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Our
Customers - Harmon Form Tools |
| In
2000, Harmon acquired a site in Haviland Road, on the Ferndown
Industrial Estate in Wimborne, Dorset and set about constructing
30,000 sq ft purpose-built premises. In 2002, the Metal Treatments
division was set up, initially for the purpose of reducing lead
times on in-house programmes. This division now also offers
the service to other suppliers and Harmon customers direct.
Plans are in place to extend the Treatments facility. New lines
have been purchased and Harmon is currently awaiting planning
permission to build an extension to its factory. |
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Investment
has always been a high priority for Harmon, as is evidenced
by the latest CNC machines in the machining and grinding facilities.
Investment in a new IT infrastructure with an emphasis on more
effective production scheduling has also proved highly beneficial
for the company, as its use of Preactor 200 FCS proves.
Historic Constraints
In terms of historic methods of production scheduling, 20 years
ago Harmon relied on a T-Card system, as Managing Director Rob
Harmon explained. "We would write out the T-Cards and move
them from rack to rack as production progressed. However this
was very time consuming, so 10 years ago we put in place a very
basic shop loading system. The problem was that it wasn't really
flexible enough to perfectly complement our production processes.
We make aircraft parts with long manufacturing lead times. A
typical aircraft undercarriage axle can take nine months to
manufacture and some 200 to 300 separate manufacturing operations
can be involved, including work undertaken by sub-contracted
parties. So in order to handle these complex and involved lead
times and high-volume production, in addition to the need for
our Progress Department to be able to efficiently chase sub-contractors
for parts when delivery is due, we realised we needed to source
a more efficient scheduling software solution."
The
Solution
Rob Harmon initially became
aware of Preactor 200 after he attended one of the leading software
shows at the NEC about five years ago. "We wanted to gauge
what solution would be ideal for our scheduling needs,"
said Rob. "In total we attended five scheduling software
demonstrations, but Preactor stood out as the superior solution.
Within three months we had discussed the purchase of Preactor
200 with Preactor Solution Provider, RMS. They came on site
for about a week, and configured the software for our specific
requirements. For example, information regarding our shop floor
machinery plus data about our suppliers was loaded on to the
system. We also bought licences for two Preactor viewers so
that access to the scheduling charts could be made available
at different points on the shop floor. In this way our supervisors
can see at a glance the scheduling routine. Our sales team can
also look at a viewer to determine our loading capacity so customers
can be kept better informed about feasible delivery dates etc."
Implementation was completed within three months, although as
Harmon changes and adapts as a company RMS regularly adjusts
the system to ensure the optimum fit.
The
Benefits
Since going live with
the system, Harmon has benefited from being able to deliver
more accurately within the specified lead time. "And we
now know exactly how our shop floor capacity is loaded, whereas
previously it was more a case of putting our fingers in the
air," explained Rob. "Also, we are far more cost efficient
in terms of utilising staff time on the shop floor. And with
Preactor 200 we can simply drag and drop Gantt chart information
to slightly adjust the schedule as we go. This is far more advantageous
than cut and past-based solutions in terms of saved time and
increased convenience."
Harmon is currently linking Preactor 200 to its own bespoke
ERP system through the company's barcoding system. "This
will result in all information regarding bills of materials,
job orders and route cards being fed into Preactor automatically
as it is available," said Rob. "Then a shop floor
schedule can be completed quickly within Preactor ready for
action."
Lean
and Agile
Harmon has also recently
re-arranged its machinery in cells in order to put in place
a Lean manufacturing methodology. "We have been planning
to achieve multi-manning, extended hours and unmanned machinery,
and this is all starting to happen," Rob pointed out. "We
also have in place a Lean regime in terms of staff development.
One of the biggest problems in our line of work is obtaining
and retaining skilled staff. Currently we have three machines
set up as a Lean cell with three skilled personnel. When we
set up the next cell of three machines, one of the operators
from the first cell can move to the second cell. Then we can
move a semi-skilled operator to the first cell and bring his
level of competence up to that of a fully skilled operator.
This means we can more efficiently increase our level of skilled
staff, which is so necessary if we are to successfully expand
the business further." From an Agile manufacturing perspective,
all Harmon's tooling has been laid out in cells, so that a machine
can be re-tooled quickly to speed the manufacturing process
and utilise machine time as effectively as possible.
Rob
summed up the company's experience of using Preactor 200. "We
are very happy with the performance of the system. Preactor
200 is a very good fit for our scheduling requirements. Basically,
we load capacity onto our machines and the software allows us
to do this very effectively and cost efficiently. Our customers
have commented that many of their other suppliers do not have
in place such a reliable and efficient scheduling system. This,
I believe, can give us a competitive edge. And when our customers
are of the calibre of Airbus and Smiths, being able to provide
high-quality goods on time is absolutely critical. Over the
past four years we have doubled in size as a business, and we
are planning to expand further. Preactor will be invaluable
in this regard."
Mike Novels, Managing Director of Preactor International, commented.
"It's always nice to see a British company doing so well
and expanding so rapidly in such a competitive business, and
I am pleased that we and RMS were able to play our part in supporting
Harmon Manufacturing to become leaner, more agile and meet the
ever increasing overseas competition."
RMS director Don Dyas added. "The moment the people from
Harmon came onto our booth at the NEC it was clear they knew
exactly what they wanted. With Preactor, we have the ability
to deliver a solution which meets customer needs precisely,
so the match was ideal."
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