The Challenge
A mid-sized defence manufacturing company was losing between £9,000-£14,000 a month in precision measuring tools from an honesty-based gauge lab. They needed to cut the loss of gauges immediately while maintaining the availability of the tools to the workforce to ensure quality control on the plant floor. They also wanted to increase the visibility of gauges on the floor, to improve the ability to maintain good gauge calibration recall procedures. The current system provided a calibration recall procedure, but couldn't give the system administrator the location of the gauge. Management knew it could solve the problem by manning the gauge lab on all three shifts. This had to be done without increasing the business headcount.
Solution
The addition of AutoCrib AutoLockers provided 100% accountability of not only who takes or returns a gauge, but also what department and work centre the employee is from. With the AutoLockers, the company now tracks the job and part number the employee is working on. Additionally, the gauge calibration software notifies in real time any gauge that falls out of calibration. If the gauge is in a locker, that locker door will not open. If the gauge is on the floor, the system administrator is instructed as to who has it and where it is. As well as these features the software will also alert in a determined timeframe of and upcoming calibration dates.
As well as working with calibrated tools that have a defined period of life the system can also count done on items that might have a set number of uses and then lock the tool or item down.
Result
The business reported that AutoCrib’s AutoLockers improved overall quality control and through the elimination of gauge losses, the system paid for itself in 60 days.
Not only did this reduce costs within the business but gave the business the piece of mind that during audits all component parts and calibrated tooling/gauges could be fully tracked eliminating FOD risks.
The elimination of lost equipment also saved the business in unmapped lost productivity due to not being able to complete scheduled tasks because the correct tools were either not available or employees were wasting time looking for the tools.
