Making IT.

Information technology for the factory floor

By embracing information technology, Hoosier manufacturers are achieving impressive results in reducing product-development cycle times, enhancing supply-chain relationships and improving overall product quality.

For instance, when BAE Systems Controls in Fort Wayne was selected in October as one of the 10 best North American plants by Industry Week magazine, another northern Indiana company was a contributing factor. Hertzler Systems Inc. in Goshen is a computer software developer that provides tools for quality data collection and analysis.

"We use Hertzler software to help us identify where defects are occurring in the total manufacturing process," says Jeff Stephens, a senior engineer at BAE Systems, which makes aircraft engine controls for commercial and military planes. "We can then eliminate or correct those defect areas at the root cause. By eliminating defects, your work in progress will be reduced. Basically, the software has helped us fine tune our machines and processes."

"The Hertzler software enabled us to identify areas in our process which allowed wrong parts to be loaded onto the placement machines," Stephens explains. "As a result, we were able to mistake-proof those areas."

At BAE Systems, value-added productivity has increased 112 percent over the past five years. In addition, order-to-shipment lead time has plummeted 90 percent, and work in process has been reduced by 70 percent. Moreover, product reliability has improved by 300 percent. "These types of improvements helped us win the Industry Week award," Stephens notes.

According to Evan Miller, president of Hertzler Systems, "our objective is to eliminate scrap, waste and rework in business processes." One of Hertzler Systems' customers is a sheet-metal cutter. "The waste is material they cut out and throw away," Miller says. "If a company's No. 1 expense is material that doesn't turn into good product, that company needs to redesign the planning process so that they don't have as much wasted material."

Hertzler Systems software is also user-friendly. "You can't sell software these days that isn't easy to use," Miller notes.

Made2Manage Systems provides enterprise business applications for small and mid-size manufacturers. The Indianapolis software manufacturer allows companies to improve everything from sales and marketing to production and inventory control to finance and accounting, as well as electronic-business applications that permit customers and suppliers to order product and collaborate on projects with the manufacturer.

Currently, there are more than 130 firms based in Indiana that use Made2Manage as their primary software solution. One of the major application categories is supply-chain management, which helps the manufacturer understand and anticipate the demand for its product. There is also business intelligence, which allows manufacturers to identify their largest customers. Consequently, "manufacturers have the ability to focus some special attention on those very important customers notes Dave Wortman, CEO at Made2Manage Systems.

"There is a tremendous need for manufacturers to use information technology to improve their competitiveness in an expanding global economy," Wortman says. "Manufacturers increasingly view these applications as a strategic advantage."

Girtz Industries is a Monticello-based builder of sheet-metal enclosures for power-generation equipment. The company has been helped in several areas by embracing Made2Manage software, especially in detailing bills for materials. "For a top-level item that requires several subassemblies and then several components for those subassemblies, we can now drill down to every nut and bolt," explains plant manager Tom Eden. Determining the cost of each item, tracking inventory and checking production schedules are also easy with the software.

However, accurate customer quoting is perhaps the greatest benefit of the software. "We can compare actual numbers to estimated numbers," Eden says. "This allows us good data for quoting." Before, "we were not homogenized. We'd have four or five similar products with selling prices all over the board. We didn't have the software that would allow us to group similar products." On-time deliveries have also increased significantly. "The software measures how long, on average, a part remains at a work center before it is processed," Eden says.

Overall, "the level of detailing and tracking we can now achieve in accounting, production and purchasing is just phenomenal," Eden says. "We have about 24 users of the software, which is Windows-based, so it has standard icons.

Powerway Inc. in Indianapolis packages software and service solutions, mostly for manufacturers. One of the company's two main product lines is targeted for use within an enterprise to help increase the efficiencies and effectiveness of quality processes. "Our other product line allows for the collaboration between organizations (supplier and original equipment manufacturer, for example) regarding quality processes during the early design stages and enhances the communications between the parties," explains Ken Kratz, vice president of global automotive markets.

The enterprise products are all client/server software, while the collaborative software is a virtual Internet workplace. "If I make a design change, that change may impact up to seven layers in a supply chain. So those suppliers need to be provided with current and timely requirements and specifications," Kratz says. In short, "over the past 13 years we have had tremendous success in helping companies automate their quality processes.

Kratz cites a central Indiana automotive supplier with tens of thousands of computer-aided design (CAD) drawings. "For an engineer to request the current version of a CAD drawing was about a two-week process from request to the drawing actually landing on his desk," Kratz recounts. "We cut that turnaround down to seconds." Powerway and its strategic partners digitized all CAD drawings and stored them in a centralized repository. Today, "hundreds of engineers throughout the world have instant access to these documents by simply a click of the mouse from their desktop computer," Kratz says.

"Companies that recognize the value of quality have learned that quality cannot be inspected into products. It must be built into the processes that make those products," Kratz stresses. "In today's competitive business environment, cycle times for product development are shrinking. Effective supply-chain collaboration is viewed as an enabler to support these faster cycle times."