Seiki Systems reduces lost machining time

With a 50,000 ft² manufacturing site in Tewkesbury and a further 28,000 ft² manufacturing and head office facility in Dartford, Kent, the company uses KIDS (Kenard Information and Data Collection System), Kenard's in-house developed ERP system, to integrate manufacturing systems to keep overall control of both sites. However, on the shop floor the company relies on Seiki Systems' advanced scheduling, shop floor data collection (SFDC) and machine monitoring software to provide accurate and detailed business information. Designed to provide a high level of visibility and control in a manufacturing environment, Seiki Scheduler is a real-time finite capacity planning and scheduling system. Kenard also uses Seiki Systems' NMS (Networked Manufacturing System) which provides a vital two-way communication link between the shop floor and the production control office. At the shop floor level it can display work queues and allow SFDC, machine monitoring, technical data distribution, DNC and probe data collection. While the office analytical suite offers a remote display of machine status and alarms, machine performance analysis, individual job reports, and OEE. A recent MOD contract required even more control and Seiki Systems provided the solution as operations director Matt Cornford explains: "Our customer has a very tight schedule for the delivery of precision machined electronic enclosures. So tight, in fact, that we had to have a spindle up time of better than 90 per cent. "To achieve this Seiki Systems provided an application for our iPhones, replicating the graphics shown on the screens in the planning office and allowing us to see the exact status of every machine. The loading and operation of the five-machine FMS (Flexible Manufacturing System) in Tewkesbury was key to this project, as it can run for up to 35 hours unmanned. The monitoring provided an essential management tool, keeping everyone focused on this important contract. And, any spindle stoppage promoted an immediate response via the inbuilt NMS alert mechanism. "Using Seiki Systems has increased our efficiency by 10 to 15 per cent and puts us firmly in control of the results expected from the shop floor."