Housekeeping in the welding shop environment is a key feature that all shops should possess. Without an organized shop many things we don't want to happen could occur. Cleaning up our shop area is just as important as making a good weld. Someone who takes pride in their work also takes pride in their work environment. Many shops have a lot of stuff stored in and around the shop, it's been there for years and is rarely used. Some shops have so much stuff in it you can barely move around or find anything. Other shops or well-organized and everything has a place and everything is in its place. Which one of these descriptions describes the shop or work environment you populate?

A well organized shop saves time money and effort in many different ways. First, if the materials for fabrication are stored properly, it easy and quick to locate the proper material that we need to fabricate any project that we might want to build. Also if the shops material is well-organized it makes it very easy for the shop supervisor, project manager or plant manager to inventory the materials and see what's present. Understanding what is there what is available and in what sizes and thicknesses will help eliminate duplicate material orders for something we already have in stock.

Also when it comes time to build the project the layout person, fitter or welder can easily and rapidly find the material required by the blueprint or technical drawing. Since labor is the most expensive component of fabricating most projects this savings of labor could amount to a large savings for the shop, possibly hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Since safety is a key component of everything we do in the welding world, housekeeping is just as critical to safety as wearing safety glasses, the proper clothing, boots, face and eye protection. Having our tools, equipment, hoses, cords, welding leads and our material well-organized in and around where we're going to do our fabrication, eliminates many of the tripping hazards and other safety issues associated with our welding shop environment. Having an injured shop employee does not help meet deadlines or get work done, its only a setback to the company.

Just one injured employee can result in thousands of dollars of cost to the shop or fabricator. If we would just keep our area clean and organized we could use those thousands of dollars of cost on new equipment, more materials, employee benefits or other things that our shop really needs. Just as important as having a well-organized shop at the beginning of the project, cleaning up our mess, returning everything to its proper location and returning the materials to where they belong at the end of the project is just as important in the preparation for the next project is as finishing up the present project.

The best way to organize our welding shop is to think about the flow of work through it and place the materials, machines and equipment in a logical place and manner that meets your requirements and keeps the operation efficient. Look around your shop open up your eyes and think about what you could do to improve your area. In all our shops we can easily find something that we could do better and if we focus on those single items and continue to improve bit by bit, item by item, over the long haul we will see the benefits of having a well-organized shop, improved safety and cost savings.

Check out the Longevity website (www.longevity-inc.com) or YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/longevitywelding) for more details and information about equipment for different welding and cutting processes. Longevity has the right machine for your exact application, so take a look and choose what is the best fit for your materials, product and needs.