Why Every Business Needs nexAir’s Real-Time Gas Supply Tracking with nexTrack
Most businesses discover their gas management problems at the worst possible moment. A welding shop finds the last argon cylinder empty minutes before a rush job. A food processor runs out of nitrogen mid-production, forcing expensive product disposal. A laboratory loses irreplaceable samples when specialty gas supplies fail unexpectedly.
These situations share a common cause – relying on manual tracking methods in an increasingly automated world. Clipboards, visual checks, and “we’ve always done it this way” approaches inevitably create costly disruptions that affect both production and profits.
What nexTrack Actually Does
nexTrack transforms how businesses monitor their gas supply, replacing guesswork with certainty. The system provides real-time visibility across your entire gas inventory – from individual cylinders to bulk tanks and everything in between.
At its core, nexTrack creates a digital dashboard showing exactly what gases you have, where they’re located, and when supplies need replenishment. The system monitors usage patterns, tracks cylinder locations, and automatically alerts your team before critical levels are reached.
For cylinder users, nexTrack shows which departments have which gases, how long cylinders have been on-site, and when exchanges are due. The system provides continuous level monitoring for bulk users with customizable alerts based on your actual consumption rates.
This visibility eliminates the emergency scrambles, production interruptions, and unnecessary rush charges that manual tracking inevitably creates. One food manufacturer discovered they were spending over $12,000 annually on emergency deliveries before implementing nexTrack – costs that disappeared entirely after installation.
The Practical Benefits
Beyond preventing outages, nexTrack delivers practical benefits that improve operations across your facility:
Reduced Inventory Costs: Most businesses overstock gas supplies as a buffer against uncertainty. With nexTrack’s accurate monitoring, you can reduce inventory levels while maintaining production confidence. A metal fabricator reduced cylinder inventory by 27% while improving uptime after implementing the system.
Eliminated Waste: Outdated gases, lost cylinders, and forgotten tanks waste money. nexTrack identifies cylinders approaching expiration dates, locates “missing” assets, and prevents the accumulation of unused inventory. One laboratory used the system to recover over $8,000 in “lost” cylinder deposits in their first month.
Simplified Compliance: Many industries require detailed tracking of specialty gases for regulatory compliance. nexTrack automates this documentation, recording usage, custody transfers, and supply chain information. This automation reduces administrative time while improving accuracy for audit preparations.
Optimized Delivery Scheduling: Rather than relying on calendar-based deliveries that often arrive too early or too late, nexTrack enables consumption-based scheduling. Deliveries arrive when you need them, reducing both stockouts and excessive inventory.
These efficiency gains aren’t just theoretical—they’re the practical results of combining innovative tracking technology with our expert KnowHow™ in gas applications across dozens of industries.
Helping You Forge Forward
As business requirements evolve, nexTrack evolves with you. The system adapts to changing consumption patterns, additional locations, and new gas applications without requiring extensive reconfiguration. When you add equipment, the system adjusts automatically to new usage rates. When seasonal demands affect consumption, nexTrack recognizes these patterns and updates accordingly. When you expand to new facilities, the system scales to provide enterprise-wide visibility.
The days of clipboard tracking and emergency deliveries belong in the past. With nexTrack, you gain the real-time visibility, automated alerts, and consumption insights needed to transform gas management from a persistent headache into a seamless background process.
Ready to eliminate gas supply disruptions from your operation? Contact us today to learn more.
Looking out for your future
Get your career going on the right track with nexAir
Find out how nexAir KnowHow has impacted businesses all over the Southeast
Our expertise makes us more than a valuable partner, it makes us headlines
Don't see what you're looking for?
Everything we offer is a click away and it will arrive before you know it.
Manufacturing downtime costs American companies billions annually. When production lines halt due to gas supply issues, every minute translates to lost revenue, missed deadlines, and frustrated customers. At nexAir, we've spent decades developing solutions that keep manufacturing operations running smoothly.
The Hidden Costs of Gas-Related Downtime
When manufacturers calculate downtime costs, they typically focus on labor and lost production. However, gas supply disruptions create cascading effects that multiply these losses:
- Production rescheduling that disrupts carefully optimized sequences
- Rush shipping fees to meet customer deadlines despite delays
- Quality inconsistencies when processes restart after interruptions
- Overtime costs to catch up after unplanned stoppages
- Reputation damage when delivery commitments are missed
For a typical mid-sized manufacturer, each hour of downtime represents $5,000-$10,000 in direct and indirect costs. Our analysis shows that gas-related issues cause 7-12% of total manufacturing downtime - a substantial opportunity for improvement.
From Reactive to Proactive: The Supply Continuum
Most facilities follow a predictable pattern in their gas management evolution:
Stage 1: Reactive Management At this stage, facilities order gas when they notice supplies running low or, worse, after running out. Emergencies are common, and disruptions are accepted as "part of doing business." One automotive parts supplier operating this way experienced 14 production interruptions in a single quarter.
Stage 2: Calendar-Based Management Facilities advance to scheduled deliveries based on estimated usage. While better than the reactive approach, this method still results in either excess inventory (tying up capital and space) or shortages when usage spikes occur. A plastics manufacturer following this model maintained 40% more cylinder inventory than necessary while still experiencing occasional stockouts.
Stage 3: Consumption-Based Management Our telemetry systems monitor actual gas consumption, automatically triggering orders based on usage patterns rather than calendar dates. This approach virtually eliminates both stockouts and excess inventory.
Stage 4: Integrated Supply Management The most advanced approach connects gas management directly to production planning systems. Upcoming production requirements automatically adjust supply parameters, ensuring resources are precisely aligned with needs. A medical device manufacturer using this approach reports zero gas-related downtime for 27 consecutive months while operating with minimal inventory buffers.
Our expert KnowHow™ in industrial gas applications allows us to guide customers through this evolution at a pace that makes sense for their operations.
Customizing Solutions for Maximum Uptime
Manufacturing environments vary dramatically in their gas requirements and operational constraints. We've developed flexible approaches that address these differences:
- For high-volume, consistent usage operations, our bulk systems eliminate the cylinder handling that frequently causes supply disruptions. Bulk installations include telemetry monitoring and automated ordering to prevent outages.
- For variable-demand environments, our microbulk delivery systems provide the benefits of bulk supply with lower volume commitments. These systems reduce handling requirements while maintaining the flexibility needed for changing production schedules.
- For specialized applications requiring multiple gas types, our gas management programs combine cylinder tracking, usage monitoring, and automated replenishment. This comprehensive approach ensures that specialty gases are always available when needed, regardless of how infrequently they might be used.
- For multi-site operations, our enterprise supply programs coordinate deliveries and optimize inventory across locations. By treating the organization's gas requirements holistically, we minimize both stockouts and excess inventory across the network.
This consultative approach ensures that manufacturers receive solutions aligned with their specific operational patterns rather than generic "one-size-fits-all" systems.
Beyond Traditional Supply: Integrated Services for Total Reliability
Maximum uptime requires more than just reliable gas delivery. Our integrated services address the full spectrum of gas-related reliability factors:
Equipment maintenance programs that prevent system failures before they impact production Technical gas specialists who resolve application issues that could otherwise cause production problems Safety training that prevents accidents leading to downtime events Emergency response capabilities that minimize impacts when unexpected events occur Supply chain redundancy that ensures continuity despite regional disruptions
These services complement our supply solutions to form a comprehensive reliability strategy. By addressing both everyday operations and exceptional circumstances, we help manufacturers Forge Forward with confidence that gas-related disruptions won't derail their production targets.
Measuring Success: The Results That Matter
The ultimate measure of any downtime reduction strategy is its impact on production metrics. Our manufacturing customers consistently report significant improvements after implementing our comprehensive gas management solutions:
Downtime reductions of 85-95% for gas-related issues Inventory cost decreases of 20-30% through optimized supply management Administrative time savings of 5-10 hours weekly through automated ordering and tracking Production schedule adherence improvements of 3-7% due to improved supply reliability
These performance gains translate directly to bottom-line benefits that typically deliver ROI within months rather than years. More importantly, they allow manufacturers to confidently make delivery commitments, knowing that gas supply issues won't compromise their ability to perform.
Don't let gas supply issues impact your productivity. Contact us today to explore our tailored solutions.
Looking out for your future
Get your career going on the right track with nexAir
Find out how nexAir KnowHow has impacted businesses all over the Southeast
Our expertise makes us more than a valuable partner, it makes us headlines
