Page 26 - MetalForming July 2017
P. 26

Mired in Inspection Documentation?
This job-shop manufacturer of primarily medical products sure is, but by sharpening its ERP-software sword, the pain is minimized. Among critical ERP-managed functions: incoming material qualification and inventory monitoring, shop-floor timekeeping (with alerts), and contract review.
 How does a
sharper ERP
sword slice
through the job-shop
grind that can keep
companies mired in
paperwork and sweat-
ing numerous details,
rather than jumping on
new orders quickly, and
moving them in and
out of the shop ASAP?
At medical-part man-
ufacturer Unity Preci-
sion Manufacturing,
Dayton, MN, one par-
ticularly impactful
ERP-software program
is one that manages
contract review. The
software, an add-on
called Synergy to
Unity’s JobBoss ERP system, moves new jobs simultaneously through the company’s engineering, production and quality departments. Intially implementing Synergy in 2009 and fully utilizing it in 2015 (along with Knowl- edgeSync) has allowed Unity to slice more than a week from its lead time on many jobs.
“The goal is to move new jobs entered into the system out onto the
software package to provide full CRM func- tionality. It helps Unity’s management team and sales people keep track of customers and their vast variety of custom orders. It includes sev- eral modules, such as those designed to han- dle customer service, sales and workflow management, and can be customized.
Asked to identify trends challenging Van Essen and his manage- ment team to continue performing at a high level, he notes that medical customers (medical products rep-
resent as much as 90 percent of the company’s business) keep raising the stakes when it comes to inspection reports and certifications, and for other types of documentation. Hence the increased emphasis on automating the company’s documentation processes.
“We may have as many as 400 or 500 jobs active in our shop at any one time, with typical order quantities of less than 100,” Van Essen says. “Customers
24 MetalForming/July 2017
www.metalformingmagazine.com
BY BRAD F. KUVIN, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Using JobBoss 12.0 on the shop floor, a Unity Precision employee accesses the Workstation Driver module to manage functions such as time and attendance, and to enter time against a job.
shop floor in less than a week, and acknowledgements in three days or less,” shares Mike Van Essen, general manager and owner at Unity Precision. “And, for those highly complex jobs, being able to quickly move new orders through the front-office systems gives us more time on the shop floor, if need- ed, to ensure optimum quality.”
Synergy, explains Van Essen, inte- grates with the JobBoss standalone































































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