ESTEPE finds the perfect solution for paperless production with Isah

Future-proof and scalable

ESTEPE’s previous ERP system was reaching the end of its lifecycle. Van den Buijs explains, “When your ERP system no longer adequately supports your business processes, it becomes a risk. That is why we took the time to critically review and analyze how we were working and how we would ideally like and need to work. A year before selecting Isah, we started mapping out all of ESTEPE’s workflows. The new ERP system needed to support these processes as much as possible in its standard configuration in order to ensure that we remain future-proof and scalable.” Van Boxtel adds: “The system also needs to force us to work in a standardized way. We really want a consistent way of working and a system where all knowledge and parameters are properly documented.”

Paperless production with Shop Floor Control

Van Boxtel continues, “In addition to the fact that our previous ERP package no longer supported our processes adequately, there were three key reasons to search for a new ERP solution. First, we wanted interactive data exchange between our CAD and PDM applications and the ERP system.” This integration would ensure that the correct drawings and bill of materials are always automatically shared throughout the organization. A second requirement was a production planning module with strong visual support. Finally, ESTEPE wanted to make time registration, production steps, instructions, and checklists digitally available to the technicians.”

“During the selection process, Isah immediately stood out by offering a complete solution for our paperless production goals with its standard Shop Floor Control module,” says van Boxtel enthusiastically. “Isah met all our requirements and aligned perfectly with the processes we envisioned. I appreciated that they thought along with us and made good suggestions for small but effective improvements to our workflow design. We were also very impressed by the detailed presentations, which clearly demonstrated how Isah could support ESTEPE. The proof-of-concept was fully tailored to our company and our products. In that respect, Isah really distinguished itself.”

ESTEPE found the solution for integrating CAD and PDM applications with the ERP system through PLMXpert, an Isah Product Partner. They offer an integration with PRO.FILE (a PDM/DMS solution) and Isah. This integration ensures that all important project data, product data, assemblies, BOM lists, CAD models, and technical drawings are directly accessible in Isah’s ERP system.

Going live on time and within budget

In March 2021, van Boxtel and van den Buijs assembled an internal Isah project team. He remembers: “We set ourselves the goal of going live on January 1. Naturally, the day-to-day business continued, so it was challenging to maintain momentum among all involved. We made it clear from the start that everyone needed to commit to the required time investment. For example, we met every Tuesday evening to focus exclusively on Isah. By working with sprint planning, sticking to the schedule, and testing immediately upon delivery, we managed to go live on January 1, within budget. Of course, after the go-live there were still some things we needed to reconsider or processes we needed to fine-tune. However, as long as these issues did not cause any major problems or downtime, we were able to move forward with confidence.”

Efficiency with mobile devices

At ESTEPE, Isah Shop Floor Control and Time Registration were implemented on mobile devices. Van den Buijs explains, “Each technician has their own tablet, equipped with a holder and magnet. This allows them to easily attach the device to a chassis while keeping instructions and drawings accessible in digital form. We also have mobile carts with large touchscreens where the tablets can be connected for a larger view. Because technicians log their operations directly on their personal tablets using Shop Floor Control, we now have a much more detailed time registration without requiring additional effort. I was a little nervous about how this new way of working would be received. Previously, technicians were used to paperwork orders and binders full of instructions. It was great to see how quickly everyone adapted to the paperless approach and began to see its benefits.”

Quality improvement across all operations

ESTEPE has now been live with Isah for more than four months. When asked about the results of working with Isah, van Boxtel and van den Buijs say, “We are already seeing improvements in both efficiency and quality across the entire process. For example, purchase proposals and bills of materials are now generated automatically in Isah. This gives our Process Engineering department (responsible for order preparation) more time to focus on process improvements, quality enhancements, cost optimization, and safety. We are also seeing improvements in the flow of information to production, since the most up-to-date and correct documentation is always available.”

Vision for the future

Van den Buijs adds: “Now that the foundation is in place, processes have been set up, employees are fully trained, and data is flowing into the system, the next step is to actually start using that data. In Q2, we want to take a close look at which KPIs and reports we want to develop. Of course, that includes hard KPIs like order intake, delivery reliability, and material availability. But we also track soft KPIs — especially around how information is passed between departments.” Van Boxtel continues: “Making sure we continue working this way and start building out reports is really important right now. That allows us to analyze and optimize operations across the entire company.”

Looking ahead, both men see even more digitalization at ESTEPE. They add: “We want to further expand our integration with the CAD and PDM systems so that our products can be designed in an even more modular way. We also want to make production instructions more interactive and 3D-based. And we’d like to expand quality checks by connecting devices to Isah, so values are automatically recorded in the system. Ultimately, we want to evaluate each order digitally and in real time, with all data available for analysis. That way, we can keep improving our business processes — and Isah is the perfect partner to help us do that.”