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AUTOMATION and WORKFLOW

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Sortrac

New Member
It’s great reading you guys!

Everything seems to go back to workflow software rather than automating hardware.

In that line of thoughts, i am already in the process of building a software that theoretically will check a lot of those boxes, although i am stuck in one of the final stages, being how the work orders are presented, and the way they are handled. Since we can have a few hundreds at a time, it’s hard to have a good « overview » of everything to do. So far I set them up in « due date order » but we can only see the first 10 or so in our list. I’ll try to take screenshots tomorrow to show where we’re at visually, and try to give you the short version of what we we’re aiming for. I would be really interested in hearing your thoughts and recommandations for the last mile. (Around a year long project so far)

As for the budget for any ameliorations, i am looking to stay below 200k in the next two to three years, towards anything that will smooth out our processes, and allow us to shift to the next gear.

Thanks a lot for the input so far! Keep it up!
 
Pauly

Pauly

Printrade.com.au
Sortrac said:
It’s great reading you guys!

Everything seems to go back to workflow software rather than automating hardware.

In that line of thoughts, i am already in the process of building a software that theoretically will check a lot of those boxes, although i am stuck in one of the final stages, being how the work orders are presented, and the way they are handled. Since we can have a few hundreds at a time, it’s hard to have a good « overview » of everything to do. So far I set them up in « due date order » but we can only see the first 10 or so in our list. I’ll try to take screenshots tomorrow to show where we’re at visually, and try to give you the short version of what we we’re aiming for. I would be really interested in hearing your thoughts and recommandations for the last mile. (Around a year long project so far)

As for the budget for any ameliorations, i am looking to stay below 200k in the next two to three years, towards anything that will smooth out our processes, and allow us to shift to the next gear.

Thanks a lot for the input so far! Keep it up!
Click to expand...

To automate hardware, you need software.
In the game of automation, you need to start small.

As you said :
I’m trying to figure out the best way improve my shop’s workflow, wether it’s by automating some processes, or finding a better process than having hundreds of work orders printed out and scattered around the shop.
Click to expand...

A workflow automation like i've demonstrated is something you need to do first. remove the paper, have everything in 1 system.

Machine automation only works when you have specific products, no customer orders etc. But all that automation is generally in software unless im missing your automation point.
Like automatic feeders, better finishing equipment etc.
But the key is to start with automating small processes. implementing workflows,

Visually see the bottlenecks, are things organised, can your workers find the right tools, is there always stock,
Small things.
 
O

ONYXtechtips

New Member
White Haus said:
It was enough to scare me off, but we're a smaller shop/team. I want to say $2-3k setup then something like $15 - 20k a year?
Click to expand...
The list price for ONYX Align is $5520 for a one year subscription and $3395 for training. Training involves in depth creation of products specific to the needs of the shop including all costs associated with the manufacturing process. There may be current promotions that you could take advantage of if price is a concern.
 
myront

myront

Dammit, make it faster!!
We used to have baskets hung on the walls strung out all over the shop. New jobs here, different basket once proof is set up, another for needs revision, another over there for approved, another back across that way for the print tech, back over here for production.
Been using the free Trello version for a few years now. Old school boss isn't too thrilled with it but we love it. Everyone has there own login so they have their own avatar.
We have tabs for each of the different phases
1705691090399.png

And the first board looks like this. As a designer I've chosen which "lists" should be my primary focus by just collapsing the others. Each job is called a card. Once I've completed my part I just drag the card to the next appropriate list or I can move it to another board altogether. Once you open a card you'll see any attachments, instructions and the proof etc. You can also write notes to corresponding people that are on the cards.
1705691157111.png
 
G

GaSouthpaw

Profane and profane accessories.
"The downside of any automation is you will never find a canned solution that will do everything you want or need and all automation implementations will take a lot of labor."
^^^ This right here. A lot of shops will buy/subscribe, then get fed up because of the work required on the front end and abandon a good system. I've seen it more than once, and it baffles me. There's a learning curve to pretty much every new piece of software/equipment/etc.
 
Christian @ 2CT Media

Christian @ 2CT Media

Active Member
You should find someone to help you automate if you are not enterprising. I work with consultants who can help me see what I'm missing, but I enjoy building, so I do all my coding and building in my automation tools. Automation is an everyday function that takes eyes and hands to shape it constantly; there isn't a one-and-done solution in our industry simply because we are ever-evolving, and the situations we deal with can differ from client to client and job to job even.

Our automation flow involves a front-end web2print, pre-press/process automation tool, Onyx as RIP processor, and then processes and workflows purpose-built by the team for everything we do on each machine. The most important thing I can say for me is to work backward. Build effective and repeatable manual processes, then figure out what is repetitive or error-prone, and then automate those aspects first.
 
jfiscus

jfiscus

Rap Master
Is the bottleneck on communication/workflow in the departments, or is it machine capacity?
I've never known those laminating tables to be actually good or efficient, and having 3 r2r printers and only 1 r2r laminator/plotter sounds a bit off.
I would look at more efficient printers/laminators/plotters and go from there.
 
jochwat

jochwat

Graphics Department
myront said:
We used to have baskets hung on the walls strung out all over the shop. New jobs here, different basket once proof is set up, another for needs revision, another over there for approved, another back across that way for the print tech, back over here for production.
Been using the free Trello version for a few years now. Old school boss isn't too thrilled with it but we love it. Everyone has there own login so they have their own avatar.
We have tabs for each of the different phases
View attachment 169203
And the first board looks like this. As a designer I've chosen which "lists" should be my primary focus by just collapsing the others. Each job is called a card. Once I've completed my part I just drag the card to the next appropriate list or I can move it to another board altogether. Once you open a card you'll see any attachments, instructions and the proof etc. You can also write notes to corresponding people that are on the cards.
View attachment 169204
Click to expand...

Love your avatar, myront. It truly give me piece of mind.
 
jfiscus

jfiscus

Rap Master
If the issue is business/job management, we had custom software built for us around 8 years ago, and recently outgrew it. We looked at all of the software out there and it either seemed too simple or way too complicated and in the end decided to have another piece of software custom written to match our workflow here.
 
R

Ryze Signs

New Member
It's hard to say what you should do because every sign business is a little different. A simple Google sheet that multiple users have access to is a good place to start for free. That and a file server so all job files are organized and accessible on all your machines can do wonders.

From your equipment list it sounds like you focus more on printing. We are more fabrication oriented and have a router, fiber laser, CO2 laser, channel bender, cnc press brake, Roland printer, laminator, plotter, and several welders.
 
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ONYXtechtips

New Member
Ryze Signs said:
It's hard to say what you should do because every sign business is a little different. A simple Google sheet that multiple users have access to is a good place to start for free. That and a file server so all job files are organized and accessible on all your machines can do wonders.

From your equipment list it sounds like you focus more on printing. We are more fabrication oriented and have a router, fiber laser, CO2 laser, channel bender, cnc press brake, Roland printer, laminator, plotter, and several welders.
Click to expand...
I think Align can handle all of those devices with the use of Modifiers. Essentially estimating the amount of time it will take for each action and associate a cost to it.
 
donnyblazaroboe

donnyblazaroboe

New Member
As someone mentioned here, I also think sheets can do well for this type of thing. I'm not against automation tools, just they're not always necessary or that easy to work with.
 
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