Process Improvement for Manufacturing
Transforming manufacturing processes with Microsoft technology
Many manufacturing businesses are looking at how they become more efficient and consistent. Most have invested heavily in automated machining and ERP/MRP solutions but are finding there are still areas of wasted effort, down time and manual mistakes.
This is where Bridgeall comes in, as a multiple Microsoft Solutions Partner, we help manufacturers leverage the Microsoft technology stack to automate processes, improve decision making and digitise paper processes.
Manufacturing Pain Points We Solve
Process Improvement with Microsoft technology
We help take your existing process/systems and automate these as much as possible. We use a combination of technologies that allows us to provide digital solutions that replicate how your business actually works and reduce errors, manual effort and improve audit trails and compliance.
Power Platform for Manufacturing
Many manufacturers still rely on paper and clipboards for quality checks, inventory counts, and safety audits. These processes also commonly involve email chains, manual spreadsheets and data extracts.
As a Power Platform Partner, we use the Power Platform to replace these manual steps with custom, mobile-friendly applications:
Power Apps
Deploy custom tools for shop-floor data entry that work on any device.
Power Automate
Trigger instant alerts for machinery failures or low stock levels.
Power Pages
Web portals and websites for interacting with external stakeholders like customers and suppliers.
Power BI
Visualise production KPIs and OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) in real-time.
Use cases for Power Platform in Manufacturing
Extending & Connecting Manufacturing Systems
Your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or Material Requirements Planning (MRP) system is the heart of your business, but it shouldn’t be an island.
We help you extend the life and utility of these systems by connecting them to modern cloud tools. Whether it’s pulling live data from a legacy database into a dashboard or syncing order info with your logistics team, we ensure data flows seamlessly across the business.
Document Control Systems with SharePoint
In engineering and manufacturing it is critical to maintain the right version of a technical drawing, manual or process document. We build robust SharePoint Document Control Systems that keep your key documents under control with version tracking and approval processes with audit trails.
- Version Control: No more “Final_v2_NEW” file names; just one single source of truth with full audit trail available.
- Automated Approvals: Streamline the sign-off process with automated approval processes and layers of sign off before accepting changes.
- Audit Readiness: Instantly accessible history of who accessed or edited a document, track expiry and retiral dates and ensure you remain compliant.
Supporting Process Improvement for Manufacturing in Scotland
As a Glasgow and Scotland based Microsoft Solutions Partner, we work with manufacturers across the country and different types of manufacturers. We have worked with some of the biggest names in Scotland including; Glenmorangie, Whyte & Mackay, Edrington, Tennent’s and Loch Lomond Group.
As part of our dedication to supporting business growth and development, we are proud members of CeeD Scotland. This allows us to share best practices as well as collaborate with businesses in the manufacturing sector to help improve the bottom line.
Ready to Get Started with Process Improvement in Manufacturing?
Whether you have a process you are looking to automate or are at an early stage of your process improvement journey we are here to help. To start a discussion with one of our Microsoft certified consultants contact us today.
Manufacturing case studies
Whyte & Mackay – Streamlined Business Processes with Power Platform
Utilising the potential of Microsoft Power Platform for building sophisticated, integrated business solutions quickly, easily and at significantly reduced costs, the Bridgeall development team successfully delivered a robust customer onboarding and new product solution for W&M. By modernising and automating key business processes, the solution delivered immediate cost savings and productivity improvements by reducing repetitive manual tasks.
Tennent Caledonian – Organisational Collaboration with a SharePoint Intranet
Bridgeall were engaged to design and deliver a SharePoint Online Intranet with the key aim of driving collaboration within the organisation.
The subsequent site was designed to fit with Tennent’s core corporate branding and included multiple feeds from social media and Google as well as feeds internally from Yammer.
Robertson Group – Streamlined Governance and Information Management
On-time and within budget, Bridgeall successfully delivered a secure governance management solution built using SharePoint Online. With direct links to their existing project information management solution, the streamlined approvals and authorisation process delivered a single source of the truth and tracked accountability. The SharePoint solution simplified the document governance and approval workflow ensuring that forms being used for each project are the latest authorised versions.
McAllister Litho Group – Disaster Recovery with a Hybrid Cloud & On Premise Solution
McCallister Litho Group (MLG) is a dynamic print services and fulfilment company based in Glasgow.
MLG approached Bridgeall with an ageing group of servers and out of date business applications that required overhaul. They were also concerned about their ability to recover from a disaster should a major IT failure occur. Bridgeall produced a detailed options report providing several solutions with varying levels of cost. Key was the introduction of Cloud Services in Azure and Office 365 delivering significant improvements to the Business Continuity Plan.
The final solution consisted of a hybrid network of on premise and cloud based virtualised Windows Servers combined with Office 365, backed by a fully managed IT support contract covering business hours and 24/7 system monitoring.