This “technology stack” delivers the latest in Industry 4.0, Digital Manufacturing and Lean Manufacturing to drive production. New Age Caravans, with 250 Workshop Staff on two engineering sites in Melbourne uses the technology of: tablets on the workshop floor, the Empower Workshop Productivity & Scheduling Software App and 50 inch TV screens on office and workshop walls - reporting real time production and productivity information continuously throughout the day. AN AUSTRALIAN ICON IN MOTOR RACING AT BATHURST) I undertake all invoicing, so I job cost every job to ensure I investigate any overruns for future learning. “Our operations manager Graham monitors all jobs on the 50 inch TV screens and his PC whilst production is in progress and he immediately investigates any overruns or potential overruns with workshop staff involved for future learning and continuous improvement. This enables us to have more competitive quotations in the marketplace and allows us to maximise job profit. “I estimate that jobs take 20% minimum less time at 20% minimum less labour cost using technology of tablets on workshop floor and the Empower Software App. This enables the company to give clients an accurate completion date when they place their orders. Using the Empower Software App we run rings around many engineering firms we compete with which have no scheduling software and only manual processes and systems which provides limited, late and inaccurate job status and labour time and labour cost reporting.” Etwell says CNC Solutions schedules all its jobs on Empower so all production is planned, the software factors for existing capacity and calculates when each new job will start and finish. We also invested in two 50-inch TV screens presenting our job schedule “In 2019, we invested in tablets on the workshop floor and the Empower Workshop Productivity & Scheduling Software App.

“During this time we had no idea of job times, jobs took the time they took and each month we hoped we had made money.

We have moved into new facilities and the business continues to grow significantly and ballpark revenue is $4 million annually at present.” Etwell says that the business had no staff on jobs reporting for two years while also having few workshop staff. We offer a full CAD design and prototyping service to clients who require it. Laine Etwell, director of CNC Solutions Ltd in Rolleston says: “We are a metal and sheetmetal fabrication business. Christchurch-based CNC Solutions is making every post a winner by using the Empower Workshop Productivity & Scheduling Software app to rev up productivity and performance

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