically included other information such as RFIs) and discover at a glance what the latest revision was supposed to be and when/whether drawings were sent out for approval and approved. Moving into the 90’s the spreadsheet version could be accessed on the network or at least shared via email so no one had to leave their desk or ask for the book to be delivered to their physical in-box.
FabTrol Pro automatically updates the status of drawing revisions as they are imported and based on the purpose for which they are transmitted and received. You go about the business of importing the drawings and subsequent revisions, and sending and receiving them for various purposes. FabTrol Pro automatically logs the impact of these actions, noting when revisions occurred and automatically updating drawing statuses as your communication indicates this is appropriate. FabTro Pro makes all of this available at a glance in an easy to use drawing log, automatically providing the old school value without concerns about whether or not someone remembered to update the log.
This functionality is also available to steel detailers in FabTrol Rev.
To learn more about how simple it is to manage drawings and communication with the engineer, architect, customer, general contractor and your sub-contractors, watch the following video: FabTrol Instant Access.
Proper management of material grades is one of the most important features in your material management software. Grades should always be included in the import and your software should quickly and easily “learn” about grade callout conflicts and never bother you about that particular conflict again.
Grade and other material definition conflicts are problems because:
- Your shop, your detailers, sub-contract detailers and various detailing software don't always define grades in exactly the same way.
- If you don't import the grade you are always depending on human memory or someone's assumption to keep things straight.
- Your nesting/multing system won't be as effective if some of your stock is defined as A572-50 and some as A572 Gr. 50; and it's even worse if you allow even more variations during your bill of materials import. Optimization engines lack the human skill of recognizing when something that looks different is actually the same thing and will provide inefficient answers when the grades aren't all synchronized.
None of this should pose a problem for your material management software and you shouldn’t accept software that “simplifies” this by ignoring or assuming grades during the import or nesting process—this could cost you thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars in back-charges. Your software should screen grades and manage translations during every import. It should be trivial for any user to teach the software a new translation from something like A572.50 or A572 Gr 50 to something like A572-50.
FabTrol MRP and it’s new software, FabTrol Pro and FabTrol Shop:
- Let you know about the material definition discrepancy (unless you've previously discovered and covered it).
- Make it easy for even an inexperienced user to teach the software that the new label should be imported as A572-50 (if that's how you choose to call out the grade).
- And never require a user to define this for the software again; the software learns and adds to its knowledge of type, size and grade callouts during each import, requiring less and less of the user.
FabTrol MRP has always provided easy-to-use translation tools and FabTrol's new software FabTrol Shop and FabTrol Pro can even start out by importing material definitions that match your most common file source. Still it probably won't match definitions from the next software or detailer. So just define your types/sizes and grades to match ASTM standards (or your most common source of import files) and then you can quickly and easily teach the software about variations as they occur.
It's not uncommon for a single remnant to represent hundreds of dollars--and this doesn't include the cost to store, track and retrieve it. This value represents missed opportunities while it's sitting out in the yard rusting; and that value is drastically reduced when you give up and dump it into the scrap bin.
In FabTrol MRP we support creating a virtual rem even before you cut the bar it will eventually come from. This is a popular, well-used feature and allows you to nest into the leftover material before you actually create the physical remnant.
In our new software, FabTrol Pro, we've improved this process. Just add the part(s) to the existing stock bar on the existing cut list (even if the parts are for a different project). This has some nice advantages over the old system:
- You never create a rem in the system before you have one in the yard.
- If you use our live feed to the saw the saw operator's cut list is updated in milliseconds.
- So he cuts the additional parts while the stock bar is loaded on the saw.
- Without having to coordinate multiple cut lists.
For more advanced multing tips and information on using our new software to manage them, you can download the first white paper from our "Profit vs. Project" series, here.
We had a great time this year and it was nice to have all of you here in Eugene.
It may break attendance records, but if not, this week's Get Connected event certainly looks to be one of the largest customer events in FabTrol's history. We're all excited to show everyone the ongoing work to improve FabTrol MRP and the new work we're starting to deliver in FabTrol Pro.
Most of FabTrol's staff work in support, training, research and development--and we're always eager for face-time with people who are using or will use our products. It will be great to see all of you here in Eugene!
My first steel fabrication job paid about $4 per hour. My boss at the time told me to start buying a few tools. He said this would distinguish me from other shop employees and the impact on my pay would more than make up for the investment. If you are a fitter, welder or any other craftsmen or aspiring craftsmen working on a shop floor, I assure you that he was onto something.
It wasn't really necessary to tell me to only buy quality tools (my grandfather and uncles had covered that ground)--but he did. He said it was better to purchase one good tool as I got the money rather than fill my tool box with less expensive look-alikes. So I paid about $15 for my first adjustable wrench, used it in the harsh environment of the shop floor for years, admittedly used it as a hammer or pry bar a few times, used it in the rain a few times, always cleaned and oiled it afterwards and it is hanging in my garage right now, ready to go. Other than a few spring clamps to hold chalk-lines and the like, I never bought any of the cheaper tools and I rarely bought a tool twice. Neither did any of the other real craftsmen in the shops where I worked.
Later I participated in larger purchases for a couple of shops and we always over-bought. Compromises were often made on used vs. new and sometimes we only bought one of the machines we were after instead of both. But no owner, operations manager, shop foreman or machine operator advocated the purchase of an off-brand piece of equipment or even the purchase of something that just managed to meet our specs.
Was price a consideration in these decisions? Always. Still, we knew that eventually we'd want the tool or piece of equipment to do a little more than we'd first imagined. We knew we couldn't afford for it to fail or fall short and we surely didn't want to throw away the initial investment and start over if it did.
You don’t buy a press brake, plasma cutter, drill line or software package to save money on the price of the press brake, plasma cutter, drill line or software. If that’s your goal--the best savings are achieved by buying nothing at all. You buy them based on their ability to deliver savings and value every day.
This morning FabTrol's halls and email inboxes are abuzz with conversations about Steve Jobs and his impact on us and the world. We are saddened by his passing but always encouraged by the power and value of his work and example.
Before Steve Jobs, great designers preached the value of elegant solutions. They filled books with examples of objects and devices that, once they existed, felt like they were destined to be delivered in that particular way. A few enlightened people learned from this message and appreciated these books. Then Steve Jobs helped the rest of us catch up and catch on. He raised popular expectations and let the consumer know that he should expect elegant technology that was easy to learn and delightful to use.
He was raised by uneducated parents, a college drop-out and, in his words, "very publicly fired" from the company he started in his garage. Here is his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford where he describes the philosophy that helped him connect those and other dots for good purpose in his life.
From that speech,
Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart...
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.
Everything else is secondary ...
Steel fabricators are hands-on types. Many of the people trusted to manage materials, estimating, production and projects have probably spent time working in fab shops or at the job site. If you work with a few sharp people who deliver value without the advantage of this hands-on experience, encourage them to spend a few days each year in the shop or out in the field with the customers or co-workers who consume their work product.
Steel Day provides the perfect opportunity for this.
Fun, Valuable and Low-Cost training and networking October 19-21.
Just a reminder that we're a few weeks from our 2011 Get Connected event where fabricators will receive training on FabTrol MRP as well as the new re-engineered product. This is your chance to get ahead on training for the new product and, as always, is one of the most fun, valuable and low-cost training opportunities that FabTrol offers.
We've talked to hundreds of owners and managers who depend on FabTrol to help them make money, and save money, every day. So we know you want software that's easy for your team to learn and provides automatic access to vital information without forcing you to repeatedly set a complicated filter or dig into the details.
This empowers you to make faster, more knowledgeable decisions that can save material and labor costs, prevent mistakes and help you win the next project.
Our dev group continues to deliver this powerful automation. For a glimpse of some of the new tools, including powerful forms that automatically deliver vital information the second they are opened, check out our new YouTube video: FabTrol Does More
With so much positive feedback at FabTrol’s NASCC booth, more interest than we could accommodate at our NASCC software preview lunch and packed webinars after the show, we decided it was time to come to you and share first-hand why everyone is so excited about our new software.
If you’re a steel fabricator and you haven’t seen the software, check out our roadshow stops over the next few months. If you ‘re located near San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago or Denver, a member of our team will be in your area to demonstrate the software and talk to you in person about your specific needs.
Visit http://www.fabtrol.com/new and make your roadshow reservation today.
Rex and Randy, two members of our training staff, have put together a list of tools and tricks that will enhance your experience whether you enter or import the bill of material into FabTrol's estimating system. My favorite is entering the location and type of work in our drawing and phase fields and then using our Phase/Drawing and Drawing/Phase reports to organize the estimate by location then type of work or by type of work then location.
This is just a quick reference to make sure you know about all of the powerful tools that are available to you. You can find the list here in our product support area. For more detail you can search our help system or call one of our services staff.
Most of the people who work for FabTrol do the majority of their work in the Eugene office. Our sales and marketing group is outnumbered about four to one by our research, development, training, and support and services staff, making it difficult to justify sending more than one or two representatives from these diverse groups to the NASCC.
FabTrol is blessed with many wonderful customers and it’s always great to see them and hear how they are doing—even when they give us grief about something. It was particularly exciting this year because of all the buzz about our new product, which they will receive as part of their normal support and maintenance. We presented the software many times each day at the booth and to as many people as we could cram into the room we booked for lunch. We should have booked a larger room! We ran out of time before we covered half of the software and had no trouble holding their interest well beyond the scheduled time (of course the meal arriving late could have contributed to that. Sorry). Customers were particularly pleased with the drawing log and multi-job nesting and all seemed to grasp the power of the deeply integrated custom filter and reporting system.