After years of juggling spreadsheets, manual administration and constant pressure on the shopfloor,
Newtech High Speed Turning Ltd found the clarity, control and confidence they had been searching for when they adopted
PSL Datatrack production control software – and owner Alan Riley describes the change as nothing short of a “godsend”.
Founded in 2003 and based in Kirkdale, Liverpool, Newtech specialises in CNC machining, running batch sizes from one-offs to 100,000 parts. With a range of fixed and sliding head lathes, three-, four- and five-axis machining centres and high-specification CAD/CAM programming, the company serves demanding sectors including defence, electronics, automotive, food processing and fabrication.
For years, the team ran the business with a mixture of accounting software and spreadsheets – workable, but far from ideal as customer expectations grew and workloads increased. Mr Riley continued: “We needed to streamline, become more profitable and get more time back to do the things we needed to. Our quotes were often too slow, meaning we missed out on work.”
He first heard about PSL Datatrack from another trusted company he was working with at the time. “They told me to go for it, but I thought it was for bigger companies as we were small at the time. I thought it might be expensive or hard to run for a small company with only a couple of guys, but it turned out to be the opposite – it turned out to be a ‘godsend’ for us. When we did take the plunge, it wasn’t scary at all — it was really simple to use and made a big difference to the business.”
The decision to adopt PSL Datatrack was reinforced when Mr Riley met the company’s managing director, Geoff Gartland. “The sales process was first-class. Geoff came up to Merseyside to see us, and it was great to meet in person. He could see we had the need for a system and there was real synergy between the two companies. PSL Datatrack are experienced and will guide you along with their software to ensure it works the way you need it to. That has certainly been our experience.”
Significant reduction in quoting timesMr Riley was up and running in just a few days – it was that simple, even during a busy period moving factory and with personal milestones like getting married and having a child. One of the first big wins was quotations — with each machine set up as a cost centre in PSL Datatrack and all materials held in the Material Stocks module, quoting times reduced significantly.
Mr Riley explained: “Getting quotes out of the door quickly makes a big difference to winning business. Quotes don’t necessarily need to be the cheapest to win work! Back in the day, sometimes by the time we got a quote out to a customer, they would already placed an order with someone else. Now, we can get a quote out within a couple of minutes of an email.”
Beyond quoting, PSL Datatrack manages works orders, purchasing, goods received notes, delivery notes and invoicing – all from information already entered earlier in the process. “Everything’s quick, simple and puts me on the shopfloor, which is the main thing. Tons more quotes get actioned and repeat orders are easy – a few clicks of a button and the job is done. It also helps to keep the shopfloor staff productive.”
With the job tracking system and works order management software, Newtech now has full visibility of what needs to be made, when, and on which machines. Mr Richter said: “From a quality point of view, everything is tracked in the system, giving us full traceability on every works order. Materials and certificates are stored in the system, and there is a job sheet for each job automatically available when it is raised. This includes an inspection sheet — it is making our day job a whole lot simpler!
“Traceability has become increasingly important across Newtech’s customer sectors, and PSL Datatrack’s documentation and ISO 9001 traceability software features make managing this level of quality far easier. It is so simple to use and easy to follow as everything is in one place. I love the reporting in PSL Datatrack – we don’t have to put any reports together ourselves. It takes just a couple of clicks and we can see anything we need to. Having business information and KPIs at our fingertips is so powerful.”
Live scheduling informationThe system’s flexibility has also allowed Newtech to benefit from bespoke features. Mr Riley explained: “A couple of years ago, PSL Datatrack put together a custom Status Board for me so I can see live scheduling information. It is paperless, updates automatically on the shopfloor and gives key information at a glance – I know exactly where jobs are without having to go back to the office.”
Since adopting PSL Datatrack, Newtech has been able to focus on growth, investing in machines and serving customers efficiently. Mr Riley continued: “We have had a number of moves over the years, and I’m not sure we could have done that without PSL Datatrack – the system has greatly improved our quoting process, which has helped us to win more work and ultimately grow, keeping existing customers happy and meeting the expectations of new ones.”
Looking to the future, Alan is exploring additional modules from PSL Datatrack, including purchasing, to further streamline operations. He said: “We are looking into the purchasing side of the business more now and want to start transferring purchase invoices straight across to Sage. The latest version of PSL Datatrack has made some improvements so we can better analyse spend without needing to go into the accounts system. That’s exactly what we need – quick data.”
With 27 modules now available, PSL Datatrack can be tailored to exactly what a business needs and scaled as it grows, supporting everything from quoting and scheduling to shop floor data collection (SFDC) and quality control. This means that manufacturers of any size can benefit from the software – PSL Datatrack’s smallest customer is a one-man band, and its largest has around 100 employees.
Continued investment in the modular manufacturing software means Newtech High Speed Turning Limited can keep growing, take on more work and add new equipment as it is needed. Mr Riley added: “More machines – like any good engineer, that’s what we want,”
Mr Riley concluded: “I wish I had done it years ago. If you are starting out now, it is something you have to do – having everything in one place from the beginning would have been the best situation. Obviously there is a cost involved, but it is cost-effective. It took my time out of the office and got me back onto the shop floor again, where I can help to produce parts. No more sitting on computers all day doing the boring stuff – PSL Datatrack takes care of all that! In addtion, the help and support are second-to-none.”