Software solution fuels growth

Milton Keynes-based Hydrafeed has seen business grow significantly over the last few years. There has been continued expansion of its subcontract engineering services and bar feed systems manufacturing expertise, alongside its new sole UK and Ireland agency for RoboJob’s robotic solutions.

When managing director Martyn Page took control of the business in 2012, he embarked upon a major overhaul of the company’s business administration procedures, including investment in PSL Datatrack to replace DOS and paper-based systems. Aiming to grow the subcontract business quickly for customers in a variety of industrial sectors, efficiency was a key element.

“Initially, the challenge was to get the details of all our stock and material data and customer information loaded on to the PSL Datatrack system. Once that had been done – with full support from PSL Datatrack – we were soon able to realise the benefits; our staff quickly bought into the advantages of the system,” Mr Page explains.

According to Hydrafeed's production director, Daren Drew, the software system has had a significant impact on the subcontract side of the business: “At any time on the shopfloor we have in excess of 400-500 components going through. We need to trace and track all the materials involved, organise treatments and subsequent deliveries and invoicing.

“This could have been a logistical nightmare but PSL Datatrack has smoothed out that side of our business completely. We can see everything on PCs throughout the factory.”

Any opportunity for Hydrafeed to quote for new and repeat business starts with the generation of a quotation using PSL Datatrack. This becomes the catalyst from which the subsequent production process and supporting administration of an order evolves. Quotation times alone have been reduced from around 15 to one to two minutes.

The system records and tracks all aspects of an order from that initial quotation through to delivery and invoicing. Once a works order has been raised, the system generates the material requirements. The purchasing module is then used to order the materials needed to fulfil the job.

This is then traced through the shopfloor with costs of the operations, materials, tooling and any subcontract processes all fully recorded. The actual time taken for manufacturing, details of when parts are made, on which machine and by which operator is also recorded for recall at any time.

All jobs are prioritised and materials are made available before set-up commences. The Work in Progress module allows the company to respond quickly to any urgent customer requirements as management can see what work is being undertaken in each department and what jobs are being queued at specific machines.

“This allows us to make decisions about prioritising jobs and moving work around,” Mr Page adds.

Consideration is also being given to investment in status board display screens for each department as part of the company's continuous commitment to remaining as efficient as possible. Status boards will allow all jobs going through the shopfloor to be seen in real-time so that management can make instant informed decisions on priorities.

The benefits that have resulted from the use of PSL Datatrack in terms of traceability and the generation of certificates are vital to Hydrafeed's quality management system and maintaining ISO 9001:2015 accreditation. Customers from the aerospace industry – as well as clients in other sectors – often require detailed traceability and conformity information.

Through PSL Datatrack, the company knows the exact source of all the materials that have been used for any order, which machines were used in the production process as well as details of the operation and operators involved.

Supplier certificates are saved on the system and can be printed off at the click of a button to accompany a delivery. Next in line may be the Gauge Calibration module which will give the company closer control over its inspection and quality control functions by providing details of calibration requirements.

Previously, material stocks had presented a particular administration headache. It was often difficult to ascertain exactly what stockholding levels of individual components and raw materials would be required by customers – many of whom had Kanban and Just-in-Time call-off requirements.

There was also a requirement to hold stock to fulfil general customer orders: “The way that PSL Datatrack calculates and records all this information means we now stock much less material and just retain saleable stock. Orders are now flowing through the shopfloor and out of the door much more smoothly,” Martyn Page asserts.

“Looking to the future, investment in further PSL Datatrack modules will continue to meet the requirements of our growing subcontract business. We are in a position to win more engineering subcontract work and we’ll continue to expand our robotic and bar feed operations.”

PSL Datatrack www.psldatatrack.com

Hydrafeed www.hydrafeed.co.uk