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Together, Josh and Linsey Buckley share a decade of marriage, two sons, and now, new job prospects as apprentices at the Western Washington Sheet Metal JATC Local 66. 

Look around you. The sheet metal machinery on your shop floor is the lifeblood of your business. But as an extension of your workforce, do you know what machines to recruit and what to retire?

Much of what Alicia Butty knows about welding, she learned as a teenager working in her family’s custom manufacturing business, Butty Manufacturing in Jerseyville, Ontario.

In order to streamline your shop operations, we’re launching a special How-to section on SNIPSmag.com focusing on sheet metal fabrication, installation, transport and everything in between. To kick everything off, we asked some of our favorite contractors and companies to give us a few how-to tips on some frequently asked questions. Here’s what they said.

What happens when a hurricane is your workspace? Such was the case when licensed mechanical contractor Christopher Molnar was tasked with the recovery and inspection of HVAC equipment from residential and commercial sites in Panama City, Florida, soon after Hurricane Matthew ripped through its neighborhoods.

Safety is a skill. And like any skill, it takes practice to perfect. As a company, this should be your first priority. 

How to apply the 5S method of lean manufacturing to your sheet metal shop. 

One of the most common misconceptions about lean manufacturing techniques is that they only apply to large-scale operations. Lean is the continuous improvement of operations to cut down wastes. “What lean tends to do is look at the system and try to identify what adds value,” explains Robert Van Til, Ph.D., professor of lean studies at the Oakland University School of Engineering and Computer Science and chair of the Industrial Systems and Engineering Department. 

JETCAM International s.a.r.l. recently announced the new v20 release of its JETCAM Expert CAM and nesting automation software.

Welding helmets that pack power and a visual punchline.