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Product category: Plant and shopfloor scheduling software
News Release from: K3 Business Technology Group | Subject: obBOSS Production Control
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial Team on 25 July 2005

Production control update produces major
benefits

Fast production control implementation at a plastics processor brought reduced stocks of high value raw materials and increased visibility of all company activities.

Fast JobBOSS Production Control implementation produces major benefits plastics processor Poly Hi Solidur has implemented K3 Business Technology Group's JobBOSS computerised production control system and Sigma accounts in just three months This has resulted in major benefits such as reduced stocks of high value raw materials, increased visibility of all company activities and improved financial accounting and profitability

Financial Controller Paul Smalley joined the company in 2004 and one of his first tasks was to replace the company's existing production control package Jobshop.

"PHS had been using Jobshop for about seven years but the DOS-based system was no longer supported by the suppliers Huckerby Royall.

In addition, management information was difficult to access and we had to constantly re-input data for all the business processes - from quotations, sales, purchase and works orders through to delivery notes and invoices.

Another factor was that with the migration of staff at PHS there was a lack of local systems knowledge.

We shortlisted packages from K3 Business Technology Group, Exel, Pumasoft, Sanderson and McGuffie Brunton before selecting K3's JobBOSS system and integrated Sigma accounts to replace a DOS-based Pegasus system.

Our German and US companies run SAP systems but gave us a free choice in system selection, and JobBOSS accommodates a link to the SAP systems which we use for purchasing materials.

We first saw JobBOSS in an iTSHOWCASE News magazine article and it appealed to us because, unlike many systems on the market, it supports our manufacturing and distribution activities rather than one or the other.

It is also Microsoft approved and keenly priced on a modular basis and, as we mainly needed basic scheduling rather than full MRP, was ideal for us.

JobBOSS's lot-tracking and traceability module was also critical for the medical side of our business." K3 consultant David Lloyd and Paul Smalley's team held a one-day planning meeting to decide on details such as training needs, data transfer requirements and the order of module implementation.

After a two-day generic training course by three project managers from finance, sales and production, plus some shorter user training sessions and sample data entry pilots, the system went live in December, 2004 - in real time just three months from signing the contract.

We have gained some major benefits from the changeover," adds Smalley.

"Management decisions are now supported by live, accurate information available in minutes from Crystal Reports.

Previously it either was not available or we had to key in parameters, manipulate data and format it in Excel.

This took too long and was not reactive enough for effective business decisions.

In the finance area, Crystal Reports is very flexible and can be integrated between any accounts system - in our case Sigma.

JobBOSS has given us much greater visibilty of all activities throughout the company.

We now have accurate job status information and realistic promise dates on shop loading because the JobBOSS scheduling traffic light facility highlights the overloads and bottlenecks.

Labour and material reporting is also very comprehensive and helps to refine our costing model which gives us a clear picture of the profitability of each job." The company has also achieved benefits due to the Alert Manager module.

This automates the process of running reports and proactively informs users and customers by email of the latest status of all areas, based on user-defined criteria.

Alert Manager can run any industry standard Crystal Report and email task/action lists on a regular basis in formats such as PDF, Word and Excel.

It is very specific and focused on the people who really need the information.

Smalley comments on some operational details of the system: "JobBOSS is an off-the-shelf system but capable of being customized to a high degree without a high level of IT knowledge.

Upgrades to the system are automatic and are free.

We also like the concurrent licence system which means you do not pay for occasional users.

We have just upgraded from 13 to a 15-users licence although we actually have 25 users.

The implementation is still in its infancy and we are discovering benefits as we introduce the modules.

Compare that with the old system which, after seven years, was still running in demonstration mode.

Phase 2 of the implementation will include a permanent interface with the SAP systems in Germany and the US.".

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