At Metalworks Inc.’s main plant in Lincoln, Nebraska, co-founders Rob Ernesti and Doug Swanson walked past a new punch/laser system being tested, complete with part removal and stacking automation. It’s one piece of a value stream dedicated to a family of parts. They next walked by a row of small and large robotic press brake cells; a little later they came across a collection of welding robots. After that, Ernesti paused, then said something that, on the surface, didn’t have anything to do with the merits of an automated fab shop.

“The biggest thing we manage here is our culture. Our culture is everything to us. You find out how important your employees are the day they don’t show up.”

Historically, automation and shop culture sometimes stood at odds with each other. After all, a shop culture is all about providing a quality working life to employees. Job-eliminating automation doesn’t seem to fit into that picture. The thing is, the picture isn’t that simple.

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