Page 94 - MetalForming October 2015

Big Data
Promises
to Pay Big
Dividends
...for SWD, Inc., a continuous- improvement-minded provider of metal- finishing and fastener-sorting services. New data-discovery and analysis software allows SWD management to unlock new pathways to improved performance, and serves as the foundation for its customer- communication strategy of the future.
BY BRAD F. KUVIN, EDITOR
Earlier this year, Chicagoland metal finisher SWD Inc. made a significant capital investment that company president Rick Delawder strongly believes provides the company with a strong competitive advantage. New data mining and analysis software from Advizor Solutions, Downers Grove, IL, now has the firm’s management team “looking at things way differently than our competition,” Delawder says.
“The standalone software reaches deep into our databases to empower our managers to understand better what’s hap- pening on the shop floor,” Delawder continues, “and make decisions to improve efficiency and consistency. Access to the data, and high-level data analysis also lets us optimize sched- uling and production planning. And, last but certainly not least, it improves customer communication. We have real data to back up discussions related to our performance for indi- vidual customers and projects, rather than just relying on intuition.”
SWD’s metal-finishing customer liaison Mike Endres uses the Advizor data-discovery and analysis software to run a backlog report based on customer due date. Six SWD staffers regularly use the software to dig deep into the firm’s databases and run reports that help them make critical decisions in a variety of areas.
Decision-making in an Order-Intensive Environment
SWD operates a 165,000-sq.-ft. facility in Addison, IL, where more than 150 employees process hundreds of orders per day. Among its process offerings, performed for manu- facturers of fasteners, metal stampings, springs and other metal parts, are computer-controlled plating, dip-spin coat- ing (a non-chrome corrosion-protection process) and fas- tener sorting. Customers include automotive and agricul- tural-equipment OEMs, each with their own unique coating specifications but all with similar quality requirements. That is, as close to zero defects as possible, a directive that push- es Delawder to drive continuous improvement throughout the company. And it’s that drive that ultimately led him to invest in the Advizor software.
“We often have more than 1000 active orders being man- aged at any one time,” says Delawder. “We needed a tool to open up new ways to see what’s happening on the floor, dis- cover inefficiencies and optimize performance. In that way,
92 MetalForming/October 2015
www.metalformingmagazine.com