When it comes to choosing heat treating in Gastonia, NC, you probably have many considerations on your mind. First and foremost, most likely, is cost. While bargain hunting is often an acceptable practice, in this case you may also want to add another important requirement. If you are dealing with expensive manufacturing requests, then you want to ensure the job is done the right way, the first time around. For this, there is no other option than to go with metallurgist certified by ASM International (formerly the American Society for Metals) for your heat treating needs. If you are wondering why picking an ASM-certified metallurgist is your best option, read ahead.
Experience: Certification is proof of experience. In many trades, experience counts more than just about anything else. However, in many cases there is no way to prove that experience. Unfortunately, some people out there are willing to exaggerate their experience in order to boost business. This is where certification really benefits consumers. Especially when it comes to heat treating in Gastonia, NC, you want a guarantee that the people you hand your money to have a certain level of experience. Without experience, you can end up wasting time and money by having inexperienced metallurgists experimenting on your valuable tool steel. Have your project done correctly the first time around by a certified and experienced metallurgist.
Skill and knowledge: Certification also means a tangible measure of skill and knowledge. Granted, there are always things you can only learn on the job and from years of experience. Any old-timer knows there is that one problem that only happens once every 10 years that you don’t know about until it happens to you. The benefit of certification, though, is guaranteeing a minimum of critical skills and knowledge before gaining that on-the-job experience and advice from those old-timers. Heat treatment in Gastonia, NC is a delicate and tricky operation. Entering the trade with no previous experience, skills or knowledge is very problematic when trying to make quality products from the outset. It can also create a more dangerous work environment. Make sure you hand your project off to someone that entered the job with a tangible amount of skills and knowledge.
Standards for consumers: The greatest benefit of industry-wide certifications is for consumers. As already mentioned, consumers get the peace of mind knowing their project is getting handled by someone with both experience and important levels of skill and knowledge. For employees, this may mean a little more education, but the benefits of receiving real experience and practical skills pay off in no time. Especially in what could otherwise be a dangerous job, this helps ensure a safe work environment and expectations of what every employee should know on day one. This also reduces training time and allows new employees to become experts in the field much faster, rather than still learning the basics after almost a year. Allowing your customers to trust their tools and metal parts in the hands of skilled employees is more than worth the energy and time required to achieve certification. For all these reasons and more, you should hire an ASM-certified metallurgist for your heat treating needs.