Lean scheduling gives Harmon competitive edge

This is to-order project engineering, explains managing director Rob Harmon. "We make aircraft parts with long lead times. A typical aircraft undercarriage axle can take nine months and some 200 to 300 manufacturing operations, including work undertaken by subcontracted parties." The firm had invested in CNC machines for machining and grinding, opened up metal treatment lines to reduce lead times, and moved to flexible lean cell production. But to manage its complexity and volumes, Harmon needed to move beyond visual systems, T-cards and shop loading systems. He found Preactor and, using reseller RMS, implemented a P200 APS system within three months. Says Harmon: "They came on-site for about a week, and configured the software for our requirements. For example, information regarding our shopfloor machinery plus data about our suppliers was loaded on to the system. "We also bought licences for two Preactor viewers so that access to the scheduling charts could be made available at different points on the shopfloor. In this way our supervisors can see at a glance the scheduling routine. Our sales team can also look at a viewer to determine loading capacity so customers can be kept informed." It's working well, says Harmon. "We now know exactly how our shopfloor is loaded, whereas previously it was more a case of putting our fingers in the air. Also, we are far more cost efficient in terms of utilising staff time. And we can drag and drop Gantt chart information to adjust the schedule as we go." Currently, the company is linking Preactor 200 to its bespoke ERP using its barcoding system. "This will result in all information regarding BoMs [bills of materials], job orders and route cards being fed into Preactor automatically as it is available," says Harmon. "Then a schedule can be completed within Preactor ready for action." His conclusion: "Our customers have commented that many of their other suppliers do not have such a reliable and efficient scheduling system. This can give us a competitive edge. And when our customers are of the calibre of Airbus and Smiths, being able to provide high-quality goods on-time is critical."