Digital Manufacturing Ecosystem Developed by Machinists

In Booth E-121645, Adion Systems (Vancouver, BC), the developers of ProShop software, will host demonstrations of their comprehensive shop management program, debut a new generation of shop management software that is ideal for Industry 4.0 practitioners, and convey how much more wide-ranging and beneficial ProShop is to small and medium-sized manufacturers compared to ERP systems on the market today. One of the most significant differentiators about ProShop vs. other systems is that it offers an integrated, comprehensive set of modules for managing a shop’s typical ERP operations and also includes MES and QMS functions, such as ISO-9000, AS9100, API and ISO 13485.

“We want IMTS visitors to understand that ProShop truly is different for their manufacturing ecosystem,” says Paul Van Metre, the co-founder and vice president of sales at Adion Systems. “There has never been a shop management system so suitably designed for the machining industry until now. This could be referred to as ERP 4.0 or perhaps a digital manufacturing ecosystem because it embraces a completely paperless, 100 percent electronic method of managing the business with shop floor controls of inspection, work instructions, tool management – and doing it with a Big Data manufacturing analytics approach.” Van Metre and his partners first developed ProShop in 1997 at their precision job shop to assist with complex customer requirements and manufacturing workflows. The system proved to be increasingly compelling and helpful as the founders kept adding capabilities. Ultimately, they sold the subcontract shop and established Adion Systems in 2014 to sell and support ProShop to others.

Van Metre notes that most conventional ERP systems are accounting-based, with very little functionality for managing and controlling the shop floor environment. Or they are manufacturing monitoring-type systems that still lack the full scope of information required in machining today. In addition to the more typical ERP segments having to do with “front office” activities such as estimating, quoting and purchasing, ProShop also includes MES (Manufacturing Execution System) and QMS (Quality Management System) control, monitoring and collection capabilities. For instance, among the MES functionality is tracking machine utilization, cutting tool management, media-rich work instructions, part inspection data, and more, including integration with coordinate measuring machine data, which is unique to ProShop.

Further, this software offers an integrated, comprehensive set of modules for managing the shop’s QMS, such as ISO-9000, AS9100, API and ISO 13485. Among these include standards, equipment, users, training, audit reports, non-conformance reports, corrective actions and the like – all of the tasks required to be in compliance with the various quality systems in place at the worksite. The program may be hosted in the cloud or on site, depending on the customer’s preference. “Typically, ProShop can replace five to six other software packages that companies use and that frequently do not communicate with each other,” adds Van Metre. “Of most interest to shop managers and owners, this software can have an enormous impact on improving profitability and throughput. Users cite many contributors to this, such as moving overhead labor to billable functions, gaining confidence to take on more complicated jobs, experiencing better on-time delivery performance and gleaning accurate profit margins on each project. In general, they can make much more informed and conscious choices surrounding all of their business decisions.”

Adion Systems, 1037 West Broadway, Suite 104, Vancouver, BC V6H 1E3, Canada, 360-515-7576, www.adionsystems.com.