How to reduce the risks of new construction technology adoption

Innovative digital technology has found a home on today’s construction sites, and so has the complexity that goes along with it. In the air, drones are surveying the landscape to measure volumes and create interactive 3D topographical maps. On the ground, contractors are deploying next-generation machinery to make worksites safer and more productive. What may have been a futuristic pipedream a few years ago is quickly becoming standard for construction sites all over North America.

A number of factors are driving the adoption of these innovations, including the increasing pace of competition, as well as shifts in the composition of the skilled labor force. But while some organizations began adopting and assessing new technology some years ago, others are only now coming to grips with these tools. Fortunately for newcomers, there is a pathway to reducing the risks of technology adoption.

Read the entire article here.

Confessions of a Simulator Skeptic

When it comes to training, today’s complex equipment requires an equally sophisticated learning environment. And while younger tech-savvy workers are generally quick to embrace simulation-based training as an effective tool, many established operators remain convinced that nothing can replace on-the-job field training.

As a construction worker with more than two decades of experience under his belt, Gary James’ view of training simulators was tainted with a skepticism not uncommon among veteran equipment operators. He saw simulators as overly simplistic and unrealistic, only useful for novices, and in no way a reflection of actual jobsite conditions.

Read it here.

Tactical Toolbox: A Quoting case Study

RC Industries, located in Elkhart, Ind., is a full-service fabricator and supplier of complex metal parts to the North American transportation industries. In addition to storage systems, toolboxes, and bumpers, the company offers advanced custom fabrication and engineering services. Since opening its doors in 1994, RC Industries has grown to a staff of more than 140 employees running and operating an impressive array of metalforming equipment.

This case study details how SecturaSoft is helping the company to streamline the quoting process and win more jobs.  Read the story in the February 2022 issue of Shop Floor Lasers magazine!

Neapco Further Extends Global Implementation of Campfire Software

Campfire Interactive, Inc. (Campfire), the leading provider of portfolio profitability management in the automotive sector, announces that Neapco is continuing its implementation of Campfire software to include support for supplier RFQ and corporate sustainability initiatives. This is the latest stage in a launch of Campfire software that began in the first quarter of 2021.

With over 3,200 employees at 11 locations around the world, Neapco is the automotive industry’s leading driveline solution supplier. Today the company is widely leveraging Campfire’s product suite to standardize and enhance critical business processes and financial measures globally. This includes Campfire’s OMSF module (Opportunity Management and Sales Forecasting), which was launched earlier this year, and quoting module, which will be launched in Q1 2022. Today the automotive supplier has begun implementation of the Campfire module for PPM (Program and Project Management) and will soon kick off eRFQ (Request for Quotation for suppliers).

“Campfire is pleased to see that Neapco is implementing our full product suite,” said Campfire President and Chief Executive Officer, Pradeep Seneviratne. “This will enable Neapco to manage their entire digital profitability backbone with one global enterprise system that provides immediate answers to complex business queries.”

Diverse systems and processes present challenges and improvement opportunity for nearly every manufacturer. For globally dispersed suppliers, such as Neapco, opportunities and subsequent returns are multiplied exponentially.

“Campfire has established a reputation within the automotive community for supporting informed decision-making and unlocking profit potential,” said Neapco Vice President, Advanced Manufacturing, Ray Adamczyk. “We’ve turned to Campfire to streamline critical sales opportunity and vehicle program data management across the enterprise. This allows us to standardize critical business processes and financial measures, centralize the management of all information related to volume, cost, price, capacity, and timing; and respond to RFQs faster and with more accuracy. Results from earlier rollout fully validate our expectations; and we are continuing toward full implementation of an end-to-end solution.”

Campfire eRFQ

As a single system for quoting, costing, pricing, and change management, Campfire automates quoting from RFQ through cost computation, price computation, and reporting. Campfire’s new eRFQ module allows customers to extend that automation to what is required from their suppliers in the preparation of quotations. This not only streamlines and accelerates the process but eliminates common data entry mistakes.

Campfire Chief Operating Officer, Dan Meyer, says it should come as no surprise that Neapco is one of the first customers to adopt the new eRFQ capability. “Within today’s highly competitive automotive supplier landscape, responsiveness is critical to securing new contracts,” said Meyer. “Quotes must be generated quickly with the highest degree of accuracy. Campfire accelerates RFQ response while ensuring maximum profitability. Forward-thinking companies like Neapco embrace and leverage innovation as a competitive advantage; and Campfire is pleased to contribute to their success.”

Sustainability Support

Recently the two companies collaborated on a presentation during World Quality Week to communicate a shared vision and steps to advance process efficiency, product quality, and sustainability practices. To support this initiative, Campfire’s sustainability scorecard will be employed to capture, measure, and manage key sustainability value drivers from Neapco suppliers and to Neapco customers.

“For the world’s manufacturers sustainability is no longer optional,” said Chris Fenton, Neapco Vice President of Global Quality, Continuous Improvement, and Sustainability. “By tracking such key areas as water consumption, CO2 emissions, energy consumption, and renewable energy down to the part level, Campfire allows us to extend sustainability in our sales and sourcing activities. As an industry leader, and steward of our planet, we embrace this responsibility and demand the same of our suppliers and partners.”

New Endeavors: Joining the Fabrication Market

United Precision Services Inc., a provider of turnkey medium to large CNC machine tool solutions, recently announced its entry into the fabrication market with the creation of a fabrication machinery division. At the same time, the company announced a partnership with MicroStep. Danie Jacobs, president of United Precision, and
John Prevish, national sales manager, discuss what prompted these moves and why MicroStep was the preferred partner.

Read my interview with United Precision’s Danie Jacobs and John Prevish in the September, 2021 issue of FabShop Magazine.

The Importance of Analytics

The next time you get behind the wheel of a car, think about all the real-time information that we’ve come to take for granted.  We instantly know how fast we’re traveling, when to stop for fuel, service the engine, or change the oil. Newer models will not only alert you when a tire is low on air but will pinpoint exactly which tire needs attention.

Information is king, and dashboards are all about centralizing and providing up-to-date information. Real-time (and accurate) data allows for better decisions – whether you’re responding to immediate threats or planning for long-term success.

In recent years dashboards have become integral to such industries as manufacturing, power generation, supply chains, and many others.  Such systems have evolved to the point where even the smallest business can leverage their benefits. And now there is a dashboard developed specifically for fab shops, job shops, and metal service centers.

Read more here.

Vendor Vision!

Vendor vision (unlike Marvel’s Wanda Vision) is very real and will have a long-term effect on your fabrication business. With new tools, technologies, and techniques, manufacturing is constantly progressing. Organizations in reactionary mode will always be losing ground in the race for contracts, efficiency, and profitability. Today, more than ever, it’s critical that your software solutions partners understand, anticipate, and plan for what’s ahead.

Do you remember the 80s?  We kept our valuables secure in a fanny pack, recorded a cassette music mix tape, dressed like MC Hammer, and thought that Excel was “totally rad”. But for today’s fabricators, these spreadsheets – along with many other trends – have (some would say “fortunately”) gone out of style.

Today, companies are embracing automation and intelligent software systems throughout the business – from the front office to the shop floor. For a growing number of metal fabricators this means replacing Excel with fabrication estimating software.

These systems accelerate and add value to the process doubling or even tripling the number of quotes that can be generated in a day or week.  Over the course of a month or year, this exponentially increasing quote quantity and quality results in more opportunity for winning and profitable sales.

Read the entire blog post here.

Saving a Week of Training with Simulators

As one of Quebec, Canada’s six forestry training centers, the Mont-Laurier Vocational School helps prepare a new generation of heavy equipment operators. The non-profit center collaborates with the region’s timber companies to provide students with practical hands-on experience including three months of field training alongside instructors in working logging camps. With a wide variety of equipment at its disposal, (harvesters, loaders, service trucks, simulators, and more) the school offers comprehensive instruction ranging from tree-felling to the operation and maintenance of harvest, loading, transport, and road construction equipment.

Operating heavy equipment within the confines of a timber harvest worksite involves a great deal of danger, responsibility, and stress. According to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and similar studies, forestry sits atop the list of the most dangerous industries. It’s therefore no surprise that the industry is facing a severe skilled labor shortage. In addition, too many novice workers lack the experience, training, and confidence to safely operate heavy equipment on an active worksite.

With proficient operators in short supply, and because field training is costly and dangerous, logging companies look to training centers to help fill the void. In response, Mont-Laurier has redoubled its commitment to provide the industry with some of most skilled and best prepared foresters.

Read the case study here.

Counting the Costs of Safety Violations in the Construction Industry

The Costs of Construction Site Safety Violations