We've picked out a few examples from a software system we developed for a medium sized business to illustrate how we enabled the customer to reduce waste and improve efficiency.
We recommended a modular system so that the first users were able to start using the software within 4 weeks of the project starting!
After 12 months, the software was is used by all departments of the business with over 50 users.
There are now almost 20 modules, including stock, contract review, testing, heat treatment, certification, works planner, NCR management & specifications.
The client relies on external companies for testing, heat treatment and plating. Reports for each
of these processes need to be filed and the data transcribed onto a certificate of conformity.
We automated this task using email processing software. The solution detects when a report is
received by email, files a digital copy, uses OCR to read the data from the report, updates the
database with this data and the location of the file, then notifies the relevant people that the
report is ready for review.
Results: Estimated time savings of 55 hours per month & Reduced risk of
transcription errors.
The client’s carries out raw material testing on a per-cast basis. Working with a manual system
it was time consuming to identify when the testing had already been completed, often resulting
in the testing being repeated unnecessarily.
We added a feature to link the test results back
to all bar material from the cast so that any existing reports are automatically flagged when
the material is issued to a job.
Results: Estimated cost saving of £8500/year. Improved lead times due to the avoidance of unnecessary operations.
In order to reduce the time taken to complete correction actions, we linked our software to microsoft teams. Users can raise
issues via our software and a task is automatically created on Microsoft planner, with all the
relevant information, files and people assigned.
Users work together on Teams, and once the
issue is solved it can be closed on our software, or on Teams and the systems will sync up. The
data is linked to Microsoft Power BI to produce real time, interactive KPI’s.
Results: Consistent downward trend in time to resolve defects. Automated KPI's guide preventative actions