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Product category: Manufacturing Information Technology systems
News Release from: Exel Computer Systems | Subject: EFACS management software
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial Team on 15 March 2005

Acting on problems quickly enough

A company could see a problem coming, but by the time the message got through to the factory, the problem had arrived and reaction was too slow - until a new system was installed.

ACTL Engineering is a long established engineering company based in Stockport Last year, recognising that for some time it had been serving two distinct customer bases at opposite ends of the manufacturing spectrum, it officially demerged into two separate independent entities, each with very different requirements of a manufacturing software system

Ian Booth, Managing Director of CTL, takes up the story.

"For some time we have been growing a scientific business under the umbrella of a traditional contract CNC engineering business".

"The scientific side derived from a project CTL undertook in the late 80s, at which time general manufacturing was falling away, and we were becoming increasingly involved with oil tool machining for the North Sea".

"Since then, it has developed into a successful cleanroom enterprise, assembling mass spectrometers which are extensively used in bio-sciences, police forensic work, as well as water testing, and drugs testing for the pharmaceutical industry." Booth says: "Over the last three years, we had experienced exponential growth on the scientific side between 30-40% - and we were in danger of becoming victims of our own success".

"Without better controls, we simply couldn't sustain the growth".

"It became clear to us that we needed to separate the businesses, and to implement a software system that could deliver control back into our hands." Thus, TDA (Test Development and Assembly) Solutions was born, a company with its own identity, customer base and cash flow.

CTL has invested extensively in refurbishing a separate building - albeit on the same 58,000ft2 site - establishing a specialist cleanroom environment, and recruiting additional people for both businesses.

Ian Booth is determined that each company will prosper on its own merits, with neither subsidising the other.

TDA undertakes electro-mechanical assembly, and then ships to customers.

Their engineering background, inherited from CTL, means that they can add value to the process, making modifications and improving original designs for easier, more cost-effective manufacture.

The two companies operate on a completely different materials/labour ratio, which meant that when it came to selection of a manufacturing system, discrete criteria had to be considered for each.

TDA is 65% materials, costs are nearly all on materials, whilst CTL costs are largely in labour, which makes a good materials planning program a priority on one side, and capacity planning essential on the other.

CTL had long outgrown its incumbent system, and was receiving little or no support when problems arose, says Ian Booth.

Product control was very poor, there was a lack of customer focus as regards our software needs and the cost of upgrading a bespoke system was proving prohibitive".

""It was very basic".

"OK for the production control and engineering side, but not for the scientific side," Booth explains".

""We asked the vendors to develop software for us, and promised our support".

"In the event, we had years of heartache and problems, and essentially helped develop the software at the expense of our own business development." One of the problems they faced was that the software was not integrated, so that other packages such as accounts took a long time to assimilate data from other parts of the system".

""It took ages to get a new profile into cashflow, for instance," he says".

""It's rather like captaining a ship - you spot a problem from the bridge and need to change course, but by the time the information has reached the engine room, you've hit the problem head on - and you haven't been able to either forecast or prepare for the potential consequences of impact!" Neither could the system react quickly enough to facilitate nurturing of supplier relationships and vendor control - in short, according to Booth; supply chain management was not nearly good enough".

""It is critical to our business that we help suppliers to help us".

"Simply put, they improve their efficiency, and we improve ours".

"The keynote is visibility".

"We must tell our suppliers what's going on".

"Therefore, what we were looking for from a new system was rapid response, quality of information and the control we had been missing up to then." He confesses that previously the company had been too focussed on actually manufacturing things to devote sufficient time to the project management of implementing a new system.

The result, Ian recalls, was that the software vendors ran the show.

This time round, determined to do things differently, Booth assembled a project team - Works Director David Heathcote and Business Development Manager David Bannister - to work with him to identify the best system to meet the needs of both companies.

The team spent six months evaluating systems, initially listing some 50 different companies they found via the internet.

They visited CIM in September 2000 with a short list of 15 companies to see, asked 6 of them for a demonstration, and finally got down to two contenders - EFACS from Exel Computer Systems, and Made2Manage.

A score sheet questionnaire was duly drawn up to analyse the different strengths and weaknesses in the light of key criteria the team were looking for, and each company was duly scrutinised - not only by the project team, but by up to 30 people, all of whom would be hands on users of the chosen system.

Booth felt strongly that not only was this the most practical way of comparing the systems, but also in involving personnel at every level the team were likely to win support throughout the company and a commitment to making the system work".

""The importance of appointing a key person to help with implementation cannot be overstated," Booth says, "it is essential to a successful outcome because they bring valuable experience, plus the directors of the company are not distracted from their key duties of running the business." Bannister had already had experience of scoping and installing a system at a previous company, and so Booth looked to him to offer guidance on which questions to ask.

Thus, each company was scored on how well they had understood the business and how well sample information had been used.

In addition, the software was rated in terms of ease of use, general layout, search facilities and speed of movement between modules.

Finally, each responder had to evaluate how well the system met their individual department needs as well as overall company needs".

""We looked particularly at functionality, but also it was very important to us that the software was written in the UK because we wanted the reassurance that we would receive strong ongoing support," Booth emphasises".

""If there were to be any problems, we wanted to be assured of face-to-face dialogue, also software is continually developing and we want to be super-users of our system".

"For that you need a strong, ongoing relationship with the vendor." Other decision influencers included speed of writing bespoke elements to the system, and a UK biased customer base with strong reference sites".

""We were favourably impressed by Exel's presentation," Booth remembers".

""The team seemed very technically knowledgeable, and their figures were broken down carefully to illustrate exactly what you got for your money - the transparency was excellent".

"However, I suppose ultimately the question you have to ask yourself is, 'can I trust these people with my business?' Whatever your decision, it's a huge leap of faith." Booth and the project team made that leap of faith in January 2001, choosing EFACS.

In November 2001 the system went live at TDA, then in May this year went live at CTL.

"We couldn't possibly have handled both going live together!" laughs Booth.

"The process has been demanding enough!" Recognising the importance of investment in training in making the system work, the team set up a dedicated training room with a hub, server and six PCs, where people were taken off line to learn how to use the system.

First Bannister thoroughly familiarised himself with EFACS, then he supervised the training of others.

He emphasises the importance of writing procedures, supported by screen prints, to form a complete user manual".

""We encouraged feedback from people so that we could update on the basis of the experience and expertise of our users", Bannister explains".

""Going live with CTL was so much easier, because we had already been through the process with TDA." Assessing the success of the project eighteen months after the initial implementation, the team report that the quality of the product is good and communication is excellent.

"Undoubtedly TDA has benefited greatly," Booth confirms".

""It has given us the luxury of time to look at supply chain issues".

"For instance, we need to improve our suppliers, and to reduce lead times and costs".

"EFACS has freed up time for us to negotiate those areas".

"We have much better visibility over materials requirements, and if we make a change in one area EFACS automatically updates the whole system".

"Bills of Materials are easier to change, reports can be compiled more quickly and our systems are now fully integrated".

"All in all, I would say that EFACS has met our objectives." Interestingly, Ian insists that price - within reason - was not a constraint, "We wanted the best for our business," he concludes".

""EFACS was not the cheapest, but it was certainly the best fit, strong on materials supply and flexible in most areas." For the future, CTL/TDA are very much a companies in transition, 40 years of traditional manufacturing practices have changed within six months.

They were amongst the first 5% of companies in the UK to achieve the new BS EN ISO 9000:2002, and now have in their sights the environmental management standard BS EN 14001, a goal few family-owned businesses have achieved.

The new system has fitted their business to go forward, and has delivered the management control so critical to their continued success.

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