Stop Guessing on Production Efficiency Get Crystal-Clear Data Visibility
Imagine slashing material waste by 25% and spotting bottlenecks before they halt your shop floor—all from a single dashboard built around your welders' workflows.
Join 150+ businesses with unified data systems
The "Data Silo" Problem
Scattered shop floor data from MIG welders and lathes leading to production delays in steel beam fabrication
Manual tracking of TIG welding yields on aluminum extrusions causing excessive material waste and filler rod overuse
Unseen bottlenecks in multi-axis CNC routing for custom aluminum panels halting entire fabrication runs
Inventory blind spots for galvanized steel sheets resulting in costly rush orders and supply chain disruptions
Delayed quality checks post-waterjet plasma cutting on structural plates causing extensive rework and non-conformance
Fragmented job costing data from ERP systems inflating bids for custom-machined stainless steel fittings
Custom BI Dashboards Tailored to Your Fabrication Floor
We've engineered solutions for metal shops just like yours, integrating ERP data with real-time sensor feeds to deliver field-tested insights.
Why Choose Us
Let's be honest—you're probably thinking your data is too messy to wrangle. Here's the thing: we build from the ground up, custom to your exact setup. No off-the-shelf templates that don't fit your bending brakes or laser cutters. We connect your shop management software, machine logs, and supplier feeds into one unified system. Real-time dashboards show you yield rates on every weld, flag downtime on your presses, and predict material needs before you run dry. It's like having a master foreman who never sleeps, spotting issues across your fabrication lines for smarter, faster decisions.
What Makes Us Different:
Unlock Informed Decisions That Drive ROI
Real-Time Production Visibility
Real-Time Production Visibility: Track every stage from raw steel stock to finished welded assemblies using IoT sensors. Spot a jammed vertical mill instantly and reroute jobs to secondary lathes, cutting downtime by up to 30% on bridge girder projects and keeping your delivery promises intact for on-site construction timelines.
Optimized Material and Labor Costs
Optimized Material and Labor Costs: Get actionable insights into scrap rates from laser cutting and labor hours per welded joint. One fabricator reduced 6061 aluminum waste by 22% in six months after our dashboard highlighted inefficient nesting patterns on router beds, boosting margins on high-volume HVAC duct runs.
Proactive Bottleneck Prevention
Proactive Bottleneck Prevention: Dashboards forecast overloads in your induction heat treating queue or supplier delays for titanium alloys using historical run data. You're not reacting—you're ahead, ensuring smooth workflows for pressure vessel fabrication and on-time shipments without the chaos of last-minute fixes on refinery projects.
What Clients Say
"Before AIQ Labs, we were buried in spreadsheets trying to track yields on our fiber laser CNC jobs for automotive stampings. Now, the dashboard flags issues right away—like when our plasma cutter was pulling too much power on 1/4-inch mild steel—and we've cut rework by 18% in just three months. It's a game-changer for keeping the line moving on tight OEM deadlines."
Mike Harlan
Shop Floor Supervisor at Precision Metal Stamping Co.
"Our bids were always off because we couldn't see real labor costs across projects involving pipe spools and flanges. Their custom BI setup pulls data from our time clocks and material logs for accurate KPIs on Schedule 40 steel. Landed a big contract for oil rig structural components last quarter thanks to tighter estimates—no more underbidding on weld maps."
Sarah Kline
Operations Director at ForgeFab Piping Solutions
"Inventory was a nightmare; we'd overorder 304 stainless sheets and sit on it for weeks during slow bridge retrofit jobs. The forecasting in their system uses our past order data from coil stock and predicts needs spot-on for gusset plates. Saved us $45K in holding costs this year, and the team's not scrambling for rush deliveries on crane hook assemblies anymore."
Tom Reyes
Inventory and Fabrication Lead at Alloy Dynamics Structural
Simple 3-Step Process
Discovery and Mapping
We dive into your shop's workflows, from shearing to finishing, to map data sources and pinpoint your biggest pain points like yield tracking or machine utilization.
Custom Build and Integration
Our engineers craft your dashboards, pulling in real-time feeds from sensors and software, ensuring everything aligns with your fabrication processes without disrupting operations.
Testing and Launch
We test on your floor with sample runs, refine based on feedback, then roll out with training so your team can access insights on any device, driving immediate wins.
Why We're Different
What's Included
Common Questions
How does your BI solution handle data from our existing shop floor machines?
We start by auditing your setup—think PLCs on your CNC mills or sensors in the welding bays. Our team builds secure, two-way integrations that pull data in real-time without interrupting production. For example, if you're using something like Mastercam or an older ERP, we create custom APIs to feed it all into your dashboard. No more manual exports. This gives you instant visibility into metrics like spindle hours or torch usage, helping you spot inefficiencies fast. We've done this for shops with legacy equipment, ensuring everything syncs smoothly so you can focus on fabricating, not fiddling with data.
Can these dashboards be accessed by field teams or just office staff?
Absolutely, we design them for full mobility. Foremen on the shop floor or even site supervisors at job locations can pull up KPIs on tablets or phones. Imagine checking inventory levels for a rush aluminum order while walking the line—no laptop required. Our web-based system is responsive, with role-based views so welders see simple yield stats, while managers get deep dives into overall efficiency. In one project, a fabricator's mobile access cut response time to machine issues by 40%, keeping projects on track without constant office check-ins.
What kind of ROI can a metal fab shop expect from your BI tools?
ROI hits quick and hard—typically within 3-6 months. Shops see 15-30% reductions in material waste through better yield tracking, plus downtime savings from predictive alerts. One client shaved $30K off annual scrap costs by optimizing nesting on their laser cutters. We focus on your specifics: labor hours per part, OEE scores, and bid accuracy. No fluff metrics. With custom builds, you're not paying for unused features; it's all geared to your workflows, delivering measurable wins like faster month-ends and tighter margins on custom steel work.
How do you ensure data security in a high-stakes manufacturing environment?
Security is non-negotiable, especially with proprietary designs and quality data. We use enterprise-grade encryption for all data in transit and at rest, plus role-based access so only authorized eyes see sensitive info like job costs. For metal fabs dealing with compliance like ISO 9001, we build in audit trails for every data touchpoint. Our systems are hosted on secure clouds with failover for uptime—critical when a dashboard glitch could mean lost production time. We've integrated with secure setups for clients handling defense contracts, ensuring your IP stays locked down while insights flow freely.
Is this solution scalable if our fabrication shop expands?
Yes, we architect for growth from day one. If you're adding a new bending line or expanding to another facility, our modular design lets you scale without rebuilding. Data pipelines handle increased volume seamlessly—say, from 50 to 500 jobs a month. One shop we worked with doubled output after a plant expansion, and our BI just adapted, incorporating new machine data without a hitch. It's built on robust frameworks, not brittle tools, so as your metal volumes rise, your visibility sharpens, helping you manage complexity like a pro.
How long does it take to implement a custom BI dashboard for our operations?
Timelines vary, but for most metal fab shops, we're live in 8-12 weeks. Week one is discovery: mapping your data from inventory to finishing. Then 4-6 weeks building and integrating—custom to your tools like AutoCAD or shop management software. Testing takes 2 weeks on-site, with tweaks based on real runs. It's faster than generic setups because we don't start from templates; we tailor to your pain points, like tracking powder coat defects. Post-launch, we provide training so your team hits the ground running, seeing value immediately without steep learning curves.
Ready to Get Started?
Book your free consultation and discover how we can transform your business with AI.