Tyneside Safety Glass gains clear real time view of operations thanks to SYSPRO

The largest UK independently-owned safety glass manufacturer is already benefiting from a major productivity and efficiency boost across its three production sites thanks to a combination of SYSPRO ERP, a 5 million investment in new machinery, lean manufacturing techniques and Kaizen management improvements.

SYSPRO went live in August 2006 and in just over a year the system has made a huge difference; a 25 per cent reduction in stock holding being just one benefit that is saving the company money.

SYSPRO ERP is used across all three Tyneside Safety Glass production facilities. Each site is linked using a virtual private network (VPN). Using the VPN enables real time data communications and so the management team can access accurate information whenever required.

Our business has progressed significantly since start-up with SYSPRO. We have seen the integration of the whole business across our three production sites, gained visibility of real time management information and have achieved significant efficiency and control improvements thanks to SYSPRO, says Mike Matson, Finance Director at Tyneside Safety Glass.

So far the company has implemented Bill of Materials, Inventory, Work in Progress, Purchasing, Sales Order, Financial and Payroll modules. These are providing better and easily accessible management information collected from diverse departments throughout the business. The current phase is the implementation of Shopfloor Data Capture. This module utilises barcode scanning to allow full traceability of products right back to raw materials. This enables Tyneside Safety Glass to easily investigate queries from customers concerning problems with products.

By using Shopfloor Data Capture we will get a clear view of operations across the three manufacturing sites. For the first time we shall be able to drill right down into our data to give us much greater insight into what goes on in each factory. This will allow us to improve our shopfloor operations significantly. A great benefit of this will be the ability to identify jobs that suffer from the highest reject levels, which will allow us to amend our procedures and reduce faults, says Jon Heeley, Project Manager at Tyneside Safety Glass.

Mike Matson highlights the additional benefits gained so far. We now hold 25 percent less stock and we have less Work in Progress. We have also boosted efficiency levels across the board. The system delivers visibility between Sales Orders and manufacturing and allows us to analyse costs comprehensively. This would not be possible without the real time management information that SYSPRO delivers, he concludes.

Tyneside Safety Glass is one of Europes leading manufacturers of glass products for the agricultural, industrial, automotive and security industries and is the largest independent company of its type in the UK. JCB, Caterpillar and Case New Holland are the company's major clients. Other notable customers include specialist bus manufacturer Wrightbus in Ireland and car manufacturers such as Morgan and Caterham, as well as banks, post offices and government agencies. Tyneside Safety Glass has led the specialist glass market for over 50 years. Today the company boasts three factories in the north east of England, a turnover of 13 million, 220 employees, 150 customers and an expanding business.

About K3 Business Technology Group

K3 Business Technology Group employs 90 people at its Manchester head office and its branches throughout the UK and Ireland. The company offers solutions in enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management, advanced planning and scheduling, warehouse management, human resources and e-business. SYSPRO is used by some 12,000 sites across the world. K3 Business Technology Group is part of K3 Business Technology PLC which is a global leader in providing next-generation enterprise software for businesses in the retail, manufacturing and distribution sectors. With more than 3,000 customer installations in over 30 countries, K3 is recognised as a safe, innovative and reliable provider of world-class solutions, backed by world-class service.