Software saves the day

To streamline its production and administration processes, subcontractor Pope & Meads has purchased a data management software solution from Tricorn Systems.

With an annual turnover of £2.5 million and currently employing 57 members of staff, Pope and Meads provide precision engineering services to a diverse clientele that includes the defence, aerospace, medical, film and automotive industries.

Recently, to streamline its production and administration processes, the company has purchased a data management software solution from Tricorn Systems.

Nick Ellis, managing director at Pope & Meads reflects on company practice prior to the installation. “Similar to many engineering companies, Pope and Meads relied on manual job cards prior to the introduction of the new software. This paper intensive arrangement required the movement of handwritten cards through a series of pigeon holes as work progressed towards completion.

“Coming from a modern manufacturing background I could only describe the system as horrendous,” he continues. “It was inefficient and chaotic, relying on job cards being in the correct pigeon holes at all times. A manual system such as this would require, for example, an order with all its constituent parts to be hand written – and this can easily exceed 100 components.

“Then if the order was placed again say in a month's time, a new card would be written out. It was so labour intensive. Accounts and purchasing would also have similar tasks as the system afforded little link in with the jobs in hand.

“In terms of planning and scheduling, when we looked at the company's capability against current jobs to quote lead in times for new clients, the lack of scheduling in the process would require three to four weeks clearance. We were reliant on remembering the chain of events for each of our current contracts. This would be fine if we were talking about three to four jobs at a time but we were looking at 300-400.

“As a short term measure we moved to a spreadsheet solution which meant the process was electronically based but out of date in perpetuity.”

The decision to purchase a Tricorn Systems solution started as a process of elimination. Pope & Meads whittled down its shortlist to six companies that specialised in provided processing solutions to manufacturing companies. Further consultation with the suppliers in question narrowed the span down to four providers.

“I had met Tricorn Systems at the Southern Manufacturing & Electronics Exhibition where I received a comprehensive demonstration of the system. We then asked the other three companies for demonstrations.

“At the end of the day we didn't have to make the decision as to which provider to go with as the decision was made for us,” he enthuses. “When evaluating the other systems and taking everything into consideration, Tricorn Systems proved to have a simple way of doing things. Even when fabricating potential real-life scenarios that would highlight any limitations, there was always a work around to the problem. One year on we still believe buying the Tricorn system was a good idea. It was a system we could trust – and still do.”

According to Mr Ellis, the implementation of the system went very smoothly. Tricorn listened to Pope & Meads' specific requirements and tailored the system to suit. Even if a question couldn't be answered immediately, Tricorn's engineers worked towards implementing a solution.

“Even though our offices don't lend themselves easily to group training, the Tricorn Systems staff did a fantastic job and aftersales support has been excellent,” he advises. “We soon realised that any queries we have about the system, questions about honing it for our needs or changing reports, there is always someone at the end of the phone who is actually able to help. We place so much trust in the system and it is reassuring that if we need support it's always there.”

Mr Ellis concludes: “Using our Tricorn Systems solution has improved levels of efficiency throughout the company and enhanced productivity. We are wholly focused on developing close working relationships with our customers and can now provide accurate and concise information from quotation to delivery. Tricorn has effectively taken the juggling and the drudgery out of our business enabling us to get on with what we do best.

“I have recommended Tricorn Systems to both customers and competitors and would not hesitate to do so again.”
Tricorn Systems is based in Farnham, Surrey and has extensive experience in dealing with UK-based manufacturing companies with more than 300 customers operating the Tricorn production control software on a daily basis.

In addition to the Job Processing system, Tricorn also provides an integrated quality assurance module – suitable for ISO9001 and AS9100) – workshop scheduling, time and attendance and DMC management systems.”

Tricorn Systems
www.tricornsystems.co.uk

Pope & Meads
www.popeandmeads.co.uk

 

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