Frank Allart boosts shop floor efficiency with new data capture solution

By Visdata Limited
schedule27th Jan 15

A Birmingham-based manufacturing company has improved its processes, shortened its' lead times and boosted shop floor efficiency following an investment in a state-of-the-art data capture system.

A reduction in manufacturing batch sizes led architectural ironmongery firm, Frank Allart Ltd, to reassess its processes and look for new ways to streamline its' production line.

The company, which has been established in Birmingham for over 100 years, needed a new way to track the progress of individual orders and their stage in the manufacturing process.

Three months ago, it began the gradual introduction of a new data capture system to ensure that anyone in the business knew what stage any job was at, at the touch of a button.

Since its introduction, the company has transformed subcontract despatch into a more efficient area which no longer relies on one person to know the status of multiple jobs at any one time.

Steve Broom, operations director at Frank Allart, said: “Over the years, our manufacturing batch sizes have reduced quite substantially and we now manufacture more bespoke products in smaller batches with an emphasis on quality finishes.

“This means that we have a lot more jobs in progress at any one time, and we realised that the way we had been tracking jobs manually was no longer the most effective way to manage workflow.

“By investing in a new data capture system, any member of the team can check the status of any job at any time. This has not only helped us to regain control of our growing order book, but it’s improved the service for our customers too.”

The system not only gives real-time information on any given job, it also gives production staff more control over order tracking and job prioritisation.

Steve added: “We are gradually rolling the system out across other areas of the factory and we’re seeing some real operational benefits too. Previously, we had two administrative assistants who had to manually input each job and its status every day. The system has replaced the need to do this, freeing up their time to focus on our customers and our service, so we’re now making far better use of their time.”

The system was installed by Burton Upon Trent-based Visdata Ltd. Matt Benfield, managing director, added: “Frank Allart is a firm which is steeped in history but fully appreciates the need to move with the times and use new and emerging technologies to make sure it’s operating as efficiently as it can.

“We have worked with the business since 2000, adding bespoke solutions to its original sales order processing module that enables it to develop its technology in keeping with the changing needs of its business. It also has a CRM system and a reporting package which gives it instant access to information via email and which we developed specifically for the business.”

Steve added: “Visdata continues to work closely with us to make sure that we invest in improvements that will deliver visible results quickly. It’s important that we make the best use of the employees we have and focus most on the areas that are important. Production and customer service are central to our business and are the two areas in which we have, and will continue, to invest in and develop.”