Paumelles Liégeoises

Founded in 1961 as ‘Pomel’

Manufacture and sale of wide range of metal weld-on hinges, often in limited series, for a variety of applications and sectors ranging from wind turbines and reinforced doors to letterboxes, cars and wagons.

10 employees

The challenge

In 2021, Paumelles Liégeoises saw the production volume grow, which required a lot of (re)planning of work and change in priorities to maintain high service levels. This caused a lot of stress, especially in the preparatory steps at the office, leaving no time to think about long-term actions. So, while free capacity was needed in the office, increased efficiency became a strategic priority aimed at maintaining short lead times of 1 day to 1 week and keeping customers satisfied in the long term.

The solution

The QRM analysis showed that a lot of capacity was lost in the office due to the use of an inappropriate ERP system that did not provide real-time insight into what was going on in production. On the production floor, a lack of structure in the assembly area was revealed which prevented operators to immediately see which jobs had the highest priority. From there, the company made some changes on the shop floor with an emphasis on visual communication and invested in a new digital planning system TOOWHE. This gives employees immediate access to all the necessary info and providing a good picture of the whole process. This allows everyone, including in the office, to be aware of what is happening on the production floor in real time.

The results

Stock of half-products is better manage : no more stock-outs with same level of stock as previously

A better synchronisation of office and production activities on the right priorities

A better use of the available capacity of men and machines

Spare time of 8 hours per week for the administrative treatment of offers, orders and stock replenishment and launching in production

Better flow in the assembly area with less non active work in progress

A new routine : a weekly meeting with all the personal to give some business news and perspectives