MSUITE–TigerStop Integration Helps Gallo Mechanical Automate Fab Shop Operation, Cutting Costs and Increasing Productivity

Gallo Mechanical, the Gulf Coast’s leading mechanical and plumbing contractor, saw an opportunity to eliminate paper and automate its fabrication shop with advanced technology. After a competitive bid, Gallo selected MSUITE’s FabPro for its ability to integrate with TigerStop and track time and production in the fab shop. “From the start, the integration between MSUITE and TigerStop saved our firm $4,000,” said Ray McDonald, Gallo’s general manager and fabrication coordinator.

Gallo Mechanical uses MSUITE’s BIMPro design automation solution to increase design quality, eliminate the bore of dimensioning and tagging, and improve productivity by automating spooling and sheet creation 10 times faster than traditional methods. FabPro automates real-time production and material tracking for Gallo’s fab shop. The productivity software increases visibility, productivity, and accuracy in the facility, so Gallo Mechanical can better manage production and materials logistics. “FabPro helps us automate production tracking, mitigate schedule risks by predicting whether due dates are realistic the moment our work is loaded and if materials are available,” said McDonald. 

The TigerStop machine accurately positions and cuts various materials, including copper, PVC, Aquatherm, and Uponor pipe and other plastics for Gallo Mechanical’s prefabrication division. “With the BIMPro-to- FabPro-to-TigerStop integration, the automation and workflows replaced several manual steps and take a quarter of the time,” said McDonald. 

Before adopting MSUITE solutions, Gallo was facing a number of business challenges:

• Manual processes (in the fab shop and across departments) 
• Substantial paper and material waste 
• Administrative time involved in using paper timecards 
• Fab shop staff’s lack of familiarity with new technology

Now, the efficient flow of information is transforming metal fabrication. Before Gallo Mechanical implemented MSUITE and TigerStop, paper ruled the day. Employees would transfer paperwork orders to the programmer, attach physical nest reports, set up the fabrication book, and carry it to the shop floor. Upon finishing a job, the machine operator completed a job report to update inventory. If any stakeholder (for example, a supervisor, customer, or executive) wanted to know where a job was in production, staff needed to walk to the floor, talk with operators, and continue hunting until they found the work. 

Since implementing MSUITE’s BIMPro, along with FabPro’s integration to TigerStop, Gallo’s design team automatically uploads designs and manufacturing data to FabPro for nesting. FabPro creates the nesting layout built on the sheet inventory as directed but analyzes several available sheet sizes to select one for optimal material utilization. FabPro nests material by company, job, package, drawing level, and sequence to cut materials in the most effective manner—virtually eliminating waste.

“We are saving 10 percent on every single job. The integration between [MSUITE] BIMPro to FabPro to TigerStop helps Gallo Mechanical save money, increase productivity and efficiency, and reduce risks in the shop.” 

— Ray McDonald, General Manager and Fabrication Coordinator, Gallo Mechanical 

Scheduling jobs in FabPro offers superior production workflows. If an urgent request comes in at the last minute for the fab shop, slipping priority jobs into the schedule is much easier for Gallo Mechanical. Notifications are automatically sent to operators to keep them in sync with workload changes.

“I was printing and delivering books the entire day and built up a massive library,” said Byron Sharp, fab shop foreman. “The MSUITE  FabPro-to-TigerStop integration helps me focus on more important priorities.” 

Gallo has a family atmosphere and many long-time, committed employees. Those employees are familiar with tackling complex problems, but the fabrication staff never used any software before. McDonald explained, “I was deeply concerned how our team was going to react to implementing the monitors and tablets at each workstation, but it was for naught. MSUITE and TigerStop were straightforward to train on and use. I would be hard-pressed from the team to ever pull them out.”

McDonald and the team mapped out every manual step in the fab shop to be configured in MSUITE’s FabPro. Spreadsheets and paper were eliminated and replaced with automated production management software and monitors set at each station. 

“We worked closely with MSUITE’s exceptional client success team to eliminate unnecessary steps, and how to set up an organized process for optimizing our workflows and tracking  employee time,” said McDonald. “TigerStop took two days to turn on, and we started seeing results, as well.” 

“With the BIMPro-to-FabPro-to-TigerStop integration, the automation and workflows replaced several manual steps and take a quarter of the time.” 

— Ray McDonald, General Manager and Fabrication Coordinator, Gallo Mechanical 

Gallo’s shop-controlled environment enables them to maintain high quality and constant productivity levels regardless of project site conditions. FabPro automates real-time production and material logistics from the shop floor to take their fabrication capabilities to a new level. 

Gallo is at the forefront of using MEP manufacturing technology to gain strategic advantages. The MSUITE– TigerStop integration connects model data to shop floor cut stations to automate the cut list creation and optimization and nesting processes. No longer do staff have to create and manage CSV files. With this integration, MSUITE and TigerStop eliminate multiple tedious steps and maximize efficiencies of the cutting process. 

“Not only is our MSUITE FabPro-to-TigerStop helping us save on scrap, but it has also saved us an incredible amount of money on raw material purchases,” said McDonald. “We are saving 10 percent on every single job. The integration between BIMPro to FabPro to TigerStop helps Gallo Mechanical save money, increase productivity and efficiency, and reduce risks in the shop,” McDonald concluded. 

For more information, visit www.msuite.com.