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From A Metal Fabricators Perspective

Guest post by Mike Bowlby of Mack Hils Metal Fabrication

Metal fabrication shops can get bombarded at any moment with orders from customers, ranging in complexity and size. The difficult part for managers is managing worker stress levels and morale, while keeping customers 100% satisfied. Even more difficult is predicting when the busiest times will occur because they could happen at any moment and at any capacity. The best things managers can do are plan for the worst situations and expect the best results.

The Busy Times

The busiest times of the year vary from fabricator to fabricator. It depends on a metal fabricator’s customer base, the products they produce and the markets their customers are in. If a metal fabricator knows its customers well, then they should at least have a little understanding of what to expect. In order to stay on top of demand, reduce stress and stay prepared, some fabricators might find it beneficial to stay up-to-date with their customers’ markets; follow trends and predict them as much as one can. Maybe even establish relationships with other metal fabricators to share knowledge of seasonal demands and such.

The busy times also vary as a result of government actions and lack thereof that have drastic effects on the US economy. For instance, World War II created a boom for economic development due to manufacturing demands. Similar cases could occur that require manufacturers and fabricators to increase their production activities. On the other hand recessions can create deficits in demand.

Manage Workers’ Stress

Handling workers’ stress is a function of good management and leadership. Managers must communicate with their employees on a regular basis. This gives them a sense of preparation and an understanding of what to expect. If employees know what is expected of them and these expectations are clearly communicated the result is a lack of stress, a calm work environment, a better-finished product and a happier client.

Keep the Morale High

Managing workers’ stress levels is important, but so is keeping their morale high. The better condition a work environment is and the happier employees are, the more focused they will be resulting in a better work performance. There are a number of things managers and team leaders can do to keep the morale high, including hosting company barbeques, providing bonuses to those performing at high levels, and interacting with employees on a daily basis. This lets them know they are important and when someone gets recognition for their work, they work even harder and exude a positive attitude.

But First, Keep the Customers Happy

First and foremost a company must keep customers happy by delivering their products on time with good quality. Although employee morale and stress levels are very important to managers and team leaders, there is pressure to perform and produce quality products to keep customers happy. As long as all employees understand the importance of every order, they will have a better understanding of how important it is to work together to get the job done.

Mike Bowlby is the owner of Mack Hils Metal Fabrication, a Midwest metal fabrication shop focusing on short lead times, happy customers and quality products. 

About the author

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Comments

Always keep the customer happy! But it takes a lot to keep the customer happy, and one of those things is keeping employee morale high. Without hard workers the product will not be satisfactory.
A good management and quality product on time improves customer engagement in any industry. Today it's time to meet customer's expectations to face competition.
You mention that recessions can create a deficit in demand. What manufacturer's really need to understand is that recessions happen - they're as sure as sunrise and sunset. So bearing that in mind in good times and keeping both employees and customers happy will help tide a manufacturer through those times.
Outstanding post and right to the aspect. I am not sure if this is actually the best place to ask but do you individuals have any idea where to get some professional writers? Thanks for sharing.
Great post, managing customer's expectations is always the hardest thing to balance with a finite capacity of equipment and staff. It's not always helped by customers lack of understanding of the processes required to manufacture their products but we try our best to educate them as well as simple manufacture for them. I guess if it was easy everyone would be doing it!
When ordering metal, it is seen that most people specify a particular size and shape of the material, and the processes employed to ensure that the raw metal meets this specification are varied and broadly flexible. For jobs which are too large or deal with materials which are too robust to make manual metal cutting a practical proposition, machine cutting has to be applied in various different forms. It is very essential to bring such a topic into limelight, which has been not talked about much. Thanks for sharing this useful information.
Making a customer happy is more important in business. People are so busy that many customers are willing to pay for extra convenience. If they get great service at the store they'll be less likely to switch when a new one moves in down the street.
Great piece of knowledge given by you in your blog. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Thanks for sharing information on Metal Fabricators .
Western Blow Pipe is one of the most sought after steel fabricators in St Louis with more than 110 years experience in all kinds of metal work, installation and applications on commercial and industrial projects for almost all industries.
Thank you for sharing valuable information on Metal Fabricators. I was looking for a fabricating shop that understood how to weld aluminum and fabricate specialized aluminum frames for my business. I Hired JK Welding to build the 1st prototype frames which were built to perfection and now JK Welding has set up to fabricate my frames in small production runs. JK Welding is a great fabricator, excellent listener and GETS IT!!

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