Page 14 - MetalForming July 2014

Software for Manufacturing
OEE Charts Highlight the Latest SPC-Software Release
during scheduled production times. It also can help manufacturers spot problem areas.
OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) charts are among new features in the recently released version 8.3 of Gain- Seeker Suite SPC software from Hertzler
Systems, Goshen, IN. OEE helps manu- facturers learn how well their assets are being used to produce quality products, and to determine if more can be produced
“Over the last few years, a number of our customers have used GainSeeker to collect and analyze OEE data,” says Hert- zler CEO Evan Miller. “We looked at what they were doing and added features to make GainSeeker even more powerful and useful in their efforts to drive manu- facturing excellence.”
Cost-Estimating Software Makes Huge Dent in Quote Response Time
Hertzler Systems: 800/958-2709; www.hertzler.com
request issue, now other items in the estimates can be modified quickly. This includes changing or adding new work centers, swapping out materials, and comparing multiple estimates to find the best or least-cost manufacturing process.
MTI Systems: 800/644-4318; www.mtisystems.com
Since Alpa Precision, LLP, a Houston, TX-based machine shop serving the oil and gas industry, began using its new cost- estimating software (in April 2013), it’s enjoyed a 20-percent reduc- tion in quoting time.
“This provides more time to estimate more quotes and for double- checking quotes,” says company owner and president Alberto Lozano, “as well as offering more programming time for manufacturing parts.”
Updated ERP Software
More Collaborative, More Responsive
Lozano’s decision to invest in the new software (Costimator, from MTI Systems, West Springfield, MA) arose after watching one demonstration. Half way through the presentation, Lozano saw just what he was hoping for—a better way to estimate quotes with multiple quantities without duplicating steps in the process. “Repeating these steps, for each estimate, was not only time-con- suming and frustrating,” says Lozano. “I felt it was leaving way too much room for error, which is something I simply cannot afford.
Epicor Software Corp. Austin, TX, has released Epicor ERP ver- sion 10, loaded with features to support today’s business imper- atives of social collaboration, deployment flexibility, accelerated performance and broad device accessibility. Based on the five prin- ciples of collaboration, choice, responsiveness, simplicity and mobil- ity, version 10 is designed, say company officials, to help organ- izations work better internally and externally, leveraging the knowledge and experience of the people and systems connect- ed together throughout the supply chain.
“We used to estimate quotes manually,” continues Lozano. “Now, Costimator automates much of what needs to be prepared and calculated. This not only helps us identify lower-cost ways of man- ufacturing parts or performing manufacturing processes more quick- ly, it helps us deliver more of the information that our cus- tomers want—right in the beginning.”
Epicor ERP version 10—on premise, cloud or managed serv- ice—features a new touch-enabled intuitive user interface designed to work with touchscreen devices. It also embodies the evolution to a fully socialized system of engagement, as Epicor Social Enterprise delivers an extensive collaboration and per- sonalization environment. Consumer-grade search-anywhere capabilities enable users to do cross-company searches, drill down into live information, and call and return data from any applica- tion in context, all from their own view into the ERP system. Epicor: 512/328-2300; www.epicor.com/ERP10
More and more, customers request quotes that include multiple quan- tities and in many cases, the requests are long after the quote has already been submitted. No matter when the changes are made, customers still expect consistently accurate results in a timely fashion.
Costimator not only solved Lozano’s ‘multiple quantities’
12 MetalForming/July 2014
www.metalformingmagazine.com
Version 8.3 also includes new scrap- costing features that help users quickly identify the key drivers of cost and lost pro- ductivity, and an inspection editor that helps users easily create inspection processes. These processes can run on a standard computer or a mobile device such as an iPad.