Tag: automation

What To Do When Your New Equipment Arrives

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In last month’s blog, I highlighted the importance of seeking supplier support when bringing new automated equipment online. Indeed, successful automation doesn’t happen by accident.

An ideal scenario sees your automated machines whirring away as your technicians work with software to ensure that all processes flow as they should. Logistics and shipping are optimized at every level. Many of today’s commercial glass manufacturers may not be quite at this level of sophistication, but we’re getting closer every day. You may have invested in new automated equipment over the winter and are awaiting installation from the OEM in the coming months—just in time for summer.

In my work with customers who’ve implemented today’s top technology for commercial glass fabrication, I’ve seen some things they all have in common. Drawn from that experience, here’s a checklist with some tips on how you can get the most from your new equipment:

Don’t assume “business as usual” – New equipment will likely require adjustments to your typical processes. Floor staff will require some training on how to best work with the new machinery. If you’re adding capacity, raw materials ordering and fulfillment will need adjusting, too. Work with your vendors to ensure you have what you need to maximize your new capabilities.

More than anything, keep an open mind. Advanced new equipment may open doors to new opportunities for glass manufacturers—be open to where those doors might lead once you’re up and running.

Don’t neglect your older equipment – Not many commercial glass producers are completely overhauling all equipment at once. While it can be easy to become preoccupied with ensuring new equipment is up and running as you intended, priority must still be placed on numerous older and reliable machines and equipment that help you make quality commercial glass. Be sure that you don’t let maintenance lapses happen.

Optimize production flow – Vertical high-speed lines deliver great quality and consistency by efficiently assembling units in a straight line, allowing production managers great visibility into the product. Because supervisors can see straight down the line, they’ll know exactly what is happening with in-production units at all times, allowing them to spot any deficiencies easily.

The installation of new equipment provides a great opportunity for you to rethink plant flows and processes—indeed, a straight-line approach can and should be applied across your plant, where possible. Doing so will help to minimize the number of touchpoints and the distance your units need to travel from point to point. You’ll also have greater visibility into the product, wherever it is in production.

Prepare your sales teams – The benefits of new equipment extend beyond just the shop floor; high-tech machinery can sometimes help you make a higher-performing product. That means your sales teams must have the knowledge to convey those benefits to your customers. An example: A new high-speed line has enabled you to switch from a metallic spacer system to warm-edge spacer technology. Your sales teams must be armed with the right information and knowledge to communicate the benefit of your improved product to discerning customers.

New machinery brings new opportunities. Make the most of them by properly preparing yourself for installation and ongoing operation.

Joe Erb is a national account manager for Quanex

Robots-For-Hire and Continued Investment in Our Workforces

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Here’s a bit of news I noticed last week, courtesy of the USGlass daily e-newsletter—Wisconsin’s Pioneer Metal Finishing, facing heightened demand and the inability to find enough reliable human workers, has begun paying robots to do a few critical jobs in their plant.

Yes, the robots are being “paid.” Pioneer Metal Finishing is renting the machines, paying Hirebotics a $15/hour rate. That rate is only paid when the robots are productive—about 80 hours per week. It’s a unique business model from Hirebotics, allowing a renter to save the major capital cost that would ordinarily come with purchasing several customized bots.

The fenestration industry is no stranger to labor issues, of course, and robots-for-hire might offer us a glimpse into the future of our shop floors. Many manufacturers continue to make the investment in automation—be it ancillary processes or full, high-speed lines—both for the new efficiencies these technologies can bring to our operations and for their ability to help us do more with less. It seems reasonable to believe that some glass and window manufacturers might find the robot-for-hire model attractive.

While they shouldn’t be, these can be scary developments for today’s plant worker. “Robots are taking our jobs,” isn’t an attitude you want flourishing on the floor, and today’s successful glass shops need to be getting in front of it. It’s part of why fenestration professionals must be continuously engaging and investing in their workforces.

This is a subject I’ve written about in the past. I’m passionate about it, and labor remains perhaps the single biggest challenge facing my customers today. With a strong economy helping drive increased demand in our industry, labor challenges can become more acute—such was the case for Pioneer Metal Finishing—and it may be the case for any number of commercial glass manufacturers.

In that way, I think any automation (whether it’s the robots-for-hire model or anything else) is best framed as an investment in both operational efficiency and in our workforces—with an emphasis on the workforce. Because no matter where we’re applying automated technology, it always has numerous human benefits. We can allocate workers to more specialized, skilled tasks. We can eliminate repetitious, ergonomically taxing procedures by letting a robot take care of them. We can reduce the risks associated with tasks like glass cutting and insulating glass assembly by automating them. That’s what investing in the workforce means—it’s providing workers the skills and the tools necessary to do their jobs better.

Sometimes it takes seeing the benefits in action. It’s natural for a workforce to be skeptical of automated processes taking over human tasks. But glass manufacturers who have gone through the process of implementing an automated line—and who’ve taken the time for proper training and to communicate the benefits—typically report high rates of employee satisfaction with the new technology. The successful glass shop of the future will be filled with employees who know how to best implement automated technology to drive increasing success.

Keeping Focus on the Human Element

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A few weeks ago, while visiting one of our commercial glass customers in Texas, I had a few minutes to chat with the company’s human resources manager whom I met a few years ago during an open house event. Since that time, we’ve spoken on several occasions, and conversations have ranged from work related challenges to family, faith and hobbies.

During this particular trip, we got to talking about some of the labor challenges that their company, like many, continue to face. But the conversation went a little deeper this time. This HR manager views her job not simply through the lens of finding good, capable people to fulfill specific job descriptions—but through that of truly helping and elevating their understanding of the important part they play in the big picture. To her, finding candidates that might be needing a second chance, or are otherwise down on their luck, is also an important part of how she views her role as HR manager.

I bring up this anecdote because it struck me that, while it’s easy to get caught up in the latest trends and technologies surrounding automation and digital information, when you get down to it, this is still very much a business driven by people. You may have invested in an automated line—but that line doesn’t work without human involvement. And with that investment comes the responsibility to foster that human element in your plant.

But of course, it’s not so simple. In fact, I think that’s one of the biggest challenges any fenestration shop faces in today’s environment.

I wrote about investing in the employee of the future a few months ago, but it’s about more than fostering new skill sets. Are we taking the time to really communicate how new technologies and capabilities are impacting shop floor work? Are we making it clear that automation enhances jobs, rather than replaces jobs? Are we demonstrating how some of these technologies can help make jobs safer?

We also must consider some generational gaps that are at play when it comes to our labor. As of 2015, millennials surpassed Gen Xers as the largest generation in the workforce—and more and more, we’re depending on those younger workers to help get quality products out the door. For those of us who’ve been in the industry for a while, it’s easy to get stuck in “old school” ways of thinking. Whether it’s specific expectations of performance or job preferences, having an open mind can go a long way—and it can help us connect with workers at a time when that’s so important.

Speaking of human connection, it’s just about tradeshow season. I’ll be at the GlassBuild show in Atlanta, September 12-14, and I’ll be giving a few educational presentations revolving around some subject matter I’ve covered on this blog. You can find out more about the sessions here. I hope to see you there!

 Joe Erb is a commercial sales specialist at Quanex Building Products.