Digital transformation helps sheetmetal fabrication company work smarter

James Aiken Engineering Solutions has made a £70,000 investment in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) manufacturing software E-Max to track all aspects of its work from initial enquiries to job resources and completion dates.

The integrated E-Max software package is the latest development to streamline the way James Aiken operates following the introduction of new procedures to the office and workshops and an overhaul of the company’s HSEQ management systems.

E-Max enables an ‘at-a-glance’ analysis of each job on the company’s production schedule, including time spent quoting for work and the status of a job at any given time in the production and installation process.

The production team now has up to the minute information at its fingertips to identify how best to allocate time and resources to make sure each job is delivered within its agreed completion and installation date.

The company’s diverse range of customers come from the on and offshore energy industry, marine, power generation, food processing, municipal and corporate building maintenance, commercial utilities and local authority works.

George Paterson, director of James Aiken Engineering Solutions, said: “Introducing E-Max software to the business has been a watershed moment and the benefits are clear to see now we’re using the system across both our engineering and machining teams.

“From operating in a traditional way to being able to analyse and interpret time spent on quotes and production work is a big step for us. It means we can identify the most effective way for our estimators to work as well as planning and scheduling time for machining and fabrication teams on the shopfloor.

“E-Max has also enabled us to develop a ‘bid to win’ approach where we can analyse the type of work that suits our operation best and proactively follow up on quotes after a set period. This helps us to keep track of our sales pipeline and how competitive we are in the market.

“The use of E-Max is seen as a gold standard and we are delighted with the transformative impact it has had on how we operate and will play a large part in our growth strategy.”

James Aiken Engineering Solutions www.jasm.com