From drawing and costing to certified delivery
Costing per kilo and machine hour, cutting lists, work orders and certificates for every part. The system keeps it all in one place, tied to the customer’s job.
Metal industry
Project 26-114
- Inquiry and drawingDrawing rev. C attached to inquiry
- CostingQuote by kg and labour hours
- MaterialS235 and S355, 3 profiles ordered
- Cutting listsCutting list, 4.2% scrap
- Work orderParts P1–P38 in the shop
- ProductionWelding 26 of 38 parts
- Inspection and certificates3.1 certificate linked to heat
- DeliverySite assembly on 20 Oct
Where it gets stuck
Each of these problems is the same thing: data doesn’t get from one place to the other, so someone carries it by hand.
- Senior estimatorQuote
Connection brokenCosting rules stored in the system
Costing depends on one person
Only someone with years on the job can price per kilo, machine hours and welding time. When they’re away, the quote waits or gets estimated by eye.
- BinderPart
Connection brokenCertificate linked to heat and part
Certificates are hunted down in binders
At the end the customer asks for material certificates. The link between heat number, part and delivery is pieced together afterwards from paper and e-mail.
- OffcutCutting list
Connection brokenOffcuts suggested for the next cut
Offcuts aren’t recorded anywhere
Sheet and profile offcuts sit in the hall while purchasing orders new material. Cutting lists are made by hand and ignore what you already have.
- Shop floorWork order
Connection brokenHours logged per part
Work orders don’t track real hours
Cutting, bending, welding and surface treatment are logged on paper or not at all. In the end nobody knows whether the job made or lost money.
What the flow looks like in the system
An example flow. We adapt the steps to how your company actually works.
01 Inquiry and drawing
An inquiry with drawings and specifications is filed under the customer and project. Every drawing revision stays in one place.
02 Costing
Costing is done per kilo, metre, machine hour and labour hour, with extra operations and margin. The same costing becomes the quote.
03 Material
Before proposing a purchase, the system checks stock and usable offcuts. On receipt, certificates are stored with the heat number.
04 Cutting lists
Cutting lists and data for preparing NC and CNC programs are built from the order’s parts. Offcuts go back into stock with their dimensions.
05 Work order
The work order carries parts, operations and drawings to every workstation. Operators report hours and quantities per operation.
06 Production
Cutting, bending, drilling, welding and coating are tracked as separate operations. The production manager sees where each part is.
07 Inspection and certificates
Dimensional and weld inspections are recorded against the order. The customer documentation, with certificates for the material used, is assembled from the system.
08 Delivery
The delivery note is built by part and package. After delivery you see the planned and actual cost of the job.
What the system usually includes
Every module works with the same data. It plugs into the system instead of living as a separate program.
Costing for metalwork
Rules for kilos, metres, machine and labour hours, the way your company calculates them. Compared with actuals for every order.
Material, heats and certificates
Stock by dimension and grade, heat numbers and certificates on every receipt. Traceability from receipt to the delivered part.
Cutting lists and offcuts
Cutting lists from work orders and an offcut register with dimensions. Offcuts are offered before new material is bought.
Operation-level work orders
Work orders with parts and drawings, time booked per operation and machine. Job status without walking the hall.
Frequently asked questions
We build one-off structures, not series. Does a system make sense for us?
Yes, perhaps even more than in series production. When every job is different, costing, work orders and certificates have to be tied to the project, and off-the-shelf software often doesn’t cover that well.
Can the system work with our NC and CNC machines?
It depends on the machines and the software that drives them. During the process analysis we look at what data the machines take in and return, then propose what can be connected and what stays a manual step.
Our costing method is specific. Will we have to change it?
No. The system is built around the way you price work today, exceptions included. If we notice inconsistencies along the way, we’ll point them out, but the decision is yours.
Show us how your costing is done today.
Send us a short description of your process and the problems you want to solve.