ENPAY TRANSFORMER COMPONENTS needed a solution for tracking materials—specifically, metal coils—that enter the production process. The company placed significant emphasis on delivery speed and also required that the solution integrate with SOFTIP’s ERP PROFIT system.
Customer Request
Until now, input coils with transformer sheet metal were labeled only by hand upon receipt. Receiving was carried out based on the customer’s delivery note, with the weight specified on that document. The discrepancy between the declared and actual weight caused the customer problems with production planning, and locating suitable coils for a given cutting plan was time-consuming and resulted in production downtime. The primary goal of the solution was to speed up the process of locating information on the location of suitable material for a given cutting plan and to improve the accuracy of actual inventory levels by defining the actual weights of the input material. The desired outcome is to eliminate downtime and discrepancies in inventory records and to increase production efficiency.
Proposed Solution
Based on the analysis conducted, a solution for material tracking was proposed using the QUALTIN software tool, which enables rapid project design and implementation while taking the customer’s requirements into account to the greatest extent possible. Durable plastic labels were proposed for material identification. Given that the input material—the coil—is divided into smaller coils with a minimum width of 10 mm during the manufacturing process, we propose labeling the material with a 2D code. Data on actual weight will be fed into the system via direct communication between the system and Wi-Fi scales. Operator login, code scanning, and parameter entry will be performed using industrial-grade, durable ZEBRA PDA terminals.Label printing at the receiving area and on the production line will be handled using HONEYWELL thermal transfer printers .
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SOLUTION
Label Printing
Input labels measuring 100×70 are printed at the RECEIVING workstation. These labels are used for basic identification of the master spool. During the production process, daughter reels are labeled with separate 100×10 mm labels containing information on their actual weight and a unique code. Label printing is handled by HONEYWELL thermal transfer printers with a label feeder.
Software and Hardware Solutions
Operators log in to perform a given operation using ZEBRA MC33 PDA terminals. At the same time, the system verifies whether the employee has authorization to perform the selected operation. Operations are selected from the main MENU on the PDA terminal screen. The PDA terminals communicate with the system via a Wi-Fi network. The built-in 2D barcode scanner reads the codes on the spools themselves, as well as, for example, the cutting plan code. If a coil is rejected, the operator enters an error code. Location tracking is supported as a matter of course, so the system records the location of a specific coil, as well as, for example, the location of material of a given quality. If the material is being weighed, the operator can initiate communication with the Wi-Fi scale directly from the PDA terminal, allowing the actual weight of the material being weighed to be entered into the system.
This solution allows for the weighing of identical spools together, followed by the printing of a specified number of labels indicating the actual weight of each spool. This speeds up the weighing process.
The software is installed on the customer’s server. All data is recorded in a database. The ERP system retrieves data from this database. The software imports the cutting plan, which is used to define production.
Delivery of the Solution
From the very beginning of the analysis, we maintained communication with the supplier of the PROFIT ERP system. Based on this communication, a final price quote was presented to the customer in early October 2013. Acceptance of the proposal was confirmed by the receipt of the order for project implementation in late October 2013. The project was handed over to the testing phase in December 2013, approximately 1.5 months after the contract was signed. During the testing phase, the project was further expanded to include additional features requested by the customer. The rapid implementation of the project itself, as well as the quick response to the project expansion, were made possible by the use of the QUALTIN software solution.
Customer Testimonial
Pavol Uhnák – Project Manager:
The barcode implementation project was planned at our company primarily to streamline the tracking of material flow, identify opportunities for cost savings in material management, reduce the time spent on handling and recording materials, and, last but not least, to optimize material allocation—which the solution ultimately delivered. During implementation, we encountered a few problems—which are probably hard to avoid in a project of this scale—but they were promptly resolved, primarily by Mr. Kvaltin.
The material tracking system is currently fully operational and running smoothly, which is also due to the fact that employees have responded very positively to it.