Host Beau Wigington chats with Bill Pharmer (National Senior Director of Advanced Fabrication, Airgas) and Bryan Thomas (National Director of Package Gas Services, Airgas) at FABTECH about unlocking the hidden cost of welding. You’ll hear how to spot leaks in your workflow including spatter, over-welding, wrong gas selection, slow change-outs, and how small fixes compound into cleaner welds, faster throughput, and healthier margins.
Key Topics Covered:
Why labor dominates cost per weld foot (≈85–90%) and how to focus on the variables that actually move profit.
Baseline first: measure wire-feed speed, amperage/voltage, travel speed, gas flow, gas type, burn time, and consumable usage.
Operator Factor (arc-on time ÷ total time) as the north-star KPI for rework and throughput.
Common profit leaks: loose electrical connections and resistance, poor gas-to-wire ratios, excessive gas flow (“blasting”), and “75/25 for everything.”
Over-welding math that hurts: a weld spec’d at 3/16" laid at 5/16" is ~78% more labor, wire, and gas, for zero added value.
KPIs that tell on your process: wire-to-contact-tip ratio, gas-to-wire ratio, melt-off rates, and contact-tip consumption patterns.
ARCAL® in five mixes (Prime, Flux, Speed, Force, Chrome): when to choose each to improve cleanliness, penetration, and speed without helium guesswork.
Change-out efficiency: how Viper (valve-integrated pressure regulator) and quick-connects cut 10–15 minute bottle swaps, protect calibration, and maintain consistent flow to low pressure.
Tracking improvement: digital welding efficiency analysis when available; simple manual logs and calculations when it’s not.
Change management that sticks: coach, show results, and iterate—don’t just “turn the knobs and leave.”
Memorable Quotes:
“Spatter is rework and that does nothing but eat up the labor piece.”
“Labor is at least 85% of your cost per weld foot; gas and wire are the small slice.”
“If it’s over-welded by 1/16", you’ve over-welded it by ~78% too much labor, too much wire, too much gas.”
“The first thing everyone blames is “bad gas ". I promise you it’s usually not that.”
Learn More About Airgas
Unlocking the Hidden Cost of Welding™ program - https://www.airgas.com/industries/metal-fabrication/products-and-services/unlocking-hidden-cost-of-welding
ARCAL™ Gas - https://www.airgas.com/solutions/arcal
Contact the Advanced Fabrication team at Airgas - AdvancedFab@airgas.com
Website - https://www.airgas.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/airgasusa/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/airgas
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/airgas
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzsrLNYAZh7VzLUbgxLLrhw
Connect with Beau Wigington
Instagram: @beaudiditwelding https://www.instagram.com/beaudiditwelding
E-Mail : beauw@weld.com
