Project: Supply 4mm thick bespoke perforated aluminium sheets for building facades
As is often the case when working in an environment which is customer driven, lead times can be both critical and subject to change.
From quotation (which could have been many months earlier) a project can be put on hold or delayed due to external factors. In this instance both client and supplier are unaware of when the end user will finally turn the light green for Go.
However, when that does happen, lead time becomes critical.
At this point Bion’s flexible approach and partnership culture means we work with our client to ensure that they can meet their promises by us keeping ours.
The Challenge
An order was placed for 4mm thick bespoke perforated aluminium sheets for building facades. There were 8 different designs requiring over 600 sheets in total. The majority of these being in excess of 4 metres in length. Our client required the completed project prior to the Christmas shut down to enable them to manufacture in time to export to China within the lead time promised.
The first lot of free issue material was not due from the client for a few days and material was to be delivered in stages due to quantity and variety of sizes of sheets.
The Solution
Bion’s team are geared towards flexible working. We discussed internally and volunteers were taken from our existing double day shift to run a night shift and weekends with the aim of supporting this project. Skilled temporary workers were employed to cover short fall on other shifts.
In parallel with increasing capacity, Bion’s technical team worked to reduce processing time by optimising machine parameters for the specific job. In total our programming skills enabled us to complete the job with an increase in efficiency.
Reliable tooling and experienced workforce enabled continued production on these parts.