Subjects
Samas Roneo - Industrial System 1
Samas Roneo manufacture a range of office furniture, the main products are VFCs (Vertical Filing Cabinets) and steel cupboards.
The company was founded in 1909 as "Roneo". They manufactured Decollators (a forerunner of the photocopier). They progressed to producing filing cabinets.
In the 1960s, they were bought by Vickers but in the early 80s, Vickers lost interest in office supplies and the company had a management buyout. The new owners of the company, proceeded to sell it to Dutch company Samas.
The Samas Group are the largest office manufacturer in Europe and the second largest in the world.
We are very grateful to everyone at Samas Roneo for letting us come to visit. We would particularly like to thank Keith Newbury and Gary Beden for showing us around and answering questions.
Samas Roneo uses software called Chameleon 2000, an industry standard product by Tetra, which has many functions. One example that was explained was the MRP (Material Requirement Plan). When a customer makes an order, Chameleon will look at the stock levels, work out what materials are needed and work out a schedule, so that machines know what component needs to be used on each day, thus ensuring that deadlines are met. Chameleon will tell people what to load on each machine and when. Human beings have to enter the stock information accurately and some people fail to do this properly. They need training to ensure that they recognise the importance of getting the input right. Overall, this system saves time and money. Three people (production controller, his assistant and a third person to do the ordering) now do a job that 20-30 people used to be employed to do.
Chameleon 2000 also deals with administrative functions including sales, wages, purchasing and predicting future sales. The computer system used to fill a room but now consists of one server.
There has been a massive investment in technology on the factory floor. There is a great deal of heavy machinery in the factory, which shapes, holes and welds the filing cabinets and cupboards. There is a high degree of automation in the process.
The Internet is used to communicate between sites. Drawings can be Emailed and documents can be shared.
Much of the unskilled machine work is repetitive, but it is also highly sought after because technology has resulted in fewer people being employed in unskilled jobs. One machine can do the job that several people used to do and it will do the work faster and more accurately. Work has been created, however, for skilled technicians who have to maintain the technology.
Workers are rotated between jobs to improve the quality of their working lives. As a team, part of their pay is dependant on production targets being met.
In some cases, the increased production has saved jobs. For example, the number employed on the paint line has remained constant, despite the new technology. This is because the increase in speed has caused a great increase in production.
Machines can be relied on to produce equipment of consistent quality. A quality control system is in place but there are far fewer rejects than there used to be. The paint line, where "intelligent" robots are programmed to know exactly what component they are painting and what colour to use, is an example of machinery producing consistent quality. Filing cabinets and cupboards have to be painted with tough paint, which cannot be allowed to run or smear. The technology produces a perfect result almost every time.
Control centre for the paint line
Samas Roneo is not a "dirty old factory". The machinery is modern and the factory floor is clean and safe.
The level of industrial accidents has fallen sharply as a result of the new technology. An example of a safety feature is that the paint line will stop if anyone enters an unsafe area.
In some respects, technology can drive health and safety standards. As work has got safer, the authorities have insisted on even greater precautions because they know that technology is available to reach these higher standards.
A massive investment was needed to buy the equipment we saw. The technology has paid back this investment through increased productivity without increased staffing levels.
The automated paint line is not used for very small orders because it is not worth using the line for only a few items at a time. If a customer requires a small number of a particular colour, this is done manually for efficiency of costs.
The company still thinks that the assembly process (where the components of the furniture are constructed) needs flexibility that only human beings can give. Therefore, this process has not yet been automated.
The automated MRPs require accuracy of input. The technology cannot guard against human beings who enter the wrong information.