Real time scheduling system allows a precision gear subcontractor to plan and give its customers realistic lead and delivery times and detect immediately when things are not going to plan.
Encountering more than 400 works orders a month involving some 65 machine tools plus sundry operations such as deburring and outsourced subcontract requirements, juggling priorities and general production demands was becoming a time consuming nightmare for precision gear specialist and subcontract machinist Gibbs Gears. Today, however, after installing Seiki Systems' Real Time Scheduling system, managing director Reece Garrod said: 'We can plan and give customers realistic lead and delivery times, detect immediately when things are not going to plan, determine the impact of any changes we want to make to production and make sound management decisions based on factual information.' With the company doubling turnover to GBP 2 million in less than three years, the use of the Real Time Scheduler has, over the last six months, made work in progress manageable and in turn, helped to improve cash flow. As a result, Gibbs Gears is investing in new equipment and is looking forward to a move to new premises as well as developing further its IT and specialist skills.

Based in Tring, Hertfordshire, UK, the company has a history based on some 50 years of gear cutting and it still provides a 24/48h emergency service and the occasional 'reverse engineering' task.

These can even include the production of single gears and crown wheel and pinion sets produced for the likes of classic car buffs.

This highly specialised knowledge of gear cutting is still core to the business, but the company is also reaping considerable success in subcontract machining involving up to five-axis turning and milling.

Today that does not always involve the adding of gear teeth or splines and, as part of the company's progression, it is also investing for the future in 3D modelling that will further strengthen the machining services provided.

On the back of new projects for petrochemical and offshore customers and a recent contract for design and manufacture of miniature gearboxes, the company is also planning expansion into the motor sport and aerospace sectors.

It already supplies specialised gearboxes to the medical, food and satellite sectors, often in very difficult to machine stainless steels.

Also, bespoke anti-backlash, high torque worm and wheel bevel gear boxes are produced and shipped to Scandinavia, Italy, France, Spain and India as well as the UK.

To produce this range of work a company needs the equipment and so on the shopfloor there are some 40 gear shapers and both conventional and CNC hobbing machines able to produce gears from 2.5 DP to 100 DP, 0.3 to 10 module.

The company also produces spur, helical and bevel gears, worms up to 6in (150mm) diameter, rack and pinions, serrations, splines, sprockets and timing pulleys.

In addition there are machines for pencil hobbing, a Gleason bevel generator, Reishauer, Niles and Matrix gear and thread grinders and broaches plus the CNC metal cutting capability.

All these machines were being managed prior to the adoption of Real Time Scheduling, using a labour intensive Gantt chart and card index system that became a chore, demanding continuous attention and was forever being updated.

Explained Garrod: 'Because there were so many operations we spent between 800 and 1,200h/month setting machines.

When we look back, the shopfloor appears to have been running the business and everyone was multi-tasking.

Worse still, with 40% of work being new components or contracts, the business was characterised by perpetual fire fighting.

We were even too busy to realise the roll-on effect that making a decision on the spot could bring causing a detrimental effect to many other contracts.' With the Real Time Scheduling system in place, Gibbs Gears can now view on screen the immediate influence of any changes.

He said: 'We can set up ghost operations for urgent jobs and immediately see the effect it will have on our order book and deliveries and make a decision on what line of action we should take.' The company has also found its customer relationships have improved.

Because live production data is a matter of a couple of key strokes, information is factual and the customer can immediately be updated on progress and they certainly appreciate a realistic view.

If need be, we can quickly check the outcome of split batching to deliver parts sooner, and check if we can double up machines.' Looking in the short term he feels they are well over 60% on target now but within another five to six months, 'This should be closer to 90%,' Garrod predicted.

Garrod described how the issue of a variance report means they are able to see what he describes as the 'Trend of Losers' which he maintains is very good to help focus the business.

You can see where the bottlenecks are, identify spare capacity and quickly appreciate the consequences of making changes.

As the operators can also view the work queue on the shopfloor, this helps them plan their day and we now spend less than an hour a day updating the system - previously that was a full time job.' The decision to buy Seiki Systems software followed lengthy investigations.

An MRP/ERP production software package had been installed first and growing Kanban and consignment stocking for customers meant greater demands on management time.

The MRP/ERP was ideal for machine loading and creating a list of jobs, but it had no relevance with the capacity of the machine and other factors that tend to influence when a job starts and ends.

Also, Gibbs Gears had a one operator to three or four machine working arrangement on certain machines that had long production cycles.

This meant the Real Time Scheduler package was required to cater for operator availability when he was working on another machine' 'The competitor systems we looked at could not handle this type of strategy,' maintained Garrod.

He insisted: 'This was not an easy scenario to handle and we are still working closely with Seiki Systems to hone the 'what if?' factors due to our changing operator working practices.

When we made the decision to buy, this was clearly the best system that we could see would meet our needs.

From the four systems investigated the Real Time Scheduler interfaced well with our MRP/ERP system and the way it is being developed around us shows the understanding and commitment their software engineers are prepared to make.' As Gibbs Gears is moving forward with its IT and lean manufacturing strategy, it is planned that the new premises will include a small training area with a dedicated toolroom and classroom.

Said Garrod: 'We need the skills in IT, production and gear technology and the only way to get this is to train our own younger people in-house'.

'The same way that Seiki Systems Real Time Scheduling has had such an effect on the business, we need to blend this level of IT technology with our specialist knowledge in the workplace.'