In this Q&A, Tom Rootes, operations director at MRP software specialist, Redthorn discusses with Ed Hill the advantages of employing production control systems for companies working in the aerospace supply chain.
Redthorn has been developing and implementing market leading MRP software and consultancy solutions for the global engineering sector for more than 30 years, primarily developed for SMEs and medium-sized businesses. Its goal is to help customers unlock genuine business potential through increased margins, improved productivity and cost efficiencies.
Q) What are the fundamental benefits of an MRP system?
The primary function of an MRP system is to aid the planning and procurement of materials to support the engineering process. In addition, most MRP systems have at their core a combination of both material and (BOM) resource (work centre) planning to enable to operational management of an engineering company from quotation through to invoice.
Examples of the cost efficiency benefits that come from the system may include: improved stock management to reduce material or finished goods stock levels; monitoring quality KPIs to identify continuous improvement projects resulting in a lower cost of quality; capacity control to improve machine efficiencies and lower overtime costs and continuous improvement signals and reports triggered by the system.
Q) Are the days of paper job cards, paper management of contracts and work schedules over?
Times are changing, but the days of paper job cards are certainly not over; the majority of our customers still run a traditional job tracker that follows parts around the shopfloor. In recent years however, Redthorn has developed digital job cards which are now used by a number of our customers. Interestingly this area of development was driven by an Australian customer, a region that we often see as more digitally advanced than the UK.
Electronic Contracts and Schedules have been in use for a number of years and most of the OEMs issue work packages in Spreadsheet or XML format. At Redthorn we wrote our first Electronic Data Interchange in the late 1990s.
Q) What are the specific benefits of Redthorn in the aerospace sector?
The Redthorn System has been deployed in aerospace companies for over 20 years and has the in-built functionality to support the Aerospace Manufacturing Process.
One of the specific benefits of Redthorn is our unique approach in offering a suite of additional support modules into high value engineering companies. Our employees have considerable experience consulting in or working in the aerospace industry delivering a diverse range of interventions across technical and cultural projects, including subject matters, such as Policy Deployment, Continuous Improvement, and Leadership and Management.
Redthorn was a key Strategic Service Provider within the £8.4m North West Aerospace Alliance (NWAA) Aerospace Supply Chain Excellence Programme launched to create a world class aerospace supply chain in the region. We have recently been selected as a training provider to the new SC21/National Manufacturing Competitor Levels (NMCL) program within the aerospace and automotive sectors.
Q) How do MRP systems help manage work on the shopfloor? How do they incorporate systems such as distributive numerical control (DNC) and help to schedule and prioritise jobs?
An MRP system will have or will integrate with a scheduling package that schedules jobs on a priority and capacity basis based on a mathematical algorithm. The output of this is usually in the form of a Gantt chart and supporting ‘work to’ lists. These can then be deployed for use in production meetings or direct to machines on the shopfloor.
At the moment, for example, we are running a project to deliver scheduled job data to a Fastems pallet production system. This is a system which automates the delivery of work to a cluster of machines via an automated conveyer system, so in many ways it is an advance of DNC and a reflection of Industry 4.0.
Q) How do you help staff not used to using these systems or transferring to Redthorn for the first time?
The most important key to a successful implementation is the quality of our staff who deliver it. Our trainers and helpdesk have many years of experience providing online, classroom, and one to one tuition. It is common, particularly within SMEs, to be presented with staff who have limited experience of or who have never used a computer.
In addition, customers are supported by our UK-based helpdesk and Redthornzone.com, our web-based knowledge centre which contains system videos, manuals, FAQs, and latest development news.
The Redthorn System has the following internal features to aid ease of implementation: a recently redesigned menu structure that can be modified to reflect the exact workflow of the individual user. Secondly, user specific privileges which remove from the menu structure anything not needed by a user. For example, someone working in the stores can have a very simple looking system with a handful of menu items to choose from.
Q) How do you support your customers after they have implemented these systems?
All our customers are supported by our telephone and email helpdesk, whose staff are on hand to help with any user or technical questions. They also have access to our Knowledge Centre and account management team.
The vision of the company is to utilise the consultancy experience to develop an intelligent system that can not only run an engineering business but help improve its performance through applications that control best practices, continuous improvement and problem resolution. This may be directly through the system itself or through add on modules and applications we have in the pipeline.
Q) What feedback regarding Redthorn do you get back from your customers?
We run regular customer workshops and the most satisfying feedback is that it is easy to use and good value for money. People have traditionally seen MRP and ERP systems as a ‘must have’ for operations and have not necessarily looked at the return on investment (ROI). This thankfully is now changing and for example, people are acknowledging the system’s value in areas such as reducing cost of quality, or efficiency improvements realised through the interpretation of the data provided by the data capture system. This in turn is allowing customers to realise significant cost savings across a number of metrics including staff costs.
Q) How do you see these systems in the future integrating with Industry 4.0, the Smart Factory, automation, robotics, additive manufacturing and AI?
The MRP system will be a critical cog in the evolution of Industry 4.0 as it contains, manages and processes so much data related to the manufacturing process. The MRP systems will evolve so they are constantly communicating with the systems around them, whether they are machines, robots or other AI related systems.
For example, we are currently involved with a project at Warren Services to have Redthorn MRP communicate directly with the machines to collate actual machine run-time data to its own planned and recorded data. This can be then used to measure the quality of quotation, the accuracy of data collection and then utilise the output to make improvements.
Q) What makes Redthorn different from the competition?
I think Redthorn is unique in that we have an extremely well-established and cost-effective software solution that is supported by a team with years of experience working or consulting in high value engineering. This combination means we can add value across a far broader area of the customer’s business, ranging from subject matters such as MRP system best practises to leadership and management training.
