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Blog and Articles

Articles Written for the Shop Floor, Not the Boardroom

Practical reads for people who run metal processing, distribution, and manufacturing operations. No generic thought-leadership. No consultancy waffle. Just articles written for people who care about what actually happens on the shop floor.

Our articles cover the decisions that actually matter for metals businesses:

  • How to cut scrap without replacing your equipment
  • How to stop chasing mill certificates before every delivery
  • How to get real inventory visibility without a six-figure ERP bill
  • How AI is changing the economics of metals manufacturing

You’ll also find articles on industry terminology, compliance standards, and the wider context of digitalisation for metals SMEs. Turns out knowing what’s broken is step one.

If you’re looking for a specific subject, browse by topic or category. The glossary is a good starting point if you’re new to the terminology your customers use on purchase orders.

EN 10204 3.1 vs 3.2 Certificates for Fabricators

  • Steph Locke
  • Blog
  • Oct 28, 2026
  • Updated

Ordering the wrong EN 10204 type risks rejected stock. See how 3.1 and 3.2 differ, who validates each, and what to check at goods-in.

Barcode vs RFID for Metals Inventory: The Real Accuracy Gap

  • Steph Locke
  • Blog
  • Oct 26, 2026
  • Updated

Barcode or RFID for metals stock? Judge both by wrong locations, stale weights and corrections per 1,000 movements, then test them on your own floor.

How to Trace a Heat Number Back to Its Mill Certificate

  • Steph Locke
  • Blog
  • Oct 23, 2026
  • Updated

Trace a heat number to its mill certificate in five steps. Match the receipt chain, check the certificate and hold stock until quality approves.

AI Production Scheduling for Metal Fabricators: Where to Start

  • Steph Locke
  • Blog
  • Oct 21, 2026
  • Updated

Start AI production scheduling on one bottleneck. Clean the data, record a two-week baseline, test disruptions and decide whether to expand, refine or pause.

How to Read a Mill Test Certificate: A Field Guide for Quality Managers

  • Steph Locke
  • Blog
  • Oct 19, 2026
  • Updated

Mismatched mill certificates risk wrong releases. Check traceability, chemistry and mechanical results in order, and hold anything unresolved before release.

Buy Software Like a Millennial: Try It First, Talk Later

  • Steph Locke
  • Blog
  • Oct 7, 2026

Gated demos, discovery calls and paid pilots are a slow way to buy software. Here is how to test a platform on your own data before anyone phones you.

How Real-Time ERP Data Cuts Scrap Surprises

  • Steph Locke
  • Blog
  • Oct 7, 2026
  • Updated

Late Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) postings hide scrap until the order closes. Count every kilogram, trace it to a coil or heat, and set shift alerts that stop drift in time.

Embodied Carbon A1-A4: A Guide for UK Metal Fabricators

Customers now ask fabricators for embodied carbon per order. A1-A3 comes mostly from your mill’s EPD plus your own yield losses. A4 is your delivery. The rest belongs to the customer. This guide shows how to measure each figure from tonnes used, supplier GWP and delivery records. It covers how to manage the number, and which UK demands are mandatory, client-driven or still proposals as of October 2026.

Why PDF Mill Certificates Break Data Workflows

  • Ruth Kearney
  • Blog
  • Oct 5, 2026
  • Updated

Re-keying PDF mill certificates breaks heat-number traceability. Learn how to validate, extract and link certificate fields to stock records.

AI Energy Optimisation for Metal Fabricators: Guide

  • Steph Locke
  • Blog
  • Oct 2, 2026
  • Updated

Join machine meters to jobs and material records, cut kWh per tonne of fabricated work, and verify net savings with an operator-reviewed pilot.