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Semco Plastic Company, Inc.
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"Swip Systems brought us out of the dark ages by fully automating our production scheduling and inventory systems."
Dave Skaggs - Quality Manager
Don't take our word for it, ask him yourself:
Contact Dave at (314)487-4557 ext. 161 or dskaggs@semcoplastics.com
Visit Semco's web site at www.semcoplastics.com.
History
Established in 1944, Semco Plastic Company, Inc. is a custom molder of plastic
products. Semco specializes in custom injection and blow molded thermoplastic
and thermoset products. Semco's modern 300,000 square foot plant rests on
17 acres and produces a variety of products 24 hours a day, 5 to 7 days a week
with press sizes ranging from 55 to 1760 tons. Semco services many industries
including Hardware, Medical, Electronics, Appliances, Automotive and Lawn
and Garden. Semco's plastic products can be found in nearly every home, patio
or garage across America.
Challenge
Semco Plastics utilized a well-planned manual system to manage their
production scheduling, material management and inventory activities. Although
the system was effective, Semco wished to upgrade to an automated system
that would increase the efficiency of their production scheduling and the
accuracy of their inventory control. In addition, Semco also wished
to replace their current batch inventory system with a real-time wireless
system.
Solution
Representatives from Swip Systems met with Dave Skaggs and Mike Troin, the two
managers in charge of the project at Semco, to discuss automating
their manufacturing processes through implementation of the
Plant Floor
Resource Scheduler (PFRS) software. The software directly addressed their
goals of increasing the efficiency of their production scheduling
and increasing the accuracy of their inventory control. The software also
integrated wireless mobile devices to allow Semco to track their raw material
and finished goods inventories in real time. In addition,
PFRS provided
functionality to manage the majority of the other activities of their business
from quoting through shipping.
To begin the implementation, our software engineers worked with Dave and Mike to learn the
production management processes at Semco and then began
customizing the
PFRS
software to these processes. During this time, our developers also began
integrating
the
PFRS
software to Semco's existing accounting system. In addition, our
developers began creating
bar code labels
to meet Semco's internal inventory needs as well as labels to meet packaging
requirements established by Semco's customers.
While the customizations were being completed, our network engineers
helped Semco select and implement the optimum
wireless networking devices,
data collection devices and
thermal printers
for the real-time inventory control functionality in PFRS. The equipment selection
was based on the planned usage and operating environment within their facilities.
Our network engineers also helped Semco architect and install their
local area network
including a fiber optic backbone to interconnect the various areas of the plant
and front office. Once the network was established, our engineers assisted
with selection and implementation of the
servers,
networking devices,
security devices,
client PCs and
printers
necessary to establish the infrastructure of the network.
Once the infrastructure was in place, our network engineers worked with Semco
to establish a
disaster
planning and recovery strategy to protect their data and their investment.
We also assisted Semco by providing
security services to
protect their network against malicious attacks. In addition, our engineers provided
wide area networking
services to connect their main plant to their secondary manufacturing facility 150 miles away.
Through utilization of our
network
administration services, Semco continues to outsource a large portion of
their network management activities to our network engineers.
The completed solution provided Semco Plastics with a flexible system capable of
automating all of their plant floor activities. The system is designed to
change and grow with the company's needs. Semco continues to work with
Swip Systems to modify their software application and network infrastructure
to meet their day-to-day business needs.
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