Major changes to IT software and thorough machinery renovation should put Douglas Glassworks’ production ahead of its competition. Is it worth the effort? Raymond Douglas, Managing Director, thinks it is

Increase production with innovative IT and updated machines

Renovation is costly, so the end result must provide value for money, innovation and overall improvement. Combine this with the installation of new IT software and you have a major business reorganisation. The decision to go ahead with both these initiatives is one Douglas Glassworks, based in Ireland, did not take lightly.

When the work is finished, Douglas Glassworks hopes to have an almost paperless, fully networked production, which will keep comprehensive records of operational data.

The breakout display monitor will display cutting patterns and the rack on a large-sized monitor.

Barcode registration will report the production status of each sheet, to the central database so that all departments (and enquiring customers) will know where each sheet is.

Waste glass is in the past

When processing steps for a particular sheet are missed out, the finished sheet is almost worthless. For example, a sheet which is put into the furnace without the required hole or edgework becomes waste glass.

With the new barcode-controlled Alcim monitoring system, from Albat+Wirsam, users at each workstation can check that each sheet is the correct size and that the previous processing steps have been correctly completed before going onto the next stage of processing.

A sheet status report can also be produced after processing has been completed at each workstation. The sheets can be reported complete or broken.

Breakage reports are transferred online to the premium Xopt-on optimiser which automatically initiates a remake so the order can still be shipped complete and on time. These new features will be installed by the end of 2006.

Support from all sides

Raymond Douglas, Managing Director of Douglas Glassworks says that, the 40 staff at the company support the changes, which, in many aspects, are a complete reorganisation. He added: ‘Albat+Wirsam has not just sold us the software, we have been impressed by the conscientious, individual consulting.’

Master plan

The plan is to increase IG production with a second IG line. Both lines will be fully integrated into Albat+Wirsam’s production control system, Alcim. At the start of the line ProdTV, the monitoring system, shows the loading direction and bottom edge of every sheet. The man at the machine will know the exact sheet structure at any time.

A fixed scanner on the line reads the labels of each sheet and reports the data via Alcim to PackTV, the packing optimiser. The man at the end of the line knows which sheet to put onto which rack.

Wrongly packed sheets or incomplete orders should become rare because sheets can be put directly onto their racks.

The previous process of searching and resorting in the shipping area, where many sheets have been damaged in the past, will no longer be necessary.

An integrated system

The dispatch personnel register the labels of the packed sheets with radio scanners. From this, Alcim2000 creates cargo lists, which show the complete shipment and the sequence of sheets on the racks.

Barcode registration is also possible at other processing terminals, which gives precise information on the status of the individual sheets such as, edgework completed or, broken in the toughening furnace.

Growth is doubled

About 700 high-tech IG units will be produced per shift, on two lines. Most of the customers are joiners and window installers from County Monaghan in Ireland, although Douglas Glassworks supply to other customers too.

The growth in IG is expected to come mainly from high-quality functional and ornamental glass, such as toughened, laminated, or patterned glass combined with Low E and gas filling.

The more varied and high-quality the products, the more important it is to have an efficient, specialised order processing system that can handle the product depth and diversity of the flat glass industry.

Specialised tools

The company has bevelling machinery, CNC processing centres and a Tamglass toughening furnace, which is used for products that are supplied to the nation’s furniture industry, manufacturers of sanitary products, specialist steel fabrication companies and interior designers.

Flagstones can also be processed on many of the machines used for glass processing. This includes granite kitchen worktops which, apart from the necessary cut outs, undergo intricate surface processing, such as drain board carving.

The company also produces a range for Evasafe laminated safety glass, which includes patterned glass for interior design, use of coloured films and different types of functional film.

Evasafe laminated can be used in IG units, which extends design possibilities. For example, design elements can be fitted in between two layers of film.

IT eases the load

Specialised jobs need a robust order processing system. So when Raymond Douglas and Mervyn Taylor, IT specialist, looked at Albat+Wirsam’s Alfak system, they were delighted to discover that the basic package could be adjusted to fit the individual circumstances that arise at Douglas Glassworks.

The order processing system that had been in use previously has only just been coping with requirements for varied and high-quality products.

With the new system, the construction of a technically complex sheet is as easy as inputting data from a fax.

All operating elements are where you would expect to find them and nothing is hidden in cryptic sub-menus.

With these changes Douglas Glassworks has shown a new commitment to growth and innovation and aims to achieve a standard that allows it to continue being an efficient and versatile business in the Irish flat glass industry.

Source

Glass Age