Company Overview

Lesch Machining, a micro-scale precision machining company with fewer than 70 employees, specializes in high-mix, low-volume production. Like many small manufacturers, Lesch faced significant challenges with complex setups, tight deadlines, and the need for efficiency at every step of their production process.

Their previous method of managing the shop floor relied heavily on spreadsheets and paper-based tracking, which was both time-consuming and prone to errors. Inefficiencies in communication, frequent delays, and costly downtime were common issues. This lack of streamlined processes not only increased operational costs but also risked customer satisfaction.

Faced with these hurdles, Lesch sought a solution that could provide real-time visibility, improve efficiency, and help them stay competitive without a significant investment in new personnel or costly ERP systems.

We were initially worried about implementing a new system, thinking it would slow us down, but Arma was so intuitive and easy to integrate that we were up and running in no time. Within the first week, we were able to get those quick wins.

– Coleman Will, Production Supervisor

Challenges

Lesch faced several critical challenges common in the precision machining sector:

• Lack of coordination: Operators often waited for instructions or clarifications, leading to unproductive time and delayed job starts.
• Manual data entry: Machine usage and downtime were tracked manually, resulting in incomplete and outdated information.
• High setup times: Frequent setup changes in high-mix production environments led to underutilized machines and idle labor.
• Limited visibility: Supervisors and managers lacked real-time insights into machine performance, contributing to missed deadlines and inefficiencies.
• Employee dissatisfaction: The need to walk between workstations for updates created frustration and fatigue among operators, reducing overall morale and productivity.

Recognizing the financial impact and potential risk to customer relationships, Lesch sought a solution to eliminate these pain points and support their growth goals.

Arma Implementation at Lesch

Lesch chose Arma, a comprehensive work order management and real-time collaboration platform tailored for manufacturing environments. Arma provided a centralized hub for managing workflows, enabling Lesch to:

• Monitor shop floor activity in real-time, reducing response times and enabling proactive decision-making.
• Track machine utilization and job status from a single dashboard, eliminating the need for manual data entry.
• Reduce setup times through immediate visibility of job completion and machine status, increasing overall throughput.
• Streamline communication across teams, reducing reliance on face-to-face updates and manual reporting.
• Digitize workflows, moving away from error-prone paper-based systems and freeing up supervisors to focus on continuous improvement.

Results and Impact

Since implementing Arma, Lesch has experienced transformative results that underscore the platform’s impact:

• 25% Reduction in Setup Times: By providing real-time data and automating task assignments, Lesch reduced setup times by 25%, increasing overall throughput by 20%.
• 20% Increase in Machine Utilization: Improved coordination and visibility allowed Lesch to increase machine utilization by 20%, enabling them to meet production schedules more consistently without adding shifts or personnel.
• 350 Additional Production Hours: Real-time tracking and improved workforce management reclaimed over 350 production hours, allowing Lesch to take on more jobs and increase capacity.
• Improved Employee Morale: Operators now have real-time data at their fingertips, reducing unnecessary movements and enabling them to solve problems more independently, leading to higher job satisfaction and productivity.

Key Benefits

• Real-Time Visibility: Arma provided Leschwith live insights into job status, machine performance, and workforce productivity, enabling more accurate production planning and faster issue resolution.
• Enhanced Coordination: The platform’s communication tools ensured alignment between supervisors and operators, reducing downtime caused by miscommunication and ensuring smooth transitions between tasks.
• Cost Efficiency: Arma’s impact on setup times, machine utilization, and labor efficiency enabled Lesch to achieve substantial cost savings without increasing headcount or investing in costly ERP systems.
• Easy Implementation: Arma’s seamless integration into Lesch’s existing processes meant minimal disruption. The team quickly adapted, and Lesch began seeing benefits almost immediately.

Long-Term Benefits

Beyond the immediate gains, Arma has empowered Lesch to establish a culture of continuous improvement. By using Arma’s analytics to track performance trends and pinpoint bottlenecks, Leschhas launched several initiatives to further reduce setup times and streamline workflows.

The platform also enables Lesch to distinguish between planned and unplanned downtimes, providing deeper insights into the root causes of delays. This data-driven approach has improved maintenance planning and resource allocation, further enhancing operational efficiency and profitability.

Conclusion

With Arma in place, Lesch is better positioned to scale and adapt to future challenges. The platform continues to deliver actionable insights that help Lesch optimize processes, reduce costs, and consistently meet customer expectations.

Discover Arma Today

Lesch Machining’s story demonstrates that even small-scale manufacturers can achieve significant operational improvements with the right tools. Arma has helped Lesch reclaim hundreds of production hours, enhance machine utilization, and reduce costs—all without additional hires or disruptive changes.

If you’re looking to gain similar efficiencies and drive growth in your operations, contact us today for a free consultation. Discover how Arma can help you make data-driven decisions that boost productivity, reduce costs, and empower your team.