Metal Products & Sheet Metal
Metal Products & Sheet Metal: production orders and BOM, stock and warehouse, quality and reporting.
Challenges
- Without a sheet nesting plan, scrap runs high and nobody can measure it.
- Bending and welding operation times go unrecorded, so job durations are guessed.
- When surface treatment (paint/galvanising) goes to a subcontractor, the WIP stock disappears.
- Sheet thickness and grade are missing from the item card, so production runs on the wrong material.
Workflows
From sheet to cutting
- Sheet enters stock with thickness, grade and size fields.
- A nesting plan is produced; used area and scrap are recorded separately.
- The production order opens with bending and welding operations.
From surface treatment to shipment
- The semi-finished part is sent to paint or galvanising on a subcontract work order.
- Quantity returned from the subcontractor and the loss are posted to WIP stock.
- Assembly is completed, the finished goods enter stock and are shipped.
Documents
- Sheet and profile item card
- Nesting plan printout
- Production order (bending/welding)
- Subcontract work order (surface treatment)
Reports
- Scrap and loss rate
- Operation time variance
- WIP stock at subcontractors
- Unit cost by product
Metrics
- Sheet utilisation efficiency
- Scrap rate
- Operation time variance
- Subcontract turnaround time
Compliance
- CE marking and declaration of performance for construction products
- Welder certification and WPS records
- Hazardous waste (oil, swarf) disposal declaration
Glossary
- Nesting (cutting plan)
- The cutting layout that determines sheet usage and scrap
- Scrap
- The offcut left from cutting, recorded as a separate loss item
- Subcontracted surface treatment
- An outbound work order that keeps the WIP stock visible
- Sheet grade
- The thickness and material class field on the item card
FAQ
Can I measure sheet utilisation efficiency?
Yes — used area and scrap from the nesting plan are recorded separately and the efficiency rate is reported.
Can I record operation times?
Yes — they are measured start-to-finish at the bending and welding work centres, and delivery dates rest on that.
Can I track material held at subcontractors?
Yes — the semi-finished goods sent on a subcontract order stay visible in WIP stock; returns and losses are posted.
Can I prevent the wrong sheet from being used?
Yes — thickness and grade are mandatory fields on the item card, and the bill of materials rejects a different material.
Can I see cost by product?
Yes — sheet, scrap, operation and subcontracting costs are gathered on the production order.
