News & Views
Preserving Tradition While Embracing Change
Posted Jun 11, 2010
I recently attended the 2010 Testimonial Dinner including 60, 50, 40 and 25 year Membership Awards hosted by Sheet Metal Local #2 and had the honor not only to be invited to attend, but to see my father receive his 50 year pin and my brother receive his 25 year pin. Wandering around the room on my father’s arm as he introduced me to old friends, co-workers and acquaintances, I was astounded at the amount of knowledge and skill housed in that banquet room. I enjoyed hearing about the “good ole’ days” when everything was drawn and assembled by hand, no plasma machines, no CAD or 3-D capabilities… just to name a few. I admire, respect and stand in awe of the men and women in the sheet metal industry, especially those that have 25, 50 and 60 plus years under their belt, but an entirely different perspective came to light while attending the Partners in Progress convention just a few weeks later.
Both labor and management spoke the same message; we have to start looking at things and doing things differently. We can still honor our veterans of the trade and value the traditions passed down from generation to generation while moving forward to ensure the success and preservation of our industry. We have to get out of our comfort zones, venture into territory yet unexplored; whether that be using a 3-D modeling program for the first time, creatively looking at wages to be more competitive, aggressively implementing training on new technology, or bidding on jobs that you historically weren’t interested in. Even the apprentices participating in the competition and staying for the convention voiced their frustrations and concerns about the slow pace at which our industry embraces new technology and new frontiers.
So whether your viewpoint is preserving generations of tradition in craftsmanship or maintaining a business management philosophy that has kept your doors open for decades, things aren’t going back to how they used to be and we can’t keep saying “that’s how we’ve always done it”, this IS the new normal and the answer doesn’t lie in hunkering down to weather the storm, the answer lies in analyzing the changes that are taking place around us, positioning ourselves to face them head-on and working together to ensure the future of our industry. I hope that SMACNA-Kansas City is and continues to be a resource and catalyst for that change; I value your input, opinions and most importantly your involvement.