“Jotika have always matched our ambition, challenging our ideas and proposing new solutions.”
Background
Regency Glass is a major supplier of sealed units and toughened glass in the UK. The business was founded in 1983 in Lancashire and has grown substantially since. In 2019 they moved into a new 10,000 m2 factory.
They have used Gtrak software for 30 years and enjoy a close working relationship with the Jotika team.
Glass and furnace optimisation
The partnership between Jotika and Regency started nearly 30 years ago. At the time, Regency was looking for ways of optimising cutting to reduce glass waste and also to sequence and group items for greater efficiency. They were introduced to John Gold, the founder of Jotika, who worked with them to develop new tools and optimisers, which allowed them to make substantial productivity gains.
More recently, they again called on the Jotika team to help them with furnace optimisation. The system they were using often generated layouts that wouldn’t work in practice and so had to be completely reworked by their operators.
The Jotika team developed a new approach, using dimensional profiles by material. This allowed the system to take into account many factors, including the size and characteristics of each piece of glass, to ensure mix and layout constraints (such as gap size), were optimal for quality while maximising throughput.
This cemented the working relationship with Regency and led to the furnace manufacturer recommending Jotika to other glass manufacturers, to enhance the throughput and quality of their furnace.
Operational efficiency
As Regency grew, it became clear that it needed to focus on its operations to remain cost-effective and keep its promises to customers.
As they looked for new ways of working, they challenged Jotika to help them find solutions, particularly in optimisation, batch processing and other operational areas. This turned into a strong partnership, exploring ideas and proposing features for new product modules.
Over the years, Regency have been early adopters of new Gtrak modules. They were amongst the first to really push the capabilities of the production scheduling module. They were also leaders in using the Georgian module, completely transforming the flexibility and speed with which they assemble units with Georgian bars.
Paperless factory
One of the innovative features of the Gtrak Georgian module is that it replaces job sheets with overhead screens, that provide all the information that operators need, instantly available and always to hand.
For Regency, this was the catalyst for using Gtrak at the heart of their paperless factory initiative. Another key innovation was using barcode scanning with live checking and progress monitoring.
Gtrak allows them to print barcoded labels for each piece of glass, which is then scanned at key points in production. Every time a barcode is scanned into a workstation or stillage, Gtrak is immediately updated. Production managers can see how each job is progressing and monitor the workload and backlog at key points in the factory. They also know how each customer order is progressing and how far it is from completion.
The handheld barcode scanners also provide information and audible warnings to operators, for example, if they try to load a piece of glass onto the wrong stillage.
Most recently, Regency has been an early adopter of the Jotika mobile glass app. Once this is rolled out across the whole business, it will mean they are no longer tied to a desk or workstation to manage jobs and orders, track progress or pinpoint the progress of a customer order.
Insights and reporting
To achieve continued improvement, the team at Regency has always recognised the need for quality data and active feedback.
Regency’s management has worked closely with Jotika to ensure they are making the best use of Gtrak for providing insights into operational data and flexible reporting. We have also developed additional custom functionality that gives them some unique insights into the factory and the ability to convey that to the right people in the business.
Outcomes
From the outset, Regency achieved far better glass optimisation and throughput using Gtrak’s optimiser. The next 30 years’ partnership was built on the demonstration of what can be achieved with a flexible attitude, deep industry insight and skilled software engineering.
Production efficiency at Regency has been increased, in some areas dramatically. For example, the throughput of Georgian bars doubled with the introduction of that new Gtrak module.
With the move away from paper to screens and barcode scanning, communication has become more seamless, between customer account managers, production schedulers and staff on the factory floor and in dispatch.
Overall, management at Regency reported that Gtrak has allowed them to optimise production, free up capacity and reduce stress points on the shop floor. It ensures production keeps going, helping them to deliver ever-better customer service.
“Gtrak is a platform that gives you the flexibility to change as you need. If you want to push forward with a software supplier who will deliver what you need, I definitely recommend Jotika.”
Bradley Beazant, Facilities Manager
