Tool inventory/management software

[The Cathedral]

We're looking to overhaul our tool management system. As in, right now we have pretty much no management and it is killing us. We're looking to consolidate our tools, keep a complete inventory, track usage, and cross reference what tools are used in which jobs (as we are a job shop, we have literally thousands of parts in our job pool).

 

I was hoping to get some insight into what others are doing to manage this. What software are you using? What are your methods and process? What would you do better if you could? How much is automated, and how much manual time has to be put into your inventory management?

 

We have about 40 machinists across two shifts so we're not a massive shop, but we have a lot of inventory to take care of. We currently use a MSC CAP system for the heavy moving consumables, so if you guys have experience with that, what software do you use to interface with it externally?

 

Any input is appreciated, even from people who don't have a solid management system but have good ideas.

 

Thanks in advance.

[cincy k]

Sign me up for interested in hearing as well.

[RaiderX]

Me two

I have seen a dozen attempts to control tooling but would not consider any one or combination there of 100% successful.

hard sell but the closest i have seen involves a full time person managing all shop tooling.

most shops do not understand but $100k's in inventory justifies it to me. last place i was at they discovered an employee checking out cutters to put on e-bay. hang em high I say.

hopefully this is an interesting and enlightening thread.

 

doug

[Newbeeee™]

Me 3

[Watcher]

We use WinTool software. More pragmatic and objective than its major competitor, and better price as well.

 

What made the whole difference for us was buying consulting / implementation services + training and getting a good SLA contract as well.

[ahaslam]

MSC's CAP system or CMI is pretty handy. I agree with Raider that having a full-time employee is a great option. If you can that is. We at one time had a highly skilled and high paid employee managing the whole shop of more then 30 CNC machines running 3 shifts and each machine changing jobs about 3 times per shift. He was responsible for pre setting the tools (which is the best thing you can do if you have a lot of change overs) as well as in charge of ordering tooling. We setup the CAP system so that he could order tooling every week and used a KANBAN style pull system for the order points. MSC (if you are willing to put the time in) is one of the best options for tool management I have ever seen. oh, btw we tried replacing the high paid employee with a guy who couldn't tell you the difference between a drill and a reamer. After a few weeks of training we let him lose on second shift. The next morning was a mess, machines crashed, tools broken and the tool crib a mess. It's worth a few extra bucks an hour to get someone who can run a machine. Hope you find my opinion useful.

[The Cathedral]

Thanks guys. Like I said, we use the MSC Cap system for our inserts, endmills, etc. It's powered by software from Supply Point, and it turns out that it has the ability to manage items not stored directly in the CAP vending tower. I'm going to do some more digging to make sure it will accomplish everything I want it to, but it looks like a winner. It also interfaces to Access/SQL so I guess I could write a program to do the things Supply Point can't (although I'd rather not!)

 

Ahaslam, what I want to do is exactly what you described. Can I ask you a few detailed questions about it? How much access did the operators have to the tooling? How was the tooling checked out (barcode, pen and paper, computer)? Aside from the pre-setting, what would you guess was the amount of time your crib guy spent doing work related to inventory/ordering/organizing?

[Zoffen]

We have looked extensively at the Zoller TMS Software and are most likely going to be going that route.

 

It really does everything you could ever ask for in a Tool Management System but it goes so much further than that with NC management, Presetter integration, stock locations, setting sheets, etc

 

We went down to the LA Showroom for an action packed more intense demo/evaluation and it only solidified our opinions on what the software is capable of but mostly of what it can do to our shop in general.

 

The one thing everyone seems to overlook when pursuing this kind of system is if the culture of the shop isn't there to support this type of system it is a waste of money. 

 

We are spending alot of time on the actual naming conventions and data structures that we will implement once we actually purchase the software. Talking with Zoller, the culture and back end nitty gritty are the things that many shops totally miss the boat on. The software is only as good as it is setup and maintained. Alot of shops purchase the software but never fully implement it because of a lack of big picture planning. You really need a champion to spearhead the project otherwise it will fall through the cracks and be a total waste of money. These types of systems can take years to implement but when they work its the best thing ever!!!! What are "no more/fewer questions about any job" worth to your organization?

 

If you ever plan on going with a presetter this system makes even more sense. It integrates seamlessly with the whole line of Zoller presetters.

 

If you are on the west coast i highly recommend getting in contact with Andreas Diel @ Zoller and getting down to LA for a proper demo of what the software is all about.

[The Cathedral]

The one thing everyone seems to overlook when pursuing this kind of system is if the culture of the shop isn't there to support this type of system it is a waste of money. 

 

 

That's one of the things that has the managers and I nervous. We know that culture is not there; our shop still has the mindset of how it was in the 80's when there were only a few people here. However we also know something has to be done so we're doing it, no matter how much it chafes the employees. The good thing is that the grumbling won't last long--we're an employee-owned shop, so when they start to see that extra money in their bonus checks, I think they'll agree it was worth doing. It's my job right now to come up with the plan to implement it, and make sure we have a strict schedule to follow when we decide to say "go." 

[ahaslam]

Thanks guys. Like I said, we use the MSC Cap system for our inserts, endmills, etc. It's powered by software from Supply Point, and it turns out that it has the ability to manage items not stored directly in the CAP vending tower. I'm going to do some more digging to make sure it will accomplish everything I want it to, but it looks like a winner. It also interfaces to Access/SQL so I guess I could write a program to do the things Supply Point can't (although I'd rather not!)

 

Ahaslam, what I want to do is exactly what you described. Can I ask you a few detailed questions about it? How much access did the operators have to the tooling? How was the tooling checked out (barcode, pen and paper, computer)? Aside from the pre-setting, what would you guess was the amount of time your crib guy spent doing work related to inventory/ordering/organizing?

 

Operators on first shift and second never really touched the tooling. The tool setter does everything related to tooling, if some one breaks one, they hand the tool setter the holder and the tool setter takes it from there. Third shift there is no tool setter and all the operators have full access, though that will change with time. The tool setter would look up the information on a setup sheet that had the tool name then find the tool using supply point. We are looking at moving to a numbering system or bar code that can be scanned but are not there yet. We used a healthy Kanban system that works with supply point for order points so time spent ordering tooling was basically the time it took him to look up the tooling, maybe 5 hours a week, not bad considering the amount of tooling consumed. Aside from that and tool setting the setter would just hang out in the crib. Management hated it because they felt he wasn't always needed but having him there full time really turned the shop around. He would spend his free time keeping the tool crib in mint condition but there was only so much one could do. I would put together a kaizen on how tools flow through your shop. Walk with the tool from the time it is ordered and it comes out of the box till the time it is cutting in the machine. Having people who have no clue what an endmill is actually asked some really good questions.

 

Feel free to ask some more questions.

[The Cathedral]

Thanks for your insight. I feel like I should have a million more questions, but I can't think of what to ask. As the old saying goes, "you don't know what you don't know."

 

Everybody who has a working or semi-working management system: how many employees do you have at your shop?

[ahaslam]

60+ split between three shifts.

[The Cathedral]

ahaslam, do you have a designated tool crib area (I assume you do) and if so, was it already there before you started the managing, or did your shop have to create it?

[ahaslam]

It was there... mostly. The tool crib had been there for 30+ years and it showed. It was the bottle neck of the shop. Elbow to elbow people bumped around trying to find usable tooling as their machines sat idle. There was no "tool guy" just a bunch of operators all looking at tool sheets scratching their heads. Things were a mess and no one could understand why. If you want something done a specific way then you have to train some one to do it that way. The cost of training and sustaining 60+ people was out of the question. The cost of training three people, on for each shift... yeah, we could afford that. It took a few people to find the right guy but once we did it was like magic.   He had that tool crib beat into submission.

[The Cathedral]

Question for guys with small shops and different machines: How do you inventory your machine hardware? For example, we have lathes that use Hardinge draw collets, flex-e-on collets, Royal collets, and J-Loc chuck jaws. These are all pretty machine-specific. So do you guys keep those by the machines, or do you keep them in tool crib as well? Do you inventory them or just let them be?

[jeff]

Question for guys with small shops and different machines: How do you inventory your machine hardware? For example, we have lathes that use Hardinge draw collets, flex-e-on collets, Royal collets, and J-Loc chuck jaws. These are all pretty machine-specific. So do you guys keep those by the machines, or do you keep them in tool crib as well? Do you inventory them or just let them be?

We just have a shelf in a centralized location for that kind of stuff. But then again, we're only a small job shop so it's not that big of a deal.

I'm also interested in some sort of tool vending system,but I don't want to be tied to one particular brand/website since we use so many different brands of tooling and MSC doesn't carry a lot of them.

[The Cathedral]

FYI-- we've decided to go with Zoller for our tool management software. We're breaking ground on the new tool crib after the new year and hopefully should have it built a month or so after that. Then comes the organizing, inventorying, and implementation.

[ahaslam]

Could you upload pictures of your progress? I am going to look into Zoller today.

[The Cathedral]

Pictures? Sure! So far it looks like this:

 

 

Software is ordered, cabinets are ordered, machines are moved. Actual construction begins next week.

[ahaslam]

EPIC!

[cincy k]

Now that right there is funny.