Accurate software stays on top of the measuring equipment. Lange & Haasis collaborates with Gühring
Regularly calibrated measuring instruments are essential wherever components are manufactured with high precision. But how do you stay on top of things? Lange & Haasis has switched from handouts to digital measuring equipment management from Gühring, saving a lot of time.
Measuring screws, limit gauges, thread gauges – the machinists at Lange & Haasis always have their measuring equipment at hand to check the quality and dimensional accuracy of the construction parts. Although the products produced by the company for CNC metalworking in Albstadt differ significantly, they all have one thing in common: the highest precision down to the μ range. “No order is processed without measuring instruments,” noted founder and co-owner Jens Lange.
And that’s why so many of them are in Lange & Haasis’ production. The problem: Measuring instruments have an expiry date and must be recalibrated before expiry. Uncalibrated measuring instruments must not be used for measurement. But how do you keep track of all the measuring equipment in everyday production? Jens Lange had to find out in his company that handout management is not the perfect solution: “That was a huge source of error when it came to calibration cycles,” he recalled. In addition, employees could never trace who had taken which measuring instruments and spent a lot of time searching for them.
Plus, the company is certified according to the ISO 9001 international standard, which stands for process-oriented quality management. “To maintain this certification and expand the associated processes, we need measuring equipment management”, said Patrick Maier, the man responsible for measuring equipment management at Lange & Haasis. “We wanted a quick and simple solution that would give us more structure and control in our measurement equipment management.” The simple solution is just a few kilometres away: Lange & Haasis has worked closely with Gühring for around 20 years. So it was clear for Patrick Maier: “The regional aspect and the ability to ask questions and solve problems quickly were very important to us, which is why we did not need to look at other software solutions.”
The Gühring Tool Management Software (GTMS) can cover all production and logistics-relevant areas in companies. GTMS offers a way to manage measuring instruments and the corresponding calibrations.
Test dates are permanently monitored digitally and internal calibrations are created, carried out and documented by an audit based on a stored test plan. In addition to ISO 9001, which is so important for Lange & Haasis, IATF 16949 and QSF-A 1998 are also covered by the GTMS.
Anyone who combines the software with a Gühring tool cabinet can also specify that only calibrated measuring instruments are removed from drawers and all others are blocked. All of this ensures that sufficient measuring instruments are always available in production and that documentation gaps during customer audits are avoided. “GTMS is perfect for all customers who do not want to lose track of their testing and operating resources,” summarised Christoph Schönhaar, who manages the company as a Gühring software expert.
Self-explanatory & easy to use
This is exactly what Lange and Haasis wanted. “First of all, we wanted to digitalise measuring equipment management so that we could minimise search efforts and establish traceability of the measuring equipment withdrawal,” explained Patrick Maier. It was particularly important to them that the new system be simple to use, self-explanatory, and error-free for all employees. After Christoph Schönhaar showed him the possibilities of GTMS, he quickly realised that with Gühring, “we had found the perfect partner!”
Schönhaar says that the project’s planning and implementation then went quite quickly and smoothly: “There was always honest and direct feedback, which helped us find the right solutions,” said Patrick Maier. No matter our problem, a targeted solution was always found immediately!”
Where is the measuring instrument or who has it? How often was it used? When is the next calibration interval? Thanks to GTMS, Lange & Haasis employees can now answer all these questions at a glance. Since Lange & Haasis now manages its measuring equipment centrally, employees can quickly compile everything they need for an order. “The time savings associated with measuring equipment management are enormous,” said Patrick Maier.
But that’s not all: “The long-term goal is for us to implement our complete production, tool and warehouse management with the GTMS from Gühring and use the software to the fullest extent possible,” said Jens Lange. Further GTMS modules are to be built up gradually in order to digitalise manufacturing further. “Thanks to GTMS, many functions can be covered with a single software solution,” explained Schönhaar. “The next steps could now be towards warehouse management and machine connection.” The new measuring equipment management is, therefore only a first important step on the road to digital manufacturing.