Formed in 1979 and located in Barcelona, Spain, the Protefil Group comprises Tecnología del Perfil, S.L., and Procesos Tecnicos del Molde, S.L. Its customers include leading companies in the automotive, packaging, domestic appliance, medical, electronic and cosmetic industries. The company produces a wide range of injection tools including rotational moulds and those with robot handling systems, and offers a complete service from tool design to tool try out in association with the Catalan Association of Mould and Die makers (ASCAMM). The Group is also participating in the innovative Hipermoulding project (www.hipermoulding.com), which aims to significantly reduce processing times for injection moulders.

<< WorkPLAN has enabled us to manage over 40% of the standard procedures required by ISO9001.2000. >>
Enric Porta, Quality Manager for Protefil

As part of its drive for quality, Protefil worked hard to become ISO9001.2000 certified in April 2006. Enric Porta, Quality Manager for Protefil, realised that the company’s investment in Sescoi’s WorkPLAN - integrated management solution for custom manufacturers - would play a key role in the certification process.

WorkPLAN helps managers to control the complete manufacturing process from quotation through to delivery, as well as service after sales. Knowledge based decisions can be taken utilising the data accumulated by the software from many sources including shop floor terminals, purchasing activities, supplier performance records, time and attendance figures and actual machining times. Managers can use this information to help them generate accurate quotations, control material and manufacturing costs during production, and highlight time and expenditure overruns as they occur.

WorkPLAN’s Quality Module is of course central to maintaining compliance with ISO 9001.2000 certification; collating all the technical information such as drawings, notes, quality records, design modifications and exceptions. Enric Porta said, “WorkPLAN reduces the effort required to set up and maintain ISO standards. The software’s Quality Module has enabled us to manage over 40% of the standard procedures required by ISO9001.2000.”

Sescoi worked in partnership with Protefil during the implementation period. “The service we received from Sescoi was both speedy and efficient. Additionally, they were proactive in helping us to resolve any difficulties we encountered.”

The touch screen terminals around Protefil’s factory help to monitor activities in real time as well as recording staff attendance records. WorkPLAN’s scheduling module uses this information, coupled with a model of the resources available, to calculate forecasted delivery times against planned delivery dates, and the projected and actual costs for different processes. Enric Porta said, “We can use the information collected by the software to evaluate the need for subcontracting and also the impact on profitability. In some cases we find that it is more cost effective to subcontract parts or operations rather than to do them ourselves.”

WorkPLAN includes some powerful reporting tools which have helped Protefil to increase the productivity of its staff and machinery. Key business drivers can be monitored, such as the percentage of quotations converted into orders, the cost of non-quality, and the rate of on-time deliveries. Tools for customisation within the software enable users to tailor the reports to suit their particular needs. Enric Porta added, “WorkPLAN has enabled us to augment and optimise manufacturing management within our group of companies.”

By using WorkPLAN, Protefil has been able to reduce its administrative workload, share information around its factory, eliminate duplicate data entry and reduce the risk of error. The software produces a virtually paperless working environment which delivers real time data around the plant and creates a synergy with other systems, such as accounting and CAD/CAM. Enric Porta concluded, “In addition to the benefits we obtained by integrating manufacturing management with quality control, WorkPLAN has helped us to control our production costs and improve the execution and rationalisation of our processes. WorkPLAN gives us the right information exactly when we need it.”