Production Management System for a Glass Manufacturing Company

The Client

The Challenge

• Their previous Google Sheets based Production Management System (PMS) was inefficient and prone to errors. Plus it did not allow for their batching process and tracking orders in production.
• The manual handling of order batches and the need to double-check entries due to potential duplication or omission in the batching process created significant inefficiencies and increased the risk of errors.
• Employees must navigate a cumbersome system that relies heavily on manual data entry and verification.
• Only two people had the abilities to actually batch orders and release them to the floor. If one was traveling and the other sick no orders were released to the production team. This was a large potential problem for the company.
• Due to their unique retail/worksite delivery requirements and owning their own fleet of shipping trucks a PMS also needed to handle shipping planning for specific routes/locations.
• Products that were received damaged in shipping or on the production floor broke the flow and efficiency of the production as everything had to be stopped to remake that product and keep it with the order. "

The Solution

• Production orders are received via email from the design software, and different file types receive specific treatment (PDF, DXF, CSVs)
• A label printer prints the product in each order together with a unique QR code
• The QR code allows for production operators to update the product/order status with a simple scanner without the need to walk over to a computer.
• Airtable Views summarize the status of orders at every stage. Allowing all office staff (including sales personnel) to check in on the status of any order in real time.
• Using the same scanner based system the shipping department and the delivery drivers can scan products and orders to mark as ready to ship, shipped, and delivered.

The Results

• A PMS system that is consistently updated by people unskilled in Airtable.
• People at the office can easily switch views and understand the status and location of orders at any time.
• A significant reduction in production errors and duplications. The streamlined process has led to faster turnaround times, improved order accuracy, and enhanced overall operational efficiency.
• Production no longer requires one of only two people to be in the office there are now five people able to release orders to production.
• Any damage in production or shipping was able to generate a new product order with priority the same day allowing for fast replacements.

Tech Used

• Zapier
• Google Sheets
• Airtable