800 pieces of tubing welded in an 8 hour shift? Seriously?

By Jefird7296 Date 04-01-2009 22:31

Hey, I just landed a new job at an outdoor company that makes tents on a massive scale, and my supervisor informed me today that I am expected to be able to put in a jig, tack, and MIG weld 800 or more pieces of 16 gauge 1" stainless steel tubing in an 8 hour shift. "our last welder could do it" is all he said when I looked at him in disbelief. It's actually two pieces of tubing per part, so I would be handling 1600 or more pieces of steel tubing per day. I have tried everything, and the most I can pull off is about 60 pieces per hour. Does anyone have any tips or advice?

By pipehog (**)

Date 04-06-2009 23:46

sounds like a 10 hr job

By pipehog (**)

Date 04-06-2009 23:47

hit the road and tell him to shove it

By Superflux (****)

Date 04-10-2009 08:14

Ask your supervisor to demonstrate his technique for you. Be earnest and respectful in your request. Maybe he can show you something really cool. Welders tend to be competitive and nothing wrong with being the fastest, as long as the job is done right.
On the other hand, why did the other welder drag up? BURNED OUT???? I know I would in short order. Might as well be an Indonesian sweatshop assembler making cell phones.

By vagabond (***)

Date 04-14-2009 01:39

Sounds like an urban myth. . . . I've been on many jobs where I've heard about "that guy" that used to do this and that but I've yet to run into him. I agree with Superflux ask him to show you how. I've done that with foremen before who thought they were going to speed me up when I was under the hood. I'll be happy to fit for someone if they want to show me how to get the numbers they are talking about. These numbers just don't really sound realistic to me. . . .

By Superflux (****)

Date 04-14-2009 07:18

Then again, some folks are really good at what they do. I tested a welder today...2" sch 80, tig root and hot, 7018 fill and cap. He welded his test, cut and prepped the bend straps and made himself a pair of wedges (while I bent the coupons) all in one hour and 15 minutes...He is a true craftsman. I Loved watching him work, no wasted movements, did everything methodically, with out running around like some ferret on Meth.

By SWP

Date 07-08-2009 20:57

Figure 5 hours of actual work time out of 8 hours, that's gives 22 seconds per weld. The MIG weld can be made at about 30 ipm which takes about 8 seconds, so that leaves 14 seconds for the loading/unloading handling time. This is possible with some simple mechanization and manual loading.

By DAKW Date 06-09-2009 04:03

Pipehog I figure it at 13hr 20min he said he's doing 60 an hr.

By pipehog (**)

Date 06-26-2009 13:56

i meant a $10 hr job

By Tyler1970 (***)

Date 06-26-2009 05:44

maybe he was using 2 machines? i dont know thats alot of welds to be made!

By southtexweld (*)

Date 08-02-2009 22:56

i think i would drag up bud