How Garrison Steel Cut Labeling Time By 50-60% By Eliminating A Entire Third-Party System
Garrison Steel's production labeling workflow required exporting files, importing them into a separate application, manually searching for the right labels, and printing them one by one. LTC built the entire process directly inside Tekla PowerFab — and removed the third-party system entirely.
The Client
Garrison Steel — Premier Structural Steel Fabricator
Garrison Steel is a premier structural steel fabricator and erector specializing in large-scale projects including stadiums, schools, and major commercial structures. As part of their fabrication and erection process, Garrison applies detailed labels to steel assemblies and inventory components — including job numbers, assembly identifiers, purchase order information, and heat numbers to ensure accurate identification during fabrication and field installation.
These labels are critical for coordinating production, managing inventory, and enabling field teams to quickly identify components at construction sites. To support these workflows, Garrison relied on Tekla PowerFab as their primary production planning and tracking system.
The Challenge
A Multi-Step Labeling Process That Slowed The Production Floor
Every label at Garrison required a sequence of manual steps that took production staff away from actual fabrication work. The process was fragmented across two systems — and any update inside Tekla PowerFab meant the entire workflow had to start over.
Production teams had to export KISS files from detailing systems manually
KISS files then had to be imported into a separate third-party labeling application
Staff had to search through complex application fields to find the correct labels
Labels had to be manually selected and printed one at a time
Any updates inside Tekla PowerFab invalidated previously printed labels — forcing the entire process to repeat
Duplicate data existed across two separate systems with no automatic synchronization
The Solution
Custom Labeling Built Directly Inside Tekla PowerFab
LTC Software Solutions developed two custom reporting tools built natively inside Tekla PowerFab — eliminating the third-party system entirely and letting production staff generate and print labels directly from the workflow they were already using.
Production Tracking Labels
Custom reports for steel assembly labels built directly inside Tekla PowerFab — pulling live production data with only a few clicks. No export, no import, no switching applications.
Inventory Labels
Custom reporting tool for material tracking labels — automatically formatted and ready to print from the same environment production staff already work in every day.
Zebra Industrial Printer Integration
Labels automatically formatted for 4" x 3" Zebra industrial printers — durable shop-floor labels printed in seconds directly from the production workflow.
Flexible Report Editing
Garrison's team can now modify the label reports themselves — no external developer required for adjustments, giving them full control over their own workflow.
The Results
Faster Labels. Fewer Systems. One Source Of Truth.
By building the solution inside the platform Garrison's team already used every day, LTC eliminated the friction without requiring any retraining or behavioral change. The production floor got faster — and simpler.
50-60% reduction in production labeling time
Third-party labeling application completely removed from the workflow
Labels generated directly from live Tekla PowerFab data — always accurate
No more KISS file exports or manual imports between systems
Reduced system complexity in Garrison's IT environment
Garrison team can now modify label reports internally without outside help
The Best Tool Is The One That Fits The Workflow Your Team Already Uses. We Didn't Change How Garrison Works — We Removed The System That Was Getting In Their Way.
— LTC Software Solutions, On The Garrison Steel Engagement
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