Automatic, perpetual adjustment of operations to each and every challenge thrown at it by the global market is the underlying benefit to Delta Hydraulics from its adoption of MRP software to replace manual scheduling.
Without it, says its Managing Director Mr John White, you would “never ever control production” with the overhead staff a jobbing shop like this requires.
Apart from simplifying processes to the point where management and staff are relatively stress free, transparency of processes gained right across the board in this manufacturing business is what guarantees profits.
“We run an employee overhead ratio of one to 10 (one non-material transforming support person for every 10 material transforming staff) in a jobbing shop application,” said Mr White.
“Material transforming people on the shopfloor is what adds value to this business. These people are critical to survival in today’s economy so we have to be highly productive with them, but without burning them out.”
Its success is managed by ManuSoft technology. In this case, a Windows SQL Server platform that has an extremely easy-to-use touchscreen format developed by Manufacturing Software, which is now releasing an online MRP product, ManuDyn, for instant rollout on an international level.
Delta Hydraulics supplies most of its products to the mining and bulk materials handling industries as well as Defence and waste handling, so accuracy and schedules are critical. Locally, its cylinders have been used in dam construction and the Collins Class submarines. The company’s export markets include New Zealand and China.
Some of its precision designed and engineered products include Delhoist Telescopic cylinders, Delhy Industrial cylinders, hydraulics power packs, hydraulics manifolds and integrated circuits. The company has one site and 107 employees.
MRP software at Delta Hydraulics allows a single person to do everything from basic inventory to all of the ordering daily. Without this ability, says Mr White, it would be totally impossible to control all the material supply and labour application to the company’s machine tools.
“Every time a job is entered, the software instantly changes the scheduling for each machine to optimise the shop floor and obviously adjusts all of the materials issues and ordering accordingly,” said Mr White.
“Without a system like this, we would not be able to compete at against the pressures of the current global market, but the software gives us that control we need.
“It automatically integrates the input of absolutely everybody on the shop floor and ensures our people to carry the weight evenly because it is their responsibility to enter data into the ManuSoft system accurately. There are disciplines in place to make sure that happens.
“One of its greatest benefits is that it uses data recorded by every individual that uses it, therefore supporting the load across the workforce. It is a very good equaliser for our workforce and the staff really like it.
“The reports we extract from it are wide-ranging and in any level of detail required at any time.
“For example, if you’re in the accounts section and want to know the works in progress then you can organise to get this at midnight every night.
“If you want to look up a specific job for someone on a phone enquiry you can look at the status of this job immediately.
“We have complete recognition of jobs, where they are at, bills of material, inventory and stocks etc, etc.
“We can drill right down to the specific job number or even an individual part number on any job because every activity in the whole operation has a number of layers of data that underpin it.
“Each machine tool on our shop floor has the capacity to be single, double or triple manned, or run on minimum hours or a chosen level of productivity etc.
“If we had not adopted this type of software in the late 1990s there is absolutely no way we would exist today.”