Tag Archives: Reduction in Steel Waste

STRUMIS V10.1 adds to its already leading functionality

STRUMIS V10.1 adds to its already leading functionality by seamlessly interacting with external sheet nesting engines. The new functionality includes being able to edit and add to existing nests prior to cutting. To see how STRUMIS can benefit your company visit www.strumis.com

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CE Marking – How To Protect Your Hind

What do I need to know?

Since the 1st July 2013, it has been a legal requirement for manufacturers, distributors and importers of construction products for use within the EU to CE Mark their products. Furthermore, since the 1st July 2014, CE Marking became mandatory for all fabricated structural steelwork and is still a requirement after the result of the EU referendum (Brexit).

It is therefore a legal requirement for all fabricated structural steelwork delivered to site to have been CE Marked.

What does this mean for me?

If you are fabricating structural steel products; whether this is steel frames, metal roofing or miscellaneous steel, and putting them on the internal market (European Single Market) – you must be CE certified.

Trading Standards is the enforcement authority for non-compliance in England and Wales. They have the power to force companies to withdraw and/or recall products that do not comply. For certain offences the penalties may include a fine, imprisonment or both.

What can I do about it?

To achieve CE certification, manufacturers will need to demonstrate compliance to the harmonised standard for structural steel and aluminium, BS EN 1090-1.

The standard explains that all fabricated structural steel is safety critical and should be manufactured in a controlled manner. The manufacturer should therefore demonstrate compliance by implementing a Factory Production Control (FPC) system.

A manufacturer’s FPC system will generally be based on a set of controls associated with one of four Execution Classes; Execution Class 1 is the least onerous and Execution Class 4 the most. The FPC system must be assessed by an independent 3rd party called a Notified Body – who will issue a Factory Production Control certificate and a Welding certificate once they are satisfied that it complies with the requirements of BS EN 1090-1.

STRUMIS can assist steel fabricators in complying with the requirements of an FPC system by recording all of their manufacturing processes in the software, including traceability which is a key requirement in CE accreditation.

What is STRUMIS?

STRUMIS is a complete fabrication management system that will help steelwork contractors gain CE Marking accreditation. It is already being used worldwide to improve standards and implement controlled procedures.

Offering solutions for the complete project lifecycle from Estimating, Budgets and Procurement through to Stock Control, Production Tracking and Document Management – STRUMIS reduces costs whilst maximising productivity and increasing profitability.

STRUMIS also offers an Essentials pack for SMEs – with all the features that smaller manufacturers need.

To see how STRUMIS can benefit your company visit www.strumis.com

North Yorkshire Family Business goes from strength to strength with STRUMIS

Mr Jody Stead recognised that as the business expands, more management control over daily processes, material orders, cost control and time recording was necessary to manage their projects in a more streamlined and efficient manner.

After careful consideration of the many software solutions available to Jody it was “Essentials by STRUMIS” which Jody selected in the first instance. Essentials by STRUMIS is the lighter version of STRUMIS designed to help upcoming, small to medium enterprises and which at the time suited A & J Stead perfectly. However, as the business continued to grow Jody recognised the immediate benefits such software programs can delivery and it was this recognition of the improvements Essentials had delivered that he later decided to upgrade to the full STRUMIS software program which in turn delivered even more benefits to his company such as employee time recording through Production Console licences in his fabrication shop and even tracking the project status from the erection site by utilising the Production Console licences on tablets from site!

Strength to strength

Mr Stead has seen immediate benefits even in the first few days following the STRUMIS training program – carried out by our expert training engineer.

“I just wanted to pass on my thanks and feedback on the training and the upgrade from essentials to the full STRUMIS system, it has already shown to be hugely beneficial in a few weeks from us really just running it alongside the old system we had it has shown its benefits, looking forward I think it’s going to make us hugely more efficient and help us massively in reducing the paper work for the CE marking system.”

“We now have the full Production Console licences working in the workshop between a mixture of pc and tablets at each workstation and those tablets you recommended I’ve found on eBay for £55 and seem to work a treat at this early stage, along with this we have introduced a label printer which we are printing labels for all our inventory which seems to be a great step in the right direction, should we ever expand I think we have a great system in place.”

About A&J Stead Ltd

a-and-j-stead

A & J Stead Ltd, a successful steel fabrication family business, based on the outskirts of the beautiful North Yorkshire town of Malton, have adopted the steel industry latest Management Information System – STRUMIS in order to help manage their growing business, eliminate manual data entry, provide traceability, increase efficiencies and ultimately improve profitability on their steelwork projects.

 

About STRUMIS LTD

STRUMIS is the complete management information and production system for every steel fabrication company; to minimise overheads and costs, maximise productivity and profitability; in every step of the steel fabrication process. Combining global industry expertise and efficiencies with British service enhancing core competencies, giving you the competitive edge – always.

With STRUMIS you can connect your business resources reducing time, cost and wastage for greater efficiencies, traceability and productivity.

To see how STRUMIS can benefit your company visit www.strumis.com

 

STRUMIS’ rise and growth in the Middle East

The Middle Eastern market is still facing the effects of lower oil and gas prices. Not to mention the political conflicts within the region that continues to undermine the regional development, thus, hindering Steel Consumption. In this scenario, with cut throat competition, reduced profit margins and fewer projects, the Steel Fabricators are ever more concerned to save costs, effectively utilise their resources, win more projects and still maintain the profits to run their businesses.

And yet the silver lining in this dark cloud is that fabricators are focused on improving their processes. This is where STRUMIS have been the source providing the tools to improve the efficiency of the fabrication process from estimating right up to dispatch and delivery.

In this time and situation, it is great to see that steel fabricators are welcoming change and technology, not just in the fab shops but also in the mind-set of the owners, the directors, the managers and the employees doing the actual fabrication.

BIM to the rescue

One such fabricator was facing serious trouble due to the design and drafting errors resulting in heavy direct engineering design and drafting costs. The management conducted a thorough study and decided to go with STRUMIS and BIM Review to deal with the situation. With BIM review they were able to perform better analysis of situations through simulations. One typical example was running the analysis of a structure in BIM, they found the beams to be failing under the load conditions. This resulted in a change in the shape of the structure, for which the beams where changed. All this was done in BIM, without any movement of the actual material or processes. Imagine the same being done at the actual site. The time, money and labour that would have been involved under such situations are huge.

Everyone benefits

When a general manager was asked what made him choose STRUMIS, his answer was that everyone in his organisation benefits from STRUMIS. And this can be proved by the fact that STRUMIS grows within an organisation with more employees wanting to use STRUMIS and hence there is a demand for more software licences from existing STRUMIS users. Starting from a certain key members who would be using the STRUMIS licence, the numbers grew from managers and estimators to machine operators, supervisors, foremen, site supervisors to their actual customers having been able to view the progress of fabrication at their end. With the new Business Intelligence dashboard, reports generation is at a glance.

The Medium and Small Scale Fabricators

Every generation brings a new mind set to the steel fabrication industry, the heirs taking the baton from their fathers. Out of the companies small to medium scale fabricators are more receptive to technology and eager to evolve. With many opting to start small, these fabricators want to utilise technology to make way into the genre of bigger players. STRUMIS is keen to develop the interest shown by these fabricators and look forward to the opportunity to work with as many of them as possible.

With contracts being awarded for the Soccer World cup in Qatar and the Expo2020 in UAE, STRUMIS is ready to provide its services and support to more fabricators from around the Middle East and help them to take their work a notch higher in terms of productivity, profitability and traceability.

To see how STRUMIS can benefit your company visit www.strumis.com

Kelly Steel turned to STRUMIS

Irish-owned, Middle East-based Kelly Steel turned to STRUMIS when they decided the time was right to automate internal processes.

Based in Ras Al Khaimah, Kelly Steel is perfectly situated to offer their services throughout the lucrative Middle East region. Now with over 20 years’ experience in the industry, they’ve become widely recognised for consistently delivering quality on projects of all sizes; their goal is always to meet and exceed expectations of both time and standard of work. Building on capacity over the years, Kelly Steel now boasts an advanced new factory, designed with large-scale production in mind.

 

Bending

Kelly Steel in a joint Venture with a European Company based in the Netherlands have set up Kersten Middle East and offer 3D Pipe and beam Bending as a subcontractor service, making them the first and only company in the Middle East to do so. This unique capability stems from their wide-ranging experience and expertise with pipe work. They can now perform bending on all types of sections, including rolling for 50mm to 500mm pipe. What’s more they have the ability to create all types of profiles, holes and slots.

One of their most exciting projects to date was Mushrif Park in Abu Dhabi, the largest amphitheatre in the world! This project involved separate scopes that included a 30m high conservatory building, the amphitheatre itself, souk market canopies and shade fabric.

 

Trusting STRUMIS to deliver

When a business is going from such strength to strength as Kelly Steel, all processes need to be tightened and ultimately automated where possible.  In particular they needed their Purchasing, Inventory Control and Production Control to become more organised, functional and software-based in order to save both time and risk of errors.

STRUMIS Management Information System software program, for steel fabricators, has without question become the default MIS system for steel fabricators in the ME region. With numerous blue chip steel fabricators of all sizes utilising STRUMIS in their businesses, in-turn, it is providing them significant cost and time saving benefits across all departments for our much valued clients.

They were looking for software with the ability to process optimisation to reduce material costs and to provide transparency and traceability across all of their various projects.

It was decided that steel fabrication management software STRUMIS was right for Kelly Steel, as it harnesses work processes through the steelwork contract between departments, suppliers and clients; from estimate tendering, through procurement and production into construction. Covering all requirements set out by Kelly Steel as well as offering more.

The success of STRUMIS within the ME region is due to the maturity of such a well-respected, feature rich and established software program which continues to develop and grow in line with our clients’ needs, and is supported by a regional presence by way of our Dubai office in Deira which is essential to providing pre and post-sales support, training, support and account management.

 

 

Noticing the difference

Kelly Steel are reaping the rewards. Director John O’ Kelly says: “STRUMIS has changed the day-to-day running of our business enormously. Saving time, risk of mistakes happening and subsequently money too”.  Mr Steve Watson, Sales Manager of STRUMIS says: “We are enormously pleased to be working with Kelly Steel, their work is well-respected and known about throughout the industry and we are proud that they are such satisfied clients.”

 

About Kelly Steel 

Kelly Steel Engineering LLC is a local UAE company with Irish ownership. Our location allows for easy access to ports and all the major highways for export. At Kelly Steel Engineering LLC we have the ability to provide a unique level of quality and customer service supported by over 20 years of experience in the industry. Within our current structure we have what we consider all the key players to deliver quality projects on time and on budget. Since its foundation, Kelly Steel Engineering LLC has steadily developed and increased in capacity.

 

To see how STRUMIS can benefit your company visit www.strumis.com

STRUMIS – The Next Generation

STRUMIS – The Next Generation:

Over the years STRUMIS has gone through three generations of software in both Architecture and style using the very latest technologies available.

The first generation of STRUMIS (known as GoData); helped lead the way in Management Information Systems designed solely for Structural Steel fabricators.

In the late 90’s the GoData flagship product was re-designed and a Windows generation of the system was launched and re-branded as Visual STRUMIS.

In 2004 STRUMIS was re-designed again using the new .NET framework and SQL Server as the back end data store. This generation of the software (known as STRUMIS.NET & STRUMIS evolution); gave the user a much richer graphical experience and the ability to customize reports and the daily use of the system.

We are now currently in the process of designing the fourth generation of STRUMIS. Due to the demands of our customer base and the advances in mobile technology we need to expose STRUMIS to more devices (i.e. mobile, tablet, web browsers).

To cater for this demand STRUMIS will be incorporating a Service Orientated Architecture which will communicate as Web service requests similar to most Web based applications that end users are increasingly more familiar with and expect with today’s technology.

This shift in design will allow the core product and business rules to be maintained by STRUMIS whilst exposing external mobile & tablet App developers for IPad, Android, Windows and Web browser technologies to extend the product further.

This exciting shift in the Architecture will future proof the success for both STRUMIS and the customer base as new and fresh ideas can be incorporated quicker and more efficiently.

 

To see everything that STRUMIS has to offer visit visit www.strumis.com

Dragon Steel Did Their Research

Dragon Steel Did Their Research

When Dragon Steel started out back in 1988, they were using MS Excel, which, like many fabricating shops, they soon outgrew. As they continued to develop, Dragon Steel needed production control software specifically for structural steel fabrication. They initially purchased a management information system (MIS) but it simply didn’t work for them and wasn’t user friendly. After trying another system that also missed the mark, the search then continued and after a few ‘dead ends,’ Dragon Steel were introduced to STRUMIS.  Upon seeing the capabilities and business benefits Dragon Steel says their decision was made instantly. As President, Ervin Tarkhanian, of Dragon Steel explains, “It was a no-brainer to choose STRUMIS for the plethora of features, flexibility, and the right price point.

 

The Right Choice

Dragon Steel says the benefits they saw once STRUMIS was implemented, were immediate when it comes to saving time and the efficiency in the materials and supplies procurement stages. Ervin shares that, “It takes a fraction of the time to find, coordinate, order and track materials than it used to, saving us a lot of time and this translates into saving costs.” Dragon Steel feel that the flexibility of the software and the software module are also amongst its most appealing aspects, in addition to its integration with Tekla, which means they no longer need to enter any data manually.

Ervin added, “…the inventory tracking & efficient nesting has eliminated additional waste and afforded us the ability to easily use inventory no longer needed on one project, on another project, while keeping complete traceability.” When it comes to the STRUMIS Estimating module, you get a module, which is ready to use and designed specifically to meet the needs of the estimators. For Dragon Steel, the Estimating module enabled them to estimate accurately for projects and successfully win bids.

 

No trips back and forth from the shop to the office with STRUMIS

One of the many benefits of STRUMIS is that it uniquely has an integrated 3D modeling communication tool that enables one to visually track, enquire and communicate with all parties of the project lifecycle. This is very helpful to Dragon Steel as it allows their crew to visualize some of the more complex connections or fittings, ensuring correct assembly. Ervin comments, “[as] BIMReview is included with STRUMIS we don’t need […] extra trips back and forth from the shop to the office to view complex connections.” This in turn saves Dragon Steel so much time!

 

A Sporting Advantages

Dragon Steel is currently in the midst of 2 large gymnasium projects, which have space-frame truss designs. “We’ve done plenty of gymnasiums, and they’re usually pretty straight forward, however with the space frame design of the trusses, there are over 4000 individual piece marks, with STRUMIS, keeping track of the production stages of each of these pieces is a breeze.

As a smaller, family-run fabrication shop, I don’t believe we would be able to handle the type and scope of work that we’re currently performing if it wasn’t for STRUMIS. We’re able to track items and timings so accurately, that the empirical data analysis through STRUMIS allows us to further steer our company in the right direction to stay nimble and efficient in an ever changing and evolving market.

 

To see everything that STRUMIS has to offer visit visit www.strumis.com

Invest in your future, invest in technology

How is the Fabrication industry in Australia/New Zealand going to make ends meet going forward?

The current trend in the Australia/New Zealand market is leaning toward investment in technology.

While it is most likely not a region specific problem, high labour costs are a constant stumbling block for Australian/New Zealand fabricators in a market that is already struggling to compete with imported steelwork from low cost centres.

Imports are slowly killing the Australian Steel industry and more and more of our home grown steel producers are closing down.

It is fantastic to see the willingness and tenacity of fabricators to adapt to new technology to try to combat high labour costs and supply issues.

Technologies being adopted start with 3D laser scanning through to detailing systems and on to Fabrication Management Systems, such as our own STRUMIS. Ultimately we are seeing the adoption of automated fabrication machinery including beamlines and even automated welding.

Steel fabricators in the region may be facing the most difficult uphill battle our region has ever dealt with but they are doing it with their heads held high and a ‘never say die’ attitude. Every avenue is being explored and every effort is being made to stay afloat.

You have to respect guys who are doing it hard but still doing it, to see how STRUMIS are helping visit www.strumis.com

Finley Structures named Aycliffe Company of the year

FinleyMan

“It is a team effort, so we’re absolutely thrilled for all our
employees to win these awards. It’s testament to many yearsof hard work, endeavour and determination.”

Finley Structures was named Company of the Year at Aycliffe Business Park’s Make Your Mark awards ceremony, held at the Xcel Centre.

The fabrication firm, which is based in the former British Steel factory on Aycliffe Business Park, beat off competition from Hitachi, Gestamp Tallent, Samwon, Baltic Training Services and Caring Caretaker to scoop the top prize at the February bash. Finley Structures announced a record turnover year in 2015, with sales growing to £16.4m – up from £10m four years ago. High-profile contracts, including Hitachi

Rail Europe’s new facility, also included a new 1,400-tonne factory for Nissan at Washington, a 2,300-tonne project at the Victoria Gate shopping centre in Leeds, the 500-tonne Sports Village in Middlesbrough and a 300-tonne frame for the £38m National Biologics Centre in Darlington. Finley Structures also completed a 500-tonne project for Teesside University and a 620-tonne contract for the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing and Research Centre (AMRC) to round-up a busy year.

The company was launched by John Finley in 2000 and was originally based at the former NCB Works in Tursdale near Bowburn with 20 staff.

It was only when, during a chance drive-by in 2002, the opportunistic John spotted the 87,000 sq ft factory, once home to British Steel, being emptied by its tenants at the time, Alexander-le-Skerne, that he stopped by to have a look.

“We were outgrowing our site at Tursdale and were looking to relocate,” says John. “It was just by chance I drove down Whinbank Road one day and saw it being emptied, so I just went in for a look around, and I remember thinking to myself, I can see Finley Structures thriving in here.” “We eventually did the deal to buy the building and moved in. We invested £250,000 in the place in 2003 so it was a lot of money for us back then, and the business started to grow.”

“I initially thought we would rent part of the building out to help pay the bills but we quickly started to fill it out and before long we were looking to expand again. We then bought other adjoining buildings in 2010 and our sister company, SCH Site Services, relocated there in order to grow and is now thriving in its own right.”

Finley Structures is a truly family-run firm. John’s wife Valerie is a company director and was a part-time receptionist until retiring in December, while daughter Julie is joint managing director and son Gary is joint managing director of SCH Site Services.

Combined, the two companies employ 104 people, while the new family venture, ROF 59 – an activity centre which was also named Newcomer of the Year on Wednesday night – employs a further 30 staff.

After building a firm which has grown in stature and profile and created employment for local people, John says picking up both awards is a career highlight.

The 63-year-old, originally from Esh Winning who now lives in Spennymoor, added: “We’re a family firm but I’d like to thank all our staff, because we wouldn’t be where we are now without them and the brilliant work they do for us.”

“It is a team effort, so we’re absolutely thrilled for all our employees to win these awards. It’s testament to many years of hard work, endeavour and determination.”

“I’d also like to thank HSBC for the fantastic support they have given us over the years. Today we’re virtually debt-free, but previously we were turned down by a bank we’d been with for 10 years when we needed cash to invest in acquiring property to expand. If it wasn’t for HSBC we wouldn’t have been able to invest in the buildings and in new machinery, so we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

“Winning big contracts is an achievement and getting the Hitachi project from Shepherd Construction was, of course, a highlight and major boost for the company in terms of profile, but in all my years in business these are our first awards, so I am very proud.”

The Company of the Year award, sponsored by Business Durham, was presented to the Finleys by Councillor Neil Foster, Durham County Council’s cabinet member for economic regeneration.

“I’m delighted for Finley Structures as a local family firm which has achieved a lot not only in the last year but over several years,” said Clair Foster.

“It’s important that we celebrate our success stories with business awards like Make Your Mark and it’s brilliant to see Aycliffe Business Park thriving as it is. It’s really leading the way for County Durham.”

Other Make Your Mark winners included Baltic Training (Apprenticeships), Formula Plastics (Engineering and Manufacturing), Lostbox (Innovation), Beaumont Grounds Maintenance (Service), Tekmar Energy (Export), Luke Reynolds, Gregg Little Testing Centre (Apprentice), ROF 59 (Newcomer), Workshop Supplies (Small Business), Caring Caretaker (Employer) and Newton Press (Heart of the Community).

To see how STRUMIS can benefit your company visit www.strumis.com

How to make your big projects feel small with BIMReview

How to make your big projects feel small with BIMReview

In this modern world where distance is no longer a problem with regards to project collaboration, the best talent can be drawn from all over the world and this can be essential to having a truly successful project.

However although the distance issue has been addressed sometimes communication can still be our downfall. BIMReview with its BIMShare functionality overcomes some of the new problems encountered by this modern approach to construction projects.

Big projects mean big files and these are frequently troublesome, emails won’t allow you to send overly large files and some file sharing sites are not secure enough for certain projects. BIMShare takes the stress out of sending large files by enabling a central repository where smaller portions of the model are synced only when necessary.

Emails and most messaging systems can easily be missed, causing delays and potentially even worse. BIMShare provides alerts and prompts to bring light to changes in the model or its surrounding date. Always ensuring that the data being worked with is the most recent model/drawings.

BIMReview provides an environment where roles from all aspects of the project can have some involvement in the project. This provides a workspace where communication is simple, data can be exchanged and points of interest can be highlighted.

BIMShare is just one of features from BIMReview that can help your business, try it today using a 30 day trial from www.bim-review.com