About Armac Martin
Birmingham-based Armac Martin manufactures luxury brass cabinet fixtures and fittings for kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms and is favoured by architects, interior designers, property developers and customers the world over.
Established in 1929, it is a fourth-generation family business that has grown through a continued programme of investment and a strong work ethic, today it operates around 20 CNC machines used for milling and turning and employs more than 120 people at its Birmingham-based facility.
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Challenges
- Production capacity constraints
- Demand outstripping supply causing production back-logs
- Increased lead times were in danger of potentially losing sales
- No quantifiable measure of where spare capacity was
Results
- 14% uplift in machine utilisation, they can now make 65% more products in the same timeframe
- The machine data gave Armac Martin the confidence to sell existing machines that weren’t’ being utilised and they bought new machines to improve their capacity
- Changed production model to focus on their own products
- Machine utilisation has driven behaviour changes that have positively impacted operator habits
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Machine monitoring drives a 14% uplift in machine utilisation
Very quickly the data highlighted which machines were being well-utilised and in high demand, and those that were under-utilised and whose function was becoming redundant. The data provided Armac Martin with clear visibility of the production schedule and machine capacities.
This knowledge gave them the confidence to sell one piece of under-used machinery and invest in a more appropriate machine that would meet the growing demands of their customers. The purchase of the new machine is expected to reduce the overdue raw material orders by more than 60 per cent.
The data also helped to inform the decision to stop delivering subcontract work and focus on the company’s direct and more profitable contracts.
Since FourJaw machine monitoring software has been installed on the Turning cell, the manufacturing machine data has shown that there is a steady upward increase in machine utilisation, meaning the team at Armac Martin is getting more out of their existing assets by working smarter and more efficiently, as they can see what and where improvements need to be made in real-time that to the data coming from the machines within the cell.
FourJaw machine monitoring software has enabled the Armac Martin Turning section to go from a 21.7% machine utilisation rate up to 35.8% today. That’s an increase of 14.1% utilisation, but even more impressively – in terms of capacity.
For example, in the time it would take Armac Martin to make 100 parts in April, the team are now able to make 165 parts, an increase of 65%.
Optimising the shop floor and production processes
The data gained from FourJaw not only allowed Armac Martin to identify machines that were no longer being utilised, and swap these out for machines that would be, therefore increasing shop floor capacity, but as the data shows, they have got a significant increase in capacity from more efficient use of their existing machines.
In the milling section, the trend line became positive very quickly after FourJaw was introduced. But with training planned with shop floor operators, they expect this to improve at an even greater rate in the next few months.
Head of Operations discusses factory digitisation at Armac Martin
Team leaders and shop floor are more empowered
FourJaw has given the team leaders on the shop floor more autonomy over managing their sections - no longer requiring management to tell them how they are doing. They can see detailed live and historical information all the time.
FourJaw is the company’s first step toward Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
