Metal fabrication and machining: Lean manufacturing software for metal fabrication, stamping and machine shops
LeanSuite runs the daily routines of a metal fabrication, stamping or CNC machine shop in one place. Setups and die changes run as timed checklists. First article checks are done on a tablet with photos, and welder and setter skills are tracked by machine. Lockout steps are photo-verified, and every scrap or rework call goes to an owner with a due date.
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The process
From blank to shipped part: where a fab shop loses time
Most shops run some or all of these five steps, often with painting or plating sent out. Time and quality are lost at each one in its own way.
Cut (laser, plasma, waterjet, saw, shear)
Sheet, plate, tube and bar are cut into blanks from nests or cut lists.
Where time and quality are lost
- Sheet and nest changes, and the wrong material or gauge loaded.
- Dross, burrs and heat-tinted edges that need extra deburring or grinding.
- Parts sorted from the skeleton by hand, mixed up or lost before the next step.
Form (press brake, stamping press, roll former)
Blanks are bent, drawn, punched or stamped, on a brake one bend at a time or in a progressive die.
Where time and quality are lost
- Die and brake tooling changes, done differently by each setter.
- First-piece adjustments for springback and bend angle, and parts run before the first piece is checked.
- Splits, wrinkles and burrs from worn dies, and die damage from a misfeed.
- Pinch points and stored energy while setters work inside the guarding.
Machine (CNC mills, lathes, machining centers)
Parts and castings are milled, turned, drilled and tapped to the drawing.
Where time and quality are lost
- Setups, fixture changes and program prove-out on the machine.
- The spindle waiting for first article sign-off or a gauge.
- Tool wear and broken tools that change sizes partway through a batch.
- Chip and coolant problems that stop the machine.
Weld and assemble (MIG, TIG, robotic, spot)
Parts are fitted, tacked and welded into assemblies, by hand or in a robot cell.
Where time and quality are lost
- Poor fit-up from upstream parts, which the welder fills with extra weld.
- Porosity, undercut, lack of fusion and distortion that need grinding and re-welding.
- Waiting for the one welder qualified for a joint, material or position.
- Parts for one assembly still in other departments.
Finish and inspect (paint, powder coat, plating, final inspection)
Parts are cleaned, coated and checked against the drawing before they are packed.
Where time and quality are lost
- Coating rejects from poor surface prep, spatter or oil left on parts.
- Handling damage between departments and in packing.
- Final inspection finding defects made several steps earlier, when the work is already done.
The problem
What slows metal fabrication and machine shops down
Fabrication, stamping and machine shops run many part numbers in small batches, on presses, brakes, lasers and CNCs that each need a setup, and with skills that take years to build. Here is where that slows them down.
Setups and die changes on presses, brakes and CNCs
A high-mix shop changes jobs many times a shift. Each die change, brake tooling change or CNC setup is done a little differently by each setter, and dies, tools and the next program are often fetched after the machine has stopped.
First-piece and first article checks
The first part after a setup is measured late, or by a different inspector each shift, so a wrong offset or a worn punch runs a batch before anyone stops it. First article records sit on paper travelers that are hard to find when a customer asks for them.
Weld defects and rework
Porosity, undercut, lack of fusion and distortion found at inspection or by the customer mean grinding, re-welding and sometimes scrapping a part with hours of work in it. Repairs get logged as fixed, and the cause in fit-up, gas coverage or settings stays where it was.
Unplanned downtime on presses and machines
Hydraulic leaks, worn tooling, missed lubrication and chip and coolant problems stop presses and machining centers without warning. Operators notice the early signs, but there is no quick way to tell maintenance, so small faults become breakdowns.
Scrap and rework nobody puts a cost on
Scrapped blanks, re-cut parts, weld repairs and coating rework are counted in different places, if at all. Engineers chase the defect that caused the last complaint while a quieter and more expensive one keeps running.
Certified welders and setters in short supply
Coded welders, die setters and CNC programmers take years to develop, and some jobs need a current qualification. When one is off, the job waits or goes to someone who has never run it.
Press, brake and machine injuries
Presses, press brakes, shears and machining centers have pinch points and stored energy, and setters work inside the guarding during die and tool changes. Guards removed for a setup do not always go back, and lockout binders go out of date when machines change.
How LeanSuite helps
How LeanSuite helps metal fabrication and machine shops
Each problem maps to a LeanSuite module you can start with on its own, then connect to the rest.
Setups and die changes on presses, brakes and CNCs
In LeanSuite: Run each changeover as a visual checklist in Lean Creator and require a photo on the steps that matter most. Missing items are flagged from the tablet as issues, and step timings show where time goes. Vision AI can also film a changeover, separate internal from external tasks and recommend a leaner sequence.
First-piece and first article checks
In LeanSuite: Build each inspection as a checklist in Lean Creator, with photos, signatures, dropdowns and conditional logic that reacts to each answer, and schedule it to a person, a role or a machine. Every non-conformance becomes a tracked action with an owner, and you walk into any audit with a time-stamped record of every check and corrective action.
Weld defects and rework
In LeanSuite: Each non-conformance is captured with photos and routed to quality and engineering. Containment tasks, such as quarantining a batch, are assigned and time-stamped before root cause analysis starts. Systemic issues run through 8D or DMAIC in Kaizen & Projects, and the fix goes to every affected operator as a One-Point Lesson before the NCR closes.
Unplanned downtime on presses and machines
In LeanSuite: Build visual CILR routines and schedule them through Daily Standard Work. Operators confirm machine condition on a tablet, with required photos as proof, and minor leaks and vibrations are tagged and routed to maintenance instantly. Professional maintenance tags turn radio calls and firefighting into work orders every technician can see, own and close out.
Autonomous MaintenanceCILR ChecklistsProfessional Maintenance Tags
Scrap and rework nobody puts a cost on
In LeanSuite: The QA Matrix gives every internal and customer defect an AA, A, B or C priority from cost, frequency, severity and detection point, with weights you set. Any defect can open a Kaizen or CAPA, so engineers start with the costly ones.
Certified welders and setters in short supply
In LeanSuite: Competency Management keeps a live skills matrix whose levels update as people complete training and on-the-job sign-offs. The Job Cover Matrix filters qualified, available people by shift, department or proficiency, and CILR tasks can be linked to the matrix so only certified operators sign off.
Press, brake and machine injuries
In LeanSuite: Anyone can report a near miss by scanning a station QR code with their phone, anonymously if you allow it, and each hazard becomes a corrective action with a due date. Lean Creator turns lockout procedures into photo-verified isolation steps, and only trained, authorized people can start a lockout.
Standards
Standards metal fabrication and machine shops work to
Which apply depends on the shop's customers and work. These are the ones most often named in fabrication, stamping and machining.
- ISO 9001The quality management system most fabrication and machine shops are certified to.
- AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code, SteelWelding of structural steel: procedure qualification, welder qualification, workmanship and inspection.
- ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section IXQualification of welding and brazing procedures and of welders for pressure equipment work.
- ISO 3834Quality requirements for fusion welding, often asked for by European customers.
- OSHA 29 CFR 1910.212, 1910.217 and 1910.147Machine guarding, mechanical power presses and the control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout).
- OSHA 29 CFR 1910 Subpart QWelding, cutting and brazing safety.
- IATF 16949 with PPAPQuality system and part approval for shops that supply automotive customers.
- AS9100 with AS9102Quality system for aerospace suppliers, and the first article inspection record they must keep.
LeanSuite is not a certification and does not make a shop compliant with any of these. It keeps a time-stamped record of the checks, audits, training and corrective actions your own program runs, which you can export for an auditor.
Customers
Companies that use LeanSuite
Whirlpool case study
How Whirlpool tackled project visibility and continuous improvement across 14 manufacturing plants with LeanSuite.
Its Global Kaizen Power Pitch saw 150 Kaizen presented, $14.8M in hard savings and $17.6M in soft savings.
14
Manufacturing plants
150
Kaizen presented at the Global Kaizen Power Pitch
$14.8M
Hard savings
$17.6M
Soft savings
“Love the simplified system.. easy for users to login, visibility of suggestion status & feedback of points awarded all in real time!!”
“I like that it is easy to use, specially the standard kaizens”
What getting started looks like
Under a week
Until your first module is live; our team does the setup
$3,000
90-day pilot per facility
One flat price per facility
Unlimited users, so adding people does not change the price
99.5%
Monthly uptime commitment in the service agreement
SOC 2 Type 1 audited, hosted on secure cloud infrastructure, with single sign-on through Microsoft Entra ID or Okta and employee-ID sign-in for operators without email. Details on the security page.
Want to try it on one line first? See how the 90-day pilot works.
Free resources
Guides and templates
Free guides, templates and buyer's guides for metal fabrication and machine shops, with no sign-up to read them.
Free tools
Related free calculators
Work out the numbers behind these problems. Each calculator shows its formula and a worked example, with no sign-up.
SMED changeover calculator
Time saved by moving changeover steps from internal to external, capacity freed per week and the smaller batch it allows.
Open calculatorOEE calculator
Overall equipment effectiveness from shift time, downtime, ideal cycle time and part counts.
Open calculatorFirst pass yield (FPY) calculator
First pass yield at each step and rolled throughput yield (RTY) across the whole process.
Open calculatorMachine hour rate calculator
What one productive hour of a machine costs, with and without the operator, the cost per part and how utilisation moves the rate.
Open calculator
FAQ
Questions from metal fabrication and machine shops
Yes, as a checklist you build. In Lean Creator you set up the first-piece and first article checks for each part, with conditional logic that reacts to each answer. Inspectors complete them on a phone or tablet with photos and signatures. Failed items become tracked actions with an owner. LeanSuite does not measure parts or replace your CMM software; it runs the check, the sign-off and the follow-up.
LeanSuite is not a certification and does not make a shop compliant. It keeps the records your own program produces: welder training and sign-offs in the skills matrix, inspection checklists, weld non-conformances and corrective actions, each time-stamped and ready to export for an auditor or customer.
Yes. Checklists and work instructions can be built per part number, with conditional logic that changes the required checks based on the answers given. Every setup runs as a visual checklist with step timings, so you can see which setups lose the most time.
No. An ERP or job-shop system runs quotes, orders, routings and inventory, and an MES records production. LeanSuite runs the improvement system around them: finding problems, fixing them and keeping the fix in place through standards, audits and training.
LeanSuite is one flat price per facility with unlimited users, so every operator on every shift can use it without adding seats. There is no published annual price; you can request a quote on the pricing page. The first module is live in under a week, and LeanSuite's team does the setup. A 90-day pilot costs $3,000 per facility.
See LeanSuite on your setups and first article checks
Bring the routine you want to fix first. We will show you how LeanSuite handles it and what a 90-day pilot would cover.