Most information published about tube bending relates to a specific aspect of the process, such as tooling, control and equipment features, or component technology. This type of information is valuable for keeping tube fabricators up-to-date on what's available and is useful in selecting the right machine and tools for a given application, but little information is published on managing a tube bending operation. It is necessary to give some thought to how the equipment will be managed and how it will fit into the company's overall management philosophy. Managing equipment for its most efficient operation is a part of managing the complete fabricating operation, which takes into account all the operations, organization, technical support, safety, and quality. Managing equipment is a bottom-up approach in which the equipment fits into an existing scheme of how the process is managed-or at least, how it is perceived to be managed. In any given plant, management of the tube bending operation probably doesn't differ much from the management of its other manufacturing processes. This leads to several questions: Should it be different? Are some aspects of tube bending unique, and do they require special attention?
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