WEBINAR: From Spreadsheets to the Digital Thread: One Shop’s Journey Through the Messy Middle

NOW ON-DEMAND

Building a real digital thread is messier than anyone admits. Right Angle Steel shares what it takes.

“I would’ve guessed we were more like 75-80%. Last week we were at 45%.”

Josh Cook, on what his real utilization looked like once the data came in

In high-volume fabrication, the pressure never lets up. Aggressive lead times. Tight margins. Customers who are always one bad delivery away from bringing work in-house.

The shops that win aren’t just the ones with the best equipment. They’re the ones who know exactly what their operation is doing and can back every commitment with real data.

Josh Cook, President of Right Angle Steel, is in the middle of that work. In this conversation, he walks through what made him pull the trigger, what actually changes when you connect machine monitoring to your ERP and your quoting workflow, and the moments — some of them not flattering — that flipped how he runs the floor.

What You’ll Learn

• The poll result that says 75% of shops are still figuring out where a job stands by walking the floor or chasing the ERP
• The part Josh thought he was running in 20 seconds. 46,000 cycles later, the real number was 32. (And what that did to his quoting.)
• Why Josh’s first reaction to the data was anger — and the work that came after
• How fast it actually stood up: from “let’s evaluate machine monitoring” in October to every machine hooked up in a day
• The welder trigger-on time that’s quietly rewriting how Right Angle staffs the weld department

Who Should Watch

Shop owners, operations leaders, and scheduling teams who know their current process has limits and are ready to do something about it.

Especially Relevant For:

High-mix fabricators and job shops that want to compete on speed and reliability, not just equipment.

About Right Angle Steel
Right Angle Steel & Fabrication is a modern fab shop that shows how fast manufacturing continues to evolve. Founded in 2001 in Nappanee, Indiana, Right Angle has grown from a small garage operation into a trusted steel and fabrication partner serving a wide range of customers. With more than 100,000 square feet of production space, the team continues to expand capabilities across fabrication, cutting, bending, and beyond. Their focus is simple: push limits, reduce cost, and deliver the speed and reliability customers need to stay competitive.