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Product category: Enterprise Resource Planning software (ERP)
News Release from: Seiki Systems | Subject: Seiki ERP
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial Team on 13 October 2006

Westwind ensures chinese connection

Westwind Air Bearings' manufacturing plant in China has adopted Seiki Systems' Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software as part of its Integrated Manufacturing Execution System

Westwind Air Bearings' manufacturing plant in China has adopted Seiki Systems' Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software as part of its Integrated Manufacturing Execution System (iMES) in order to maintain and manage high levels of production and to control and integrate production requirements with the Poole headquarters in the UK What makes the system so important is that it provides the solution to control over 50 different work centres and cells now operating at the plant in China

This also includes material supply from the UK for critical components for example: bearings, thrust plates and bought-out items such as jets, bushes and screws, as well as the added complication of China sourced and machined components and spare parts.

In addition, control is also maintained over certain items machined in China for shipment back to UK where they are assembled, and for parts or assemblies for use in the Asian market.

Controlling production was a big issue when setting up the facility and while Westwind Air Bearings utilises an existing MRP system to plan overall production in both the UK and China, the Chinese initially made use of Excel spreadsheets for the very small quantities of initial components involved there.

But production is now more demanding with over 1,000 stock items, 100 individual orders a week and regular small batch machining involving between 12 and 50 parts.

As Paul Berrett manufacturing systems engineer explains: "It would be totally uncontrollable with spreadsheets".

This is no longer a problem however, as with the iMES production control software installed they are able to take complete control.

The software provides live information in a simple to follow graphical representation enabling 'real time' decision making.

Key to the system integration and operation is the Brighton software specialist's Network Manufacturing System (NMS) that is also utilised via the easy to configure Seiki Systems Enterprise Application Interface Module (EAI) that enables dialogue with the Westwind MRP system in Poole.

Says Paul Berrett: "We now have a single master for control - no out of date paperwork floating around and any manufacturing change is instant with immediate transfer".

"This keeps everyone informed".

The system went live in December 2005 with Paul Berrett as the liaison engineer between the Chinese and two resident Westwind engineers that control, help train and provide the very strict quality control procedures Westwind has laid down.

Established for some 40 years, Westwind Air Bearings of Poole has created an international leading operation producing air bearing systems largely for the PCB drilling and routing business.

Its high speed spindle design is an acclaimed world-leader in the technology able to run at up to 300,000 revs/min and can, according to the application, be powered by motors up to 20 kW.

A special range of Westwind spindles, with very low dynamic runout, are able to produce holes as fine as 0.050 mm diameter.

The company's spindles are also involved in semiconductor processing equipment used for wafer dicing, back grinding and notching as well as ion implantation and disk verification.

And, high speed spindles are also widely used for pre-press image setting processes such as scanning, image setting, divert imaging and internal drum rotary scanning, as well as completely divorced-applications such as for coating application, robotic and rotary spraying.

Such is the success of the company that it has won a Queen's Award for Export and Technology Achievement on several occasions.

In the UK, Westwind made good use of its existing MRP system installed in 2000 to plan production in China as well as at Poole.

All core planning for the site in China is still carried out in the UK with the Seiki Systems iMES production control/scheduling software installed in China having direct dial connections into the system from Poole.

With the Seiki Systems' solution, all UK order numbers (item checking number and bill of materials) are transferred through the EAI module into the iMES scheduler in a passive state with numbers required and due date depicted through an active disposition module.

This shows very simply in graphical display minimum stock levels.

While green is satisfactory, any deviation stands out immediately as it is coloured coded red.

All production for GSI laser and encoder production is also scheduled through the Seiki Systems software.

In the work queue, once a module becomes active it changes colour to yellow to signify it is now work in progress and is then monitored by the iMES schedule against work centre and queue listing showing supply and demand balances as well as the situation with purchase parts.

Running across the top of the screen is a graphical trace that also portrays the process path of any order number against time scales.

Data is transferred daily and immediately updated.

Says Paul Berrett: "Although the system is in English, the beauty is that it is so visual for the Chinese they can obtain an immediate status report just by glancing at the screen".

The Seiki Systems NMS carries the job list then enables the operators in China to select the next job and pick the appropriate folder.

This contains all program data, a process sheet and stage drawing, a procedure document and even movie clips of certain areas of the process for added information.

Here Paul Berrett describes this feature as being highly beneficial when they were training the Chinese.

Indeed, training was important and here close liaison between Seiki Systems and Westwind proved its worth.

Training started in July 2005 at Poole involving key people which included the two Westwind engineers now resident in China.

They were given a temporary licence to trial the system and the server in China was configured in Poole with the Seiki Systems iMES, EAI and NMS software to enable initial data entries and communication to be performed.

Within two weeks during September, the system was installed and nine shopfloor PC terminals set up for NMS, while training of the Chinese working with interpreters was completed.

Adds Paul Berrett: "They were very quick to learn and quickly understood the concept, which is a further tribute to the system and the way we could work with it".

Initially, dual systems involving Excel spreadsheets were run and by December, the system was live ready to start works order, purchase and sales operations.

In order to maintain control and to ensure everything is proven, any upgrades to the software are performed at Poole, tested, then rolled out to China.

The same regime is maintained for all bills of material, enabling control to be maintained in one place and all changes exported to China.

The Seiki Systems ERP software is designed to keep the order management process as simple as possible and at each step enables users to view current order status based on live information.

This, at a stroke, allows critical decisions to be made based on immediate factual situations.

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