Key benefits
Improved throughput and delivery times
Improved cycle times
More cost-effective component manufacturing
Automated tracking and traceability
Fast problem resolution, including with contractors
“Significant payback”
Birmingham-based FCX Truflo Marine, which builds valves for naval applications for everything from submarine hulls to air systems, weapons discharge systems and surface ship applications, has transformed its competitiveness and component throughput by installing a production monitoring system from Seiki Systems. It claims the resulting visibility of manufacturing data, production monitoring and management reports have enabled it to switch to more ‘lights-out’ production, control work flow with outside suppliers and identify a major production headache that has alone slashed down time.
Manufacturing director Steve Chapman says it all started when the firm decided it needed a system that could feed its CNC machine tools with part programs, set-up and tooling information, and be able to feedback to its existing Exel efacs ERP system. Truflo found Seiki’s PC-based Networked Manufacturing Software (NMS), which does just that. It manages and stores manufacturing data, such as NC programs, tool lists, setting notes and video clips, and distributes it to shopfloor PCs that provide a DNC link to machine tools and record job information (including productive and non-productive machine data) and communicate with ERP systems.
Says Chapman: “With the wealth of data that can be captured and manipulated by NMS, we have found it to be a very powerful reporting tool that has helped our management team improve the running and efficiency of the machine shop.” He explains that on receiving raw material into stock the firm now assigns due dates, loads work against machine tools and designates shifts. The system records cycle and set-up times, and compares anticipated times against actual times to assist with continuous improvement. “In fact,” he maintains, “we have now removed job times from our route cards as NMS will collect more accurate data.”
Truflo operates a two-shift system, but without office support for much of the second shift. But the company says that hasn’t been a problem for the system “Such is the flexibility of NMS that should something go wrong, I can simply log-on to its graphical work planning board at home, to see the jobs for each machine, and quickly reschedule or reprioritise jobs,” says Chapman.
He says the system is also helping operators, especially because of its information sharing: for example, the screen can display component drawings and photographs of set-ups and tooling arrangements. That aspect is working so well, Truflo has now extended the system into its assembly and cleaning/finishing areas.
Points particularly worth noting are the system’s audit power (programs and planning information are checked for compliance by NMS, and changes highlighted for approval), and its display of detailed job and management information in real time, with colour coding to make exceptions obvious. Says Chapman: “We have found we now have a very powerful tool and, especially from a quality point of view, one that provides a simple tracking system, which is important to an industry that demands full traceability and integrity.”
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