The best approach to handling metal waste in fabrication is to prioritize prevention over disposal. While recycling scrap metal (offcuts and defective parts) helps recover material value and supports sustainability , the greatest returns come from preventing rework and scrap in the first place. This prevention is achieved by shifting from after-the-fact inspection to real-time process control using standardized systems like Hertzler’s GainSeeker SPC. This gives operators live insight to make adjustments that prevent entire batches from being scrapped, meaning that true efficiency and sustainability begin upstream with process visibility and consistency.
Metal fabrication quality issues don't just add cost-they add complexity. When a defect slips through, it ripples across suppliers, assemblies, and customers. Each hour spent on rework, each batch of scrap metal, and each customer complaint becomes a signal that visibility was missing where it mattered most.
Across the fabrication sector, the story is familiar: operations teams collect data everywhere, yet struggle to connect it. Without standardized, real-time insight into quality performance, even high-performing plants can face rising costs, rework, and wasted material.
This is the challenge Hertzler Systems helps manufacturers solve-transforming data chaos into clarity through GS Premier. But the principle extends far beyond one platform. In an industry built on precision, data precision has become the true competitive advantage.
While rework might seem like a normal part of production, its hidden cost is staggering. According to the American Society for Quality (ASQ), quality-related costs, which include scrap and rework, can consume 15% to 20% of a manufacturer's annual sales, with scrap and rework alone often accounting for roughly 0.6% to 2.2% of revenue.
Every hour of rework represents lost efficiency, additional material handling, and a delay in fulfilling customer orders. It also signals a deeper issue-a process variation that went undetected. For many fabricators, the root cause of rework isn't poor workmanship, but invisible quality data. Each plant might use different definitions for defects, track rework manually, or rely on outdated reports. When those reports are consolidated at the end of the month, the insight arrives too late to prevent waste.
Quality control isn't just about catching errors; it's about preventing them. In metal fabrication, where tolerances are tight and specifications are critical, proactive quality management determines profitability.
A single defective part can halt an assembly line or result in a costly recall. But more often, quality issues appear as subtle inefficiencies-small deviations that accumulate into wasted metal, labor, and time.
That’s why leading fabricators are shifting from after-the-fact inspection to real-time process control. By monitoring key parameters-thickness, weld penetration, hole alignment, surface finish-operators can intervene immediately, reducing both rework and scrap.
This is where GS Premier plays a pivotal role: providing live visibility into quality performance across shifts, machines, and sites. The result? Problems are detected when they start, not after they've multiplied.
Technology doesn't replace craftsmanship-it enhances it. Modern fabrication environments are rich with data, from CNC systems to inspection stations. Yet without integration and standardization, that data remains siloed. Statistical Process Control (SPC) systems, like Hertzler Systems, unify these data streams into a single source of truth.
When real-time SPC dashboards are deployed, every level of the organization gains situational awareness:
This transition from disconnected data to connected intelligence represents the next evolution in metal fabrication quality management.
Hertzler Systems’ GS Premier exemplifies this shift, helping fabricators turn data into action by standardizing defect definitions, visualizing process variation, and providing immediate alerts when processes drift out of control.
The impact is measurable: reduced rework, lower scrap rates, faster response times, and stronger customer confidence.
When one electronics manufacturer-operating ten North American plants-faced mounting customer complaints, they discovered the root cause wasn’t lack of data but lack of standardization. Each plant tracked defects differently; monthly reports took hours to compile and offered little insight.
After deploying GainSeeker SPC, the company unified data collection and gained real-time visibility. Executives could “drill all the way down to the operator level in a matter of seconds”.
The time to identify and resolve quality issues dropped dramatically, and customer-reported defects declined. While this example comes from electronics, the lesson is universal: visibility transforms quality from reactive firefighting to proactive improvement.
Metal fabrication inevitably generates some waste-offcuts, shavings, and defective parts. While recycling can recover material value and helps close the sustainability loop, preventing rework and scrap delivers far greater returns.
True efficiency begins upstream-with process visibility and consistency. When operators have live insight into performance, they can make small adjustments that prevent entire batches from being scrapped.
Real-time SPC doesn’t just improve quality; it supports sustainability goals by reducing the material and energy wasted in rework cycles. In an era where manufacturers are judged by both performance and environmental responsibility, visibility serves both.
Technology is only part of the solution. The real transformation happens when data becomes part of the culture. Standardizing quality definitions and data collection across teams ensures everyone speaks the same language—from welders on the floor to engineers in quality control. This alignment enables shared accountability and faster improvement cycles.
Fabricators who achieve this shift report three consistent outcomes:
As one of our clients put it, “We no longer wait for the end of the month to find out what went wrong. We fix it as it happens”.
In industries like metal fabrication, where margins are tight and customer expectations high, real-time quality visibility is no longer optional—it’s strategic. Standardized SPC systems reduce the hidden costs of poor quality, but they also unlock new value:
These aren’t incremental gains-they’re competitive advantages. When your data is standardized, you can see what others can’t, respond faster, and deliver more consistently.
For metal fabrication leaders considering how to reduce rework, scrap, and waste, four lessons stand out:
Each of these principles reinforces the others-and together, they define the modern approach to fabrication quality.
In metal fabrication, quality is the foundation of performance. Yet too many organizations still manage it reactively-compiling spreadsheets, issuing reports, and chasing defects after they’ve occurred.
The leaders in this industry are taking a different path: real-time, standardized visibility powered by systems like Hertzler’s GS Premier. They’re moving beyond inspection toward prediction, transforming quality from a cost center into a competitive strength. Because in fabrication, as in all manufacturing, the greatest risk isn’t the defect you find-it’s the one hidden in data you can’t see.
Find out how your team can turn disconnected data into actionable insight across every plant.
Metal fabrication is the process of creating metal structures and products, involving techniques where tolerances are tight and specifications are critical. The industry relies on precision to produce components that meet specific design and quality requirements.
Rework in metal fabrication refers to the time and effort spent correcting a defect that slipped through quality checks. Every hour spent on rework, along with each batch of scrap metal and customer complaint, signals a lack of visibility or a process variation that went undetected.
Quality control is important in reducing rework because it's not just about catching errors; it's about preventing them. Proactive quality management determines profitability in an industry built on precision. By monitoring key parameters like thickness, weld penetration, and hole alignment, proactive quality control allows operators to intervene immediately, reducing both rework and scrap.
Yes, it can, epseically a cloud-based technology such as GS Premier from Hertzler Systems. Technology enhances craftsmanship by unifying siloed data streams from modern fabrication environments-from CNC systems to inspection stations-into a single source of truth. Statistical Process Control (SPC) systems like Hertzler's GS Premier provide real-time visibility and immediate alerts when processes drift out of control, detecting problems when they start, not after they have multiplied.
Scrap metal-which includes offcuts, shavings, and defective parts—can be reused or recycled to recover material value. Recycling helps close the sustainability loop. However, the article emphasizes that preventing rework and scrap through process visibility delivers far greater returns than recovery.
The cost due to poor quality can be staggering. According to the American Society for Quality (ASQ), quality-related costs, including scrap and rework, can consume 15% to 20% of a manufacturer's annual sales, with scrap and rework alone accounting for roughly 0.6% to 2.2% of revenue. This hidden cost represents a direct drain on a company's profitability.
Reviewed by Phil Mason, MBA (September 2025): Phil has been the VP of Business Development at Hertzler Systems Inc. since January 2010. Previously, Phil was an Adjunct Professor at Green Mountain College (until Jun 2018), Associate Professor at Goshen College, Executive Director Adult/Graduate Programs at Goshen College (Jul 2015-Dec 2016), Assistant Professor at Bethel College (from Aug 2011), Business Development at Digitec, Inc. (Oct 2008-Nov 2010), Regional VP at Mennonite Mutual Aid (Sep 2001-Feb 2008), and General Manager at Ikon Technology Services (from Jan 1999).
Links: LinkedIn Quality Magazine FinalScout
