While Blease had invested in high tech machinery it was still reliant on paper-based, manual systems of tracing components through the factory.
“To put it bluntly, we’d grown up but never tidied up,” Andrew explained. “We had handwritten root cards moving around the factory, making tracing completely manual and time-consuming. Simple queries took too long. We had antiquated traceability and a basic IT system where computers worked in silos.
Blease saw its digital transformation as an opportunity to improve its quality control and inspection process.
“We have a skilled workforce but occasionally there are errors. Our internal inspections can take days, and we were also subcontracting the work to be able to deliver components on time.
“We needed to be able to inspect all components accurately from a datum position and produce a detailed inspection sheet for customers.”