A family-run group founded in 1979, now one of the leaders in mechanical sheet metal welding and painting in France and Romania.
Piroux’s challenge
Several years ago, the PIROUX group reindustrialized in Romania, while keeping a production in France.
This reindustrialization requires the resumption and adaptation of documentation and welding quality practices.
However, moving between two countries and several production sites exposes the group to difficulties in terms of traceability and information flow.
It should be noted that the monitoring of the welding activity requires the processing of a lot of information that must be kept up to date according to customer specifications and business standards.
Consequently, the reindustrialization of PIROUX from France to Romania, leads to take back the files quality welding, to recreate PQR. Enabling the uniqueness of information within the Romanian factories is an additional challenge.
For example, document templates in Excel format are reused by each new Welding Engineer. In order to optimize them or to conform them to a new case, these models are regularly duplicated, modified, optimized and then duplicated again in the next project. All this without common libraries/databases between production sites.
This case study illustrates the exposure to data entry errors, duplicates and wasted time that method/quality departments can encounter.
What was the solution?
The Cloud environment proposed by Welding Premium appeared to be a turnkey solution to optimize PIROUX’s document tracking.
The method/quality departments consider it interesting to launch the project from one of the 2 production sites in Romania; the latter having an advanced expertise in welding quality within the group.
The PREMIUM features of Welding Cloud were offered to several users, including welding engineers. The application now allows them to record welding parameters and part validations (PQR) in a common group environment.
Also, an additional point appreciated by the users, is the follow-up of the external qualifications of the welders.
Using and deploying the solution
The parts of the software dedicated to the creation ofcahier de soudage WPS and welding production follow-up are used on so-called current files throughout the year. These tend to be “repeated” from one case to the next. Welding Cloud ‘s “duplication of cases” functionality is now being used to “copy and paste” all the elements of the cases WPS, etc.) and thus quickly link the processing of a project to its production and final reporting.
Welding Cloud is also deployed on a few “large files” of several hundred pages –such as bus frames and scissor lifts in this case.
The main difficulties of these cases are that they are unique and complex. But be careful: applying a file model to this type of project could have the opposite effect: it could waste time.
Fortunately, Welding Cloud is flexible enough to quickly adapt a WPS, insert precise appendices in the manufacturer’s file between two chapters, synthesize hundreds of welding parameters in a “Weldmap” (welding follow-up sheet) etc.
The Cloud deployment has allowed to equip quickly and remotely the PIROUX sites – 1 in France and 1 in Romania.
The Cloud SaaS (Software As A Service) formula does not require any installation; a web browser is all you need.
A distance learning course was enough to launch the product.
Results of the Welding premium
- Save time on welding documentation tasks
- 1 full-time person freed up for higher value-added tasks
- For the method department, less tedious problems and more serenity (less possibility of errors or omissions)
Evolutionary paths
Improve adoption of the solution within the group. Development Paths:
- Train a new person on the software (welding engineer)
- Integrate a new production site for new large projects (transport vehicle chassis and scissor lifts)
