Bristol-based
AVPE Systems, a manufacturer of components and assemblies for the aerospace industry, has achieved a 30% increase in shopfloor uptime since implementing smart technology supplied by
FourJaw Manufacturing Analytics. Part of the Broadway Group, AVPE supplies aerospace customers in the UK, Europe and Asia with complex machined components. It specialises in airframe and landing gear parts and machining castings, forgings and 3-D printed components.
AVPE introduced Sheffield-based FourJaw’s plug-and-play analytics platform in 2023 as part of a broader business transformation programme to enhance productivity, eliminate process inefficiencies and gain capacity. Data gathered using FourJaw has enabled it to identify and address the top causes of downtime across its factory, boosting overall production uptime by almost a third.
The manufacturer has also used data gathered with FourJaw to improve the accuracy of its planning processes. Armed with a real-time view of production schedules across its factory and a more precise understanding of how long each production run takes to complete, AVPE can provide more accurate lead times to customers and unlock additional capacity by finding more space in its schedules for urgent incoming jobs.
Sean Thomas, head of operations at AVPE Systems, said: “FourJaw has delivered a significant and sustained improvement in the productivity levels we are getting from our manufacturing centres. Monitoring downtime, eliminating the various causes of waste in our processes, and deploying staff to where they are needed most has helped achieve a 30% overall increase in uptime.”
“We used to focus on fixing the most irritating things rather than the issues that are now proven to have caused the most downtime and lost productivity. In some areas, even without additional resources, we have seen a 10 to 15% increase in productivity by addressing the true causes of downtime with FourJaw.”
Chris Iveson, FourJaw Manufacturing Analytics CEO, added: “Manufacturers have recognised the importance of using business intelligence and analytics technologies such as ours in recent years, as the race to become more productive and competitive has picked up. This is particularly evident in sectors such as aerospace where there is huge pressure on the supply chain to meet demand.”
He concluded: “AVPE is achieving fantastic results with FourJaw, improving uptime and productivity, supporting investment decisions and aligning its processes perfectly with the OEMs and Tier One customers it serves in the global aerospace industry.”