PSL Datatrack, the production control software system designed for both small- and medium-size manufacturing businesses, features a large number of standard reports in all of its production control software modules which help to provide users with essential planning and management information throughout their production process. As such, many customers are taking advantage of the software’s customised reporting service covering areas such as job profitability and supplier performance.

One such company is Smart Turn Ltd of Northampton, which has called upon PSL Datatrack to write and promptly deliver a series of bespoke reports covering many different aspects of its business, including the value of work in progress, delivery performance and material stock/value.

The most crucial, however, has been a customised version of the standard ‘Component Stocks Listing’ report detailing the drawing number, drawing issue, description, batch number, location, works order number and the quantity of all components currently in stock.

Smart Turn director Sean Crowley said: “It has hit the nail on the head and has brought a real quantum change, saving us hours of work — the benefits have already more than exceeded the cost.”

He manages all of the company’s manufacturing projects, covering the supply of quality assured valves, fasteners and other engineering components to the oil and gas industries. He has also fulfilled the potential of the original PSL Datatrack ‘Quotations‘, ‘Sales Orders‘ and ‘Finance’ modules acquired by the company.

This fulfilment meant the company was ready to add the ‘Gauge Calibration’, ‘Job Costing’, ‘Scheduling’, ‘Shop Floor Data Collection’ (SFDC) and ‘Tool Definitions’ modules.

Mr Crowley said: “These have helped us to succeed in our mission to provide the most economic manufacturing processes, achieving the expected quality standards within a time frame that exceeds customers’ expectations.”

Key to future growth
Smart Turn centres its production on a range of CNC machining centres, lathes, milling and multi-spindle machines. Alongside these high-specification machine tools and a major expansion in its workshop area, the company’s long-term investment in PSL Datatrack is seen as key to its future growth as it looks to diversify into new markets and services.

These markets include the motorsport and medical instrument sectors with new services embracing laser marking, spark erosion and thread rolling. The company knows that, with PSL Datatrack, any new customer quotations can be turned around very quickly as all hourly rates and machine capacity data is readily available.

All areas of the company’s manufacturing processes have been scrutinised to see where improvements could be made. On a typical day, there are as many as 150 jobs running through the workshop and any hold ups can have a knock-on effect in production and meeting promised delivery times. Gauge management was immediately identified as an area of concern, with some 850 thread gauges in use and their calibration poorly managed through a complicated, paper-based manual filing system.

Addition of the ‘Gauge Calibration’ module has dramatically improved the situation, with each gauge recalibrated yearly and backed up with confirmation emails and digital certificates held on the system. The SFDC module has had a similarly positive effect on the day-to-day running of the business, enabling jobs to be planned more effectively and better prioritised to meet deadlines. It has also allowed Smart Turn to give customers immediate information on the status of their order.

Relaying real time information on the shopfloor has also been addressed with the acquisition of a ‘Status Board’ display screen. This interfaces with the ‘Time and Attendance’ module through a utility written by PSL Datatrack, linked to a facial recognition-based clocking in system. Supervisors can see at a glance which operators have clocked on or are yet to do so for a particular machine or job and take any necessary follow-up actions.

Smart Turn has therefore taken full advantage of the modularity of PSL Datatrack and customisation of its standard reports to become more efficient. All of the data needed to develop their customised reports already existed within the system and they were delivered within days at a highly acceptable cost.

Mr Crowley concluded: “The PSL Datatrack team is very accommodating and we have received excellent support not only through customised reporting, but also for general technical queries. I would always recommend this production control system to anyone.”