New Survey Reveals the Bane of Fabrication Bottlenecks

A new survey of over 500 fabricators found that more than 90 percent struggle with production bottlenecks, with 85 percent saying material handling and bending are the primary sources of gridlock.

MC Machinery surveyed fabricators via an anonymous online survey between September 3rd and September 18th.

Survey respondents said that the biggest impacts of bottlenecks are (in order of impact):

1. Lower productivity
2. Longer lead/turnaround times
3. Worker downtime/inefficiency
4. Unplanned machine downtime  

Over 95 percent of respondents reported having at least one fiber laser. As high-volume fiber lasers become more common, downstream operations often struggle to keep up, said MC Machinery Project Specialist Nick Plourde.

“The increased production of fiber lasers can be lost if fabricators don’t also invest in material handling and bending operations,” Plourde said.

Benefits of automating these downstream processes include:

• Increased productivity and efficiency
• Higher, more consistent quality
• Reduced labor costs
• More easily scalable production
• Increased safety
• Data insights for more accurate production scheduling, quoting, etc.
• Optimization of floor space

“An investment in automation can lead to major competitive advantages, especially in industries where efficiency and speed are critical,” Plourde said.

At FABTECH Expo in Orlando October 15th through October 17th, MC Machinery will be revealing new equipment and technology in Booth S17034 that can eliminate production bottlenecks in the blank-to-bend process.

The new technology will address what this survey data shows to be the biggest areas of production congestion—material handling and bending.

www.mcmachinery.com – Bottleneck Survey Results