Product category:
ERP and MRP software
News Release from: Exel Computer Systems | Subject: ERP software
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 21 July 2005
Standard and bespoke ERP features suited
user
A specialist in precision machining and assembly chose an ERP system written in an open and straightforward manner so it could be adapted rather than having to take it as it was.
It was 1989 when McBraida - a specialist in precision machining and assembly for high technology industries, in particular aerospace - installed the EFACS ERP system from Exel Computer Systems, the UK's largest author of integrated business solutions for manufacturers, and EFACS is still running McBraida's business today and enabling the company to remain at the top in an extremely competitive industry Based in Bristol and employing around 90 people, McBraida sells direct to blue chip aerospace companies, supplying the likes of Westland and Rolls-Royce with finished parts and assemblies and kits for them to build
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 6 Nov 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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Although it does sell some of its products abroad, most of McBraida's business is in the UK and the company holds quality approvals for most of Britain's aerospace companies, along with ISO 9000, AS9100 and SBAC TS157.
McBraida offers a complete bought-out service including material purchase, manufacture, provision of heat and surface treatments, assembly and testing.
The company produces aero-engine, airframe, control systems and gearbox components in a range of materials including steels, stainless steel, nickel based alloys, titanium and aluminium.
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It also makes rings and turned components with milled and drilled features up to about 400mm diameter, and prismatic and irregular shaped components up to around 400mm cube with a long length milling capability up to 1200mm long.
In addition, McBraida provides specialist subcontract services, including EDM wire cutting and spark erosion for valve ports, mould tools and other specialist applications, as well as pressure test and flow testing valves and jets for oil and fuel systems.
The company offers customers a non-destructive testing service, including dye penetrant and magnetic particle inspection and Vickers Hardness testing.
McBraida also manufactures specialist filters and strainers for oil and fuel systems and offers a design for manufacture consultancy service to enable customers to achieve cost effective and consistent product solutions.
Although McBraida plc was incorporated in 1954 it began 10 years before that, founded by the grandfather of one of the current company directors Iain McBraida.
Over the last 50 years, the company has experienced steady growth which has enabled it to remain independent.
A policy of continual investment and the development of new technologies has been complemented by a commitment to quality and technical excellence while a progressive management team has helped to implement change and deliver continuous improvement to McBraida's high-profile customers.
This combination of high quality service and responsiveness to customers' needs are said to be the foundations of the business.
Hand-in-hand with this steady growth has been a gradual diversification into other markets mirrored by changes on the shopfloor.
Says Iain McBraida: "The company has changed quite a lot over the years.
We have moved on from producing precision machined components to supplying assemblies and kits and then on to buying bits from other companies and integrating them into our own.
We have found that EFACS has been ideal for this because while we wanted to use a 'standard' package to keep costs and support issues to a minimum, we also wanted an element of 'bespoke' in that we wanted a system that was capable of changing with the company without us having to buy another system." He adds: "When you buy software, your first option is a standard package and you look to see if you can improve the way your business runs to adapt to the software.
We were never too proud to admit that the way we work might not be the best way and we are very happy to embrace change, so if the model a system like EFACS adopts works better, we were happy to fall in line with that.
However, if you can not change for whatever reason, the software you choose needs to be flexible and changeable enough for it to fit in with how you operate.
You want the best of both worlds so you can run on a standard basis most of the time but when you need to you can go down the route of some sort of tailor-made solution.
This is the combination that EFACS offered us and that is why we chose it and have stuck with it ever since." In the years before it installed EFACS, McBraida looked at a system called 4W written by PERA but could not justify the cost, so it developed its own in-house system using the Infomix database editor running on Unix.
This worked in some way but it soon became clear that a more sophisticated system was needed and EFACS was the preferred choice.
"We decided that it would be just as easy to adopt EFACS as it would to keep using our own system," says Iain McBraida.
"We chose EFACS because it was written in an open and straightforward manner - you could align the product to what you wanted rather than having to take it as it was.
And it was highly interactive which was a key factor." McBraida adds: "We had a completely bespoke solution with our own system and it was a nightmare - essentially we were on our own with no professional technical support, we often simply could not remember why we had made certain changes to the system, the person who wrote it left the company, and the task just became much bigger than when we first started out.
It was the usual scenario with a bespoke system, so we decided an off-the-shelf system would be better." McBraida moved away from the Unix platform and on to NT a couple of years ago and was able to stay with EFACS as it made the change because the Exel system also changed platforms.
At this point, some companies may have considered changing their ERP system - with all the disruption and added investment that such a move involves - but McBraida was keen to continue its relationship with EFACS.
Mr McBraida says: "We have stuck with the system for all this time so we are obviously happy with it.
The only 'bespoke' work we have done in recent times ended up being incorporated into the mainstream software and was funded by us.
This ability to alter the software to meet our changing requirements means we never end up in a cul-de-sac with a system that no longer matches our needs.
This is the reason we have been able to grow and diversify and change the way our business operates yet still remain with the same ERP system.
That is the beauty of EFACS." On the shopfloor, McBraida's business is based around low volume, specialised production.
The aerospace sector wants its suppliers to produce components in small quantities but the industry brings unique challenges - for example, quality and traceability systems are extremely tight and demanding - and EFACS has helped the company to cope with these.
Says Iain McBraida: "Working in this sector is completely different, it is not like organising a factory where you have high volume production and a simple manufacturing process.
The processes involved in the aerospace industry are pretty complex and EFACS lends itself to this environment very well.
"The system is written around a batch production philosophy, ie it is perfect for discrete quantities of jobs rather than large volumes.
Many of the components we make are very small volume indeed - we often even do one-offs - and I can not see a better system for handling this than EFACS.
The fact that you can adapt EFACS and use different parts of the system to create reports in slightly different ways is a major advantage.
It would be a nightmare to change packages.".
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