Traceability
Monitor process lines and make real-time adjustments
Governance
Efficiently manage many daily tasks
Efficiency
Automated processes that increase productivity
DeKalb Metal Finishing has provided quality electroplating and metal finishing services for the automotive and general industry sectors for more than 70 years. We offer and specialize in RoHS-compliant alkaline electroplating with environmentally friendly trivalent passivates and sealers. Electroplating uses electrical current to coat a conductive object with a thin layer of material, such as zinc-iron plating, or zinc-nickel plating. Plating is primarily used in order to bestow a desired property such as corrosion protection, abrasion and wear resistance, or aesthetic qualities to a surface that otherwise lacks that property.
Categories
DeKalb’s Biggest Challenge
The company was acquiring more and more new customers, and organization was key for imminent growth. This made it possible to control the best processes and gains in productivity by delivering products and services to customers. Matt says, "We had difficulties tracking key process characteristics for the products we electroplated and for the various action assignments we had each month." It is important to remember that manufacturing industry products and the services provided to various industries are increasingly competitive and standardized, resulting in a greater need for the company to standardize its processes to be fully aligned with market expectations and requirements. The company was looking for a software provider that could deliver quality in managing its documents and processes, while most importantly enabling monitoring and making real-time adjustments to where revisions are needed. After searching the market for a solution to fill this gap, the company selected the SoftExpert Excellence Suite.For every problem, there is a solution!
According to Mr. Morris, “The ability to better monitor our process lines and make real-time adjustments using statistical analysis was a key factor in our selection of the SoftExpert Excellence Suite.” Another point that weighed heavily in DeKalb's decision was the ability to record and track batch processing history. “Additionally, the ability to stay focused on our responsibilities and quickly respond to customer questions by immediately recalling the processing history of each lot also contributed to our decision,” says Matt. In addition, the company saw other long-term gains.DeKalb’s results with SoftExpert Excellence Suite
We asked about how the SoftExpert Excellence Suite affected earnings at DeKalb. According to the Quality Manager, “By using the solution, we are able to effectively and efficiently manage our many daily tasks, such as outside lab testing and prototyping projects as well as individual continuous improvement assignments.” Another feature highlighted by Matt is the possibility of monitoring processes by using real-time analysis and metrics to assess the performance of both equipment on the shop floor and the company’s employees. The Quality, Engineering, Procurement, Operations, and IT departments use the Statistical Process Control (SPC), Project Management, Document Control, Problem, Audit, Training, Kanban, Knowledge Base, Meeting, Requirement, Process, Workflow, and Analytics modules.The future is no longer a mystery
As the company gains more control of electroplating techniques, automation of business processes, and dynamic stock assignment management, DeKalb's daily operations are now more efficient than they were before without the SoftExpert Excellence Suite.“We are able to see the workload of our specialists to anticipate bottlenecks and adjust individual assignments. This visibility into our daily performance is allowing us to improve and accelerate our customer service,” Matt adds.In the future, the company plans to implement other SoftExpert Excellence Suite modules so that all users can use standardized forms and workflows to capture key data and review and resolve open issues. "We continue to explore the rich features of the system to automate additional business processes and performance tracking" he concludes
