Other orders moved back
If your order jumps ahead, the orders booked for those days move back. Someone has to replan them and tell those customers.
British Columbia
British Columbia
WHAT A RUSH CHANGES IN THE SHOP AND ON YOUR PRICE
A shop speeds up an order by moving other work or by paying for longer hours, and either one can add to the price.
Rush fabrication costs more when the week's schedule has no room for your order. If other projects can move back to make room, the date can come forward without extra hours. If it can't, the crew works past a normal day, and BC law sets what those extra hours pay. This guide shows what a rush changes in a fabrication shop, what overtime adds to an hour, and when paying for speed beats planning ahead.
Many orders that feel like a rush only need the drawings approved and the deposit sent sooner. Find your situation below before you ask for a faster date.
| Your situation | What usually works | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| The drawings aren't approved yet | Approve them and send the deposit today, because the lead time starts once both are in | Nothing, and it's the fastest fix there is |
| A small fitting order needed this week | Ask now, because it may fit into the week as it stands | No extra hours, if the week has room |
| A large order needed tomorrow | Split it, and rush only the pieces the crew needs first | Overtime on part of the order instead of all of it |
| Parts that need powder coating | Plan ahead, because a partner does the coating on their own schedule | A rush in our shop can't shorten their queue |
| Work needed on a weekend | Plan around weekdays, because we work Monday to Friday | Not available |
Sheet metal fabrication lead time covers when your lead time starts and what can hold it up. That guide lists most of what delays an order.
A rush fee covers costs a normal order doesn't carry. Each one comes from making room in a schedule that was already full.
If your order jumps ahead, the orders booked for those days move back. Someone has to replan them and tell those customers.
If a machine is set up for another job when your rush arrives, it's reset for yours. Then it's reset again for the other job, so the setup is paid for twice.
If the work can't fit into a normal day, the crew stays longer. BC law sets a higher wage for those hours.
If the sheet isn't on our rack, it's bought that day, often cut to size and sent fast. Steel ordered in a hurry can cost more than steel bought ahead.
If the order can't wait for our van's next run, it goes by a delivery service. That trip adds a delivery cost of its own.
If parts are made late in a long day, each one is still checked before it leaves. Late-day work needs those checks most, and checking takes time too.
Overtime is any time past the eighth hour of a workday, or past the fortieth hour of the workweek. BC's Employment Standards Act sets the rate, and the table works it through with the Government of Canada's Job Bank wages.
| Hours worked | Rate under BC law | Sheet metal worker, Lower Mainland, wage, not a Duct Duct Goose quote | Welder, Lower Mainland, wage, not a Duct Duct Goose quote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to the eighth hour of the day | The regular wage | $32.17 an hour (median) | $37.50 an hour (median) |
| The ninth to the twelfth hour of the day | One and a half times the wage | $48.26 an hour | $56.25 an hour |
| After the twelfth hour of the day | Double the wage | $64.34 an hour | $75.00 an hour |
| After the fortieth hour of the workweek | One and a half times the wage | $48.26 an hour | $56.25 an hour |
Hours past the eighth in a day are already paid as daily overtime, so they don't count again toward the weekly total. These are wages in Canadian dollars, not a Duct Duct Goose quote or a billed rate. A billed rate also covers the machines, the building, insurance, and overhead, so overtime on a quote is higher than the wage alone.
Paying more for an hour doesn't make that hour more productive. Long days and long weeks slow people down, which is why a rush costs more than the overtime wage suggests.
A study of construction crews found that fifty- and sixty-hour weeks lost 12% and 14% of their output per hour. If a rush runs for days, each extra hour buys less.
Canada's workplace safety centre says mistakes rise after sixteen hours awake. WorkSafeBC compares seventeen hours awake to a blood alcohol level of 0.05.
If a tired fabricator cuts a fitting short, it has to be made again. On a rush, that second try eats the time the rush was meant to save.
An employer can't allow hours that harm a worker's health or safety. So a big order can't be squeezed into one day by working the crew longer and longer.
A shop has two ways to meet a rush deadline sooner. Reshuffling means moving your order ahead of others, and overtime means paying the crew to work longer.
| How each one works | Reshuffling the schedule | Paying overtime |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | Your order moves ahead of orders booked for the same days | The crew works past a normal day to fit your order in |
| Who it affects | The orders that move back behind yours | The crew, who work longer hours that day |
| When it's used | First, when other work can move | When moving other work isn't enough on its own |
| What it can change on your price | Confirmed with you before anything moves | The extra hours are priced and agreed with you before they're booked |
One rush order added to a week's schedule
The rush takes Tuesday, overtime finishes it, and the orders behind it move back a day.
As booked
With a rush order on Tuesday
The same fitting order, made two ways, shows what overtime adds and what it doesn't. This rush needs both, so the rest of Tuesday's work moves back, and the two fabricators also work overtime. The hours are assumed, and the wage is the Job Bank median for a sheet metal worker.
| Example in Canadian dollars, hours assumed, not a Duct Duct Goose quote | On schedule | Rushed into one day |
|---|---|---|
| Hours of work in the fitting order | 24 | 24, needed a day sooner |
| Who makes it | Two fabricators over a day and a half | Two fabricators on one long day, with four overtime hours each |
| Hours at the regular wage of $32.17 | 24, for $772.08 | 16, for $514.72 |
| Hours at one and a half times, $48.26 | None | 8, for $386.08 |
| Wage cost, not a Duct Duct Goose quote | $772.08 | $900.80 |
| Other orders | Stay where they were booked | The orders booked for that day move back |
The overtime adds about $129, or 17%, to the wage cost. The higher cost is harder to see. Other orders move, a setup may come down, and the last hours of a long day get less done. A billed rate covers overhead as well, so the gap on a quote is wider than the wage alone.
The kind of work sets how far a date can move. These are our typical lead times, counted from approved drawings and the deposit. They depend on the size of the order and the week's schedule.
| Kind of order | Typical lead time | Can it go faster? |
|---|---|---|
| Custom duct fittings | 1 to 2 days | Some fittings can be ready within hours, when the shop has room that day |
| Straight duct packages | 1 to 2 days | Sometimes, depending on the size of the order and the week's schedule |
| Grease duct | 1 to 2 days | Sometimes, depending on the size of the order and the week's schedule |
| Stainless kitchen pieces | 1 to 2 weeks | Ask when you send the drawings, and we'll confirm what's possible |
| Parts finished by a partner, such as powder coating | Set partly by the partner | Only our part of the work can move |
Our custom duct fittings and grease ductwork fabrication pages cover what we make in each. Both are typically ready 1 to 2 days after the drawings are approved and the deposit is in, depending on the size of the order.
Most rushes start days earlier, with a step that was delayed. Each fix below keeps an order on its normal schedule.
| What happened | Why it forces a rush | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| The date the metal is needed wasn't on the request | The order was booked for a normal date that turned out too late | Put the on-site date on the first request |
| The drawings waited days for approval | The lead time started days later than planned | Name who approves drawings and have them ready to sign |
| Sizes changed after approval | The changed pieces are rebooked and start again | Check sizes on site before you approve |
| The deposit came days after the drawings were approved | Work starts once both are in | Send the deposit with the approval |
| The whole job was ordered for the date the first pieces were needed | Every piece became urgent at once | Ask for the first pieces sooner and the rest later |
What happens after shop drawing approval covers what a change costs once the drawings are signed. A change made before you sign costs the least.
A rush request gets an answer before anything moves. These steps run the same way for one fitting or a full package.
Send the deadline with the drawings. Say when the metal has to be on site, and which pieces the crew needs first.
We check the week's schedule. We look at what's booked and whether your order can fit in.
If other work can move, your order moves up. We'll tell you the new date.
If the schedule can't make room, we'll say whether weekday overtime is possible. Before anything is booked, we'll tell you what it adds. You decide whether the date is worth it.
Work starts once the drawings are approved and the deposit is in. That's when any lead time begins, rushed or not.
Our HVAC ductwork fabrication page covers the duct packages we make. A package split into first pieces and the rest is the easiest kind to speed up.
A rush pays for itself when waiting would cost more than the overtime. When it wouldn't, planning ahead keeps the money in your pocket.
If a stock fitting from a supply house does the job today, buy it there. We'd rather your crew keep working than wait on us, even if it means we don't make that piece.
With these in the first message, we can answer sooner whether the date works. It also saves the back and forth a rush can't afford.
A few one-off pieces can cost more than their size suggests even without a rush, and why small custom metal parts cost more is explained below. More cost guides sit in Custom Fabrication Cost Guides.
Clean drawings or a rough sketch with sizes are both enough to start. Tell us the date, and we'll tell you what's missing and whether the week can make room.
Standard ductwork and fittings price instantly on WebDuct, the online pricing and ordering portal, with a company account. Stainless, grease duct, production parts, installs, and other custom work start with a request or a call.
At Duct Duct Goose, we specialize in sheet metal fabrication and stainless steel services for commercial and industrial applications, including HVAC systems, ducts, and custom metalwork. Please note that we do not offer services for automotive-related projects, such as vehicle parts, repairs, or modifications.
