Building for the Future

Seeing how this fabricator uses its ground-breaking plasma cutting technology to streamline operations, save money and improve profitability in a competitive market is a wonderful reminder of some childhood concepts that still stand the test of time.

As a child I was intrigued by all kinds of machinery. You could say I was mechanically inclined and liked to try and “fix” things, including bicycles, mopeds, and even the occasional small appliance. Whenever I was about to embark on a “fix-it” project, my father would boldly exclaim, “You’ve got to use the right tool for the job if you’re going to do it right!”

Following this statement my father would disappear in to his workshop, soon to return with the “right tool for the job” held in his hand. He always presented me the tool with a beaming smile, exclaiming, “Now all you have to do is figure out how to use it.” Then he’d chuckle and disappear again. During a recent visit to Behlen Industries LP (Brandon, Canada), I was reminded how important it is to have the right tool for the job and to be able to easily figure out how to use it.

LAYING THE FOUNDATION
Behlen Industries was founded in 1969 and is now Canada’s largest producer of steel building systems in terms of units produced annually. Behlen serves the industrial, institutional, commercial and agricultural markets with systems sold and installed throughout North America and parts of Europe by a network of authorized builder-distributors.

The builder-distributors are supported by regional Behlen sales and technical customer service employees. The company is ISO 9001-certified and is consistently listed as one of Canada’s 50 best managed private companies. As a result of its success, it is also the largest user of steel in Western Canada, with consumption typically exceeding nine million pounds annually.

PUTTING THE STRUCTURE IN PLACE
My visit to Behlen came shortly after the company invested in a new plasma cutting machine which replaced a 10-year-old unit that had been operating 24/7. The replaced machine was no longer serviced or supported by its manufacturer and had reached the end of its reliable service life. After some research, Behlen purchased the new cutting machine from Linde Canada (Mississauga, ON), their existing supplier of industrial supplies and gas. Linde Canada also provides service for the new machine, which was a major factor in the final purchase decision.

The newly installed cutting machine is equipped with Integrated Plasma Cutting Solutions from Hypertherm, Inc. (Hanover, NH), including a HyPerformance® HPR260XD plasma cutting system with Autogas, an EDGE Pro® CNC, a Sensor® THC, and MTC’s ProNest® 2010 nesting and process optimization software.

In speaking to the Behlen production team during my visit, they shared some of their purchase-related criteria with me. Behlen production manager Doug Riddoch commented, “The plasma system is considered a vital component of the work flow at the company. If it is not working, it really affects the overall operation of the shop. The plasma dictates the work flow, with 40 welders waiting for cut parts.”

Continuing his thoughts on the recent machine acquisition, Riddoch went on to say, “Quality and reliability were our big drivers for the purchase. The new machine was selected because we felt that it was more heavy duty than the other models we saw. Trouble-free operation is what we are looking for and we’d rather spend a little more to get this, if needed. We purchased the machine with growth in mind. Knowing we had our last machine for ten years certainly made capacity planning a little less difficult.”

Mike Trupp, a technical sales/automation specialist for Linde Canada, was primarily involved in the pre- and post-sales process, including system installation and training. It was clear speaking with Trupp that he takes his customer satisfaction responsibility very seriously. “The buck stops with me, as far as ensuring my customers’ machines are operational,” he says. “I have to be a one-stop shop to our customers, as much as possible. The relationship I have with Hypertherm makes that easier for me.”

Whether it’s a ProNest 2010 True Hole™ technology setup question or something related to the HPRXD plasma, Trupp only needs to make one call directly to one supplier or via the machine manufacturer and he can get the answers he needs . . . instead of one component supplier blaming and faulting the other’s components. “I plan to start using the online Remote Help capability soon,” adds Trupp. “It’s a win-win solution for the customer and for the equipment distributor.”

Even though the advanced technology, like True Hole, is automated and simple for inexperienced programmers and operators to use, this also means that when there is a technical question, those same operators may not be able to help diagnose the issue. Remote Help will allow Trupp to resolve, or be a part of resolving, technical and applications questions right from his office.

A HIGHER LEVEL OF SUCCESS
During my visit, the Behlen team shared with me how the Hypertherm-equipped cutting machine has delivered impressive results and changed the way they operate. Riddoch commented, “Since the plasma was installed three months ago, we’ve seen some major improvements in the way we process jobs and the results we achieve. Firstly, we have more flexibility with the new machine.”

He describes how Behlen transferred work from their plate machine and were able to bring some work back in-house from outsource vendors. The plant also consolidated some projects from other company locations. All in all, the new machine capability has given Behlen the flexibility to alleviate production bottlenecks, reduce work in progress, and streamline their material handling.

“Another major impact from the new machine,” Riddoch continues, “is the improved I-beam weld fit-up based on optimized part quality from reduced edge taper. I-beams are now consistently fabricated to tighter tolerances, which helps our installers by reducing costly in-field rework. Other major process improvements include use of the plasma True Hole technology available with this machine. While we’ve not yet used it to its full thickness potential, because right now we mostly do very thin sheet work, based on the bolt-ready hole quality we’ve seen so far, we will definitely gain a lot of benefit from the technology in the future.”

While onsite, I also spoke with the company’s two nesting programmers, Chad and Dennis, who use ProNest 2010 each day to program Behlen’s cutting jobs. Programming at Behlen includes the use of ProNest True Shape automatic nesting to rapidly achieve high levels of material utilization without programmer intervention. Collision avoidance is also applied automatically to each nest, yielding optimized tool paths, lead styles, and positioning. The resulting tool path translates to productivity improvements in cut-to-cut cycle time. During the meeting, Chad remarked that “we also like the Common Line Cutting feature that provides for the cutting of two common straight-edges with a single cut. We like this function a lot because it is so easy to use and improves the nest utilization a lot.”

Toward the end of my visit, Riddoch summarized results from the machine investment. “From the time we receive the paperwork on a job,” he stated, “we can now be ready to ship the job, complete building and assembly, etc. in just two days. Just by bringing some of the hopper-bin work in-house, we’ve seen a 40 percent cost savings on that product alone, as well as a significant savings in production lead time. All of these changes to the way we process jobs using the new machine have helped us improve our profitability.”

The team at Behlen Industries clearly understands the importance of using the right tool for the job. Seeing this during my visit was a wonderful reminder of my childhood and was reassuring to see that some concepts stand the test of time. Through successful implementation of ground-breaking plasma cutting technology and partnering with a dedicated equipment supplier, Behlen is saving money and improving profitability in a competitive market.