New software is a real asset

Employing approximately 58,000 people globally, Parker Hannifin is a world leader in Motion and Control technology. In the UK, the company’s Bioscience Engineering and Filtration Division in Birtley is using IndySoft software to take care of asset management. PES reports.

Globally, Parker Hannifin’s products and services cover a vast area comprising aerospace, climate control, electromechanical, fluid and gas handling, hydraulics, pneumatics, process control and filtration.

Parker Bioscience Engineering and Filtrations has lead operations located in Oxnard, California and Birtley, UK and has over 50 years’ experience in the provision of high quality filtration products and services for applications within the life sciences, food and beverage, industrial processing and microelectronics markets.

The Birtley facility has recently undergone a multi-million pound development programme. This considerable investment has resulted in the site becoming one of the world’s most modern manufacturing sites for integrated bioprocessing solutions.

Essential to the efficient operation of the Birtley facility is the work of the company’s Instrument Service Group which provides support by maintaining, testing and calibrating a wide range of customer equipment, including filter integrity testing machines.

Prompted by Parker Hannifin’s philosophy of pursuing constant improvements, Andrew Harker of the Instrument Service Group, recently searched for an effective asset management software solution that would streamline the group’s processes, increase productivity, help in maintaining data integrity and improve logistics. After considering the offerings from several potential providers, the solution was found in IndySoft software.

Andrew Harker explains: “The high-quality filtration systems manufactured by Parker Bioscience Birtley are sold throughout the world. These systems perform critical operations by accurately monitoring and validating the performance of our customers’ filtration systems.

“The paper-based system we were using to oversee the recall, processing, calibration, issuing of relevant certification and the return of our customers’ filter integrity testing machines, was only capable of handling our previously lower volume of work. As our installed base grew, the resulting increased workload began to show the limitations of the paper system.

“This manual system involved the use of document folders to add, store and retrieve information. It was difficult to use and was prone to occasional mistakes – for example, the written data taken as part of our calibration procedures needed to be typed-up and this could lead to unwelcome transcription errors. Therefore, we needed to find a more efficient means that would speed-up our housekeeping and calibration processes.

The search was on

Mr Harker performed an online search for a suitable software system and after reviewing some of the available options and realising that they were not easy to adapt to the Instrument Service Group’s particular needs and were also relatively difficult to use, he came across the IndySoft Asset Management software. IndySoft appeared to tick all the boxes and a demonstration was arranged.

Mr Harker continues: “Given that the use of IndySoft would represent a radical change to the way the Instrument Service Group operated, we organised an in-house demonstration that was performed by the managing director of IndySoft Europe Jake Bishop. The demo was completed in the presence of our Instrument Service Group operatives, our senior IT staff and several other potential company users.

“In addition to Jake showcasing the software’s logical structure, ease of use and speed, he was also able to clearly demonstrate the software’s ability to streamline our operations.

“In the course of the demo many other advantages were discovered. Having proved that IndySoft was ideal for use by our group, colleagues from other departments began to explore issues related to their own functions. In the vast majority of cases, Jake was able to illustrate how IndySoft was able to help in these other areas.

“Although the original justification and return on investment case was based on calculated time savings, we were now able to identify other efficiencies IndySoft would offer. As it was proven that several other departments would also gain a range of advantages from the software’s adoption, it made the argument for purchasing it even more compelling.

“After our IT department confirmed that IndySoft would dovetail easily with other software applications and systems, and mindful of the additional benefits it would deliver to other departments, I altered my justification case accordingly. As a result, we were able to predict an even quicker return on investment and an order was placed.”

Trouble-free operation

As IndySoft is simple to use, the software’s installation and the changeover from the previous manual system was trouble-free. As a result of the in-house training and the software’s logical layout providing simple workflows, the group was soon able to make use of the vast majority of the software’s applications. On the rare occasion that a problem is encountered, staff have access to IndySoft Europe’s helpline that is able to provide instant assistance and support.

“Unlike some of the other more ridged software solutions we considered, IndySoft is flexible and adaptable,” Mr Harker adds. “As we have now gained more experience and confidence in the software’s use, we have begun to customise various screens and workflows to suit our own particular use.

“When compared to our previous paper-based system, we’ve definitely made great strides forward. IndySoft has delivered on all of the promises made prior to purchase and has transformed our department’s efficiency levels.”

For the past 20 years, IndySoft has been changing the way manufacturing businesses and commercial calibration labs have managed their assets. With a focus on calibration, tooling, automation, maintenance and repair, IndySoft has introduced multiple, innovative, new asset management solutions to its software.

The software is flexible. It can be used effectively out of the box or alternatively it allows workflows to be optimised to suit the calibration, maintenance and asset tracking needs of each individual business. Complete traceability is guaranteed as a comprehensive history of all user interactions is maintained to preserve a complete audit trail.

Operator tasks are made that much easier by the use of automated recalls for due notices and alerts. Also, trigger notifications are flagged-up for equipment that fails calibration work and requires a follow up with corrective action.

IndySoft UK www.indysoft.com