Insider’s View: A Production Manager’s Journey with Cetec ERP
Before joining the Cetec ERP team, I worked as an operations manager. As our small electronics manufacturing company grew, our pain points multiplied. We knew we needed an ERP to help us manage our production floor, and eventually chose Cetec ERP as our provider. Our goal was better organization and a clearer visual of our daily operations.
Before using Cetec ERP, we had a binder of work instructions. Due to ISO compliance regulations, the binder had to be reprinted every time we ran a job. We kept all the files on our company drive. As a result, we were often trying to figure out which drawings or instructions to print. If we chose the wrong ones, we found ourselves working off of outdated instructions. In the worst cases, we built parts to an outdated revision that then had to be scrapped or reworked, costing us not only components but labor time.
After we implemented Cetec ERP, I didn’t have to sift through files trying to find all the correct documents for various pieces. Instead, I was able to save instructions and drawings to specific part revisions. When I released an order, production workers no longer had to wonder if they were building off of the correct instructions. All attached documents are stored in one spot, and when the order is released to production, the relevant document is the only drawing they can see.
To learn more about how Cetec ERP manages your documents effectively and keeps operators running on the right work instructions, you can check out our detailed guide.
Before Cetec ERP, preventing bottlenecks was tedious and time-consuming. I had to observe operators on the floor with a stopwatch, and take cycle times every few weeks. I only had a very rough estimate of when one job would be done and we could change over to the next. It wasn’t easy to catch small issues that were building up and creating longer process times.
With Cetec ERP, I was able to put our estimated labor plans into the BOM itself and run a report to show me the estimated operations times versus the actual time workers logged. This allowed me to clearly see where bottlenecks were forming without spending hours on the floor. With such specific information, we were able to quickly swarm issues and resolve them via training, updated build processes, and overall process improvements.
Cetec ERP’s Actual versus Estimated Time report not only helps identify bottlenecks and improves your line studies, but opens the door for process improvements. Learn more about the Actual vs Estimate report here.
With Cetec ERP’s Scheduling, I had a clear understanding of when jobs would be wrapping up, and when I needed the next job kitted and available for the floor. I also loved the ability to see what jobs were in which location. It came in very handy to see when boards were done running through SMT and ready for the next step, or jobs that were finished being kitted and queued for the floor.
Finite scheduling allows you to set your floor capacity and schedule jobs more efficiently. For a detailed guide on how Production Scheduling is handled in Cetec ERP, check out our detailed guide here.
Implementing Cetec ERP really did bring us up to that next level in the manufacturing world. It provided much-needed organization and a clear oversight of the entire process. This very clearly highlighted root causes to issues we had been struggling with for years, and enabled us to correct and better our processes. Our now streamlined operations meant production cycles became more predictable, allowing us to meet customer demands with greater agility and accuracy. The real-time data analytics offered by Cetec ERP empowered us to make informed decisions swiftly, driving continuous improvement throughout our organization. Cetec ERP not only addressed our immediate challenges but also positioned us for sustainable growth in the dynamic manufacturing landscape.