There is a way for South African manufacturers to become more competitive, but conventional enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are unable to provide the necessary detailed information that can make this possible, since accurate shopfloor data forms the foundation of business knowledge.

Consiliarii has introduced its Windows-based Clockworks product that interfaces to most applications, and allows users to reap the full benefit of experience and expertise in the science of time measurement and control of shopfloor operations of almost any manufacturing enterprise.

This product was created following many years of consulting in the manufacturing arena, and has been developed by a team that understands the business process and variables that are important in this type of environment.

Barloworld Robor Tube has had the system installed for a number of years having implemented it to improve production and set-up efficiencies, and to maximise resource utilisation and product quality.

“They thought it necessary because they realised they had no accurate, real-time shopfloor data that could be converted into management information for strategic planning, scheduling and costing purposes,” explains Consiliarii MD Hennie Engelbrecht.

The installation has led to focus, discipline and transparency on the shopfloor for the tube manufacturer that has resulted in improved on-time delivery, accurate costing from a time-based perspective, the ability to pay incentives based on fair measurements and overall improvement in customer service levels.

“The implementation of Clockworks has definitely led to an increase in productivity and has empowered our staff, from the shop-floor to top management, in making informed business decisions.

“The partnership between our various management teams and Consiliarii has contributed to the overall success achieved in our various tube-making enterprises,” says Barloworld Robor Tube group MD Mike Coward.

The system has a number of features that make it attractive.

Data capturing can be performed manually or electronically through interfaces that developed, based on the user’s Level one (PLC) infra-structure and system.

Clockworks provides generated information that focuses mainly on performance in the areas of effectiveness, quantity and quality, time lost due to inefficiencies and production stoppage, and the usage of consumables.

A suite of standard management reports and graphs is available for any combination of resources and products for any selected time period, as well as for trend and analysis purposes.

These outputs are generated using various reporting tools and thus can be easily adapted to fit the specific requirements of a client.

“Today’s number-one key phrase from a business perspective is overall equipment effectiveness.

“The Clockworks product is an ideal tool in this regard and provides one of the shortest ROI projects a manufacturing business can implement,” explains Engelbrecht.

Many of the company’s current users are achieving results they had previously not thought possible, he adds.

“Having the Clockworks software on the shopfloor is as important as having a real-time scoreboard at a cricket field,” he adds.

The clockworks product already has a well-established presence in many companies within South Africa.

The South African-based Consiliarii was established in 1987 and is run by industrial engineers and consultants that provide industrial engineering solutions and services to the manufacturing industry.

Clockworks is developed with Microsoft’s Visual Basic and SQL database using crystal report for data analysing.