IJssel makes shop floor processes smarter by digitalising them with the JobControl app

IJssel is integrating the JobControl application of Smart Production Solutions with the Ridder ERP. The company is both a manufacturer and an adviser in the field of Smart Industry. The new application is helping IJssel Technologie on its way to a paperless factory. Johan Wanders, Operations Manager of IJssel in Broek op Langedijk: “We aim to digitalise various work processes, but that is not possible with the existing shop floor module.” The app adds the necessary ‘smartness’ to the work processes.

IJssel expects digitalising work processes to lead to more efficiency in production. It also fits seamlessly with Smart Industry, in which companies digitalise their ways of working and thinking and make them smarter. The company advises customers on the steps towards Smart Industry production and maintenance processes. Wanders: “In practice, IJssel works with innovations such as collaborative robots, VR headsets, 3D printers and big data processing, and we advise on how to apply them. It is no coincidence that we are an ambassador of the Smart Industry agenda and a frontrunner company in the BOOST programme.”

Working paperless and adding value to information

“The existing shop floor module was simply not enough to achieve our goals for a paperless factory,” says Wanders. The JobControl app of Smart Production Solutions is more than an application for time registration. At the start of the implementation, the project was split into two parts. Wanders: “On the one hand, we want to record daily activities in the app, such as time registration, administration and accountability for activities. On the other hand, we want to fill in the forms we use on the shop floor digitally and then add value to that information. That is something very few application vendors can do.”

A different way of working thanks to JobControl

The JobControl app should lead IJssel to a different way of working. The operations manager gives an example: “At the moment, when parts are needed on the production floor, an employee fetches them from the warehouse. Once the app is live, the employee indicates in the app which part is needed, and it is brought from the warehouse to the production floor.” From then on, the app also provides a much-wanted check: employees processing data digitally get an immediate alert if they enter something incorrectly. “We can also add work instructions, so that essential steps or actions cannot be skipped.”

Additional smartness

Thanks to JobControl, IJssel will manage by exception more than it does today. An additional smart feature is that JobControl takes net working time into account. Wanders: “An eight-hour working day includes one and a half hours of breaks. We only want to see the net working time.”

Real-time insight and time savings

Smart Production Solutions and IJssel Technologie work closely together on developing and rolling out the application. “We want to think more broadly than just improving production efficiency. Thanks to the seamless synchronisation with our ERP, we have real-time insight into what is happening where and who is taking which steps.” The benefits of the new app are many, says the operations manager: “We will make fewer data entry errors. Information is also immediately available with the related orders. And this way of working saves time: filling in timesheets at the end of the day will soon be a thing of the past.”

Collaboration

Expectations are high, but at IJssel they are tempered with realism. “We are convinced this will give us a lot of the right data – and convenience too. I think we will never again discuss who started which work order when, and the next day it is still immediately visible. It is these small benefits that complete the picture.” In any case, Wanders is very pleased with the collaboration with the Smart Production Solutions team. “What we have seen so far inspires confidence. The project and the contact are going very well.”