The fabrication industry is being constantly challenged to hit on-time delivery targets and meet daily production goals. These issues are more critical for a mid-sized company like Mercier, with which resources are limited but operational complexities faced are the same as larger competitors.

Without streamlined processes in place, coupled with real-time tracking and effective coordination, many companies are not able to meet customer demands while remaining profitable. That is where Arma steps in: equipping users with the means for leveling up visibility, enhancing OTD, and teams performing flawlessly.

Company Overview

Mercier is a fabrication company operating with 120 employees, manufacturing a mix of standardized workflows and custom jobs for many industries, ranging from construction to automotive manufacturing.

The company was failing to break into the digital era with its heavily paper-based approach. Despite their skilled workforce, Mercier faced significant operational challenges related to coordination, visibility, and on-time delivery (OTD).

Before, providing job status updates to customers would take us hours or even days. Now, we can see where every job is at a glance.

– Julio Kerluke, Production Supervisor

Challenges

Coordination and Communication Gaps

• Information from the shop floor was being conveyed verbally to supervisors, who in turn again relayed updates via emails and phone calls. This led to delays, increased chances of miscommunication, and merely allowed reactionary decision-making.
• With no real-time visibility into job progress, bottlenecks emerged, and deadlines were frequently missed, frustrating both staff and clients.

Inability to Deliver on Time

• The lack of synchronization between teams caused production delays, especially with custom jobs, where ad-hoc changes threw off schedules. Without real-time updates, the company frequently missed delivery targets, which strained relationships with key customers.

High Rework and Inefficiencies

• Unclear job statuses and detection of issues in very late stages resulted in high rework rates. These wasted time, material, and labor costs.
• Paper-based Inspection Test Plans (ITPs) delayed tracking ability and furthered compounded delays by the QA/QC team.

Challenges in Digital Transition

Mercier had begun its transition to digital solutions, but mobile restrictions on the shop floor made it difficult to fully implement a solution. Their reliance on paper logs and a homegrown work order database added complexity, making the shift even more challenging.

Arma Implementation at Mercier

To address these operational issues, Mercier implemented Arma as a central platform for managing workflows, communication, and quality control.

Phase 1: Smoothen Communication and Visibility

The initial stages of the implementation of Arma focused on solving two of the most important pain points: coordination and real-time visibility.

• Real-time Updates: With the help of 2-3 tablets provided in the shop floor, production teams could log the status of jobs in real time. This eliminated the need for verbal handoffs of team members and manual transcription by supervisors.
• Centralized dashboard: The Planning/Projects and QA/QC teams now had instant access to live job progress and contextual job insight, which improved their ability to adjust schedules, allocate resources, and address issues before they escalated.

Phase 2: Improvement in On-Time Delivery (OTD)

Arma’s implementation resulted in a 15% improvement in OTD:

• Automated Notifications: Teams were notified when jobs and tasks fell behind schedule, allowing them to correct issues proactively. This was particularly effective in managing custom jobs, which previously caused significant delays.
• Dynamic Workflow Management: Arma could handle adaptive scheduling, meaning Mercier could reshuffle priorities on the fly without disturbing the broader production timeline.

Phase 3: Minimizing Rework and Digitizing ITPs

A key improvement was the shift to digital ITPs:

• Reduced Rework: Real-time tracking and digital inspections put QA/QC in a position to find defects earlier; this resulted in a 20% reduction in rework.
• Data-driven insights: Arma’s contextual data allowed Mercier to understand the trend in quality issues; continuous improvement initiatives based on these further drove error minimization.

Results and Impact

In just six months after the deployment of Arma, Mercier saw substantial improvements across the board:

1. Increased On-Time Delivery

• OTD rates increased by 15%, significantly enhancing customer satisfaction as Mercier gained the ability to retain and capture new clients.
• Custom jobs, once a source of schedule disruptions, were now being consistently completed on-time due to Arma’s dynamic task management tools.

2. Reduced Rework

• Through improved job-tracking and ITP digitalization, Mercier reduced its rework rate by 20%, saving US$50,000, in labor and material, costs per year.

3. Better Coordination

• Decision-making was improved by 25% with the introduction of real-time insights into labor utilization and job progress. Teams could now work in sync, with fewer delays and miscommunications.

4. Financial Benefits and ROI

• Through better labor utilization (a 15% increase) and a 20% reduction in idle time, Mercier reclaimed over 300 production hours, leading to significant labor savings.
• The overall cost savings allowed Mercier to recoup the cost of Arma within the first few months, with additional long-term benefits anticipated as they continued to fine-tune their operations.

Employee Feedback

Arma’s intuitive design and minimal training requirements made it easy for employees to adapt to the new system:

With Arma, I no longer waste time tracking down my supervisor for updates. I can log progress directly on the tablet and get immediate feedback. It’s made my job so much smoother.

– Trevor Bailey, Senior Operator

Mercier deployed Arma without halting production. The platform’s intuitive design required minimal training, and teams were using the system productively within just a few hours.

The operational improvements, particularly in reducing downtime and rework, allowed Mercier to justify the investment in Arma within a few months, with further cost savings expected over time.

Long-Term Benefits

Nine months into using Arma, Mercier is leveraging the platform not only to improve current operations but also to drive continuous improvement initiatives. By tracking performance metrics over time, the company is now able to:

• Predict and prevent bottlenecks before they occur.
• Launch new continuous improvement (CI) projects to optimize workflows further.
• Stay ahead of customer demand, delivering higher-quality work at a faster rate.

Conclusion

With Arma, Mercier has successfully transitioned from manual, paper-based processes to a fully digital and real-time workflow. This has led to improved on-time delivery, reduced rework, and enhanced operational efficiency—all while maintaining minimal disruption during the transition.

Discover Arma Today

Ready to revolutionize your fabrication shop floor? Contact us today for a free consultation and see how Arma can improve your on-time delivery, reduce inefficiencies, and help your team perform at its best—all without interrupting your current operations.