Production Control Platform

The problem

The shop floor ran on five separate apps, one per department, plus a planning suite of Python scripts working on Excel files on a single desktop. Each had its own data, its own logins and its own idea of the plan, so the morning meeting started by reconciling numbers instead of acting on them.

The approach

• Rebuilt the five department apps (carbon, paint, bonding, assembly and final inspection) as one platform on one Postgres database, with Microsoft sign-in and role-based access.
• Ported the desktop planning suite to the web: a day-by-day flow simulation from carbon to shipping, with a firm first day and a forecast that regenerates as each day is closed.
• The plan publishes straight to every department's board as daily targets; actuals are booked per job and vehicle, including work done ahead of plan, and feed back to re-plan the next day.
• Final inspection and supplier trim inspection with fault queues, dispositions, signed confirmations and right-first-time by shop and by supplier.
• SQCDP boards, daily meeting views and sign-in-free TV screens for the shop floor, all changed centrally without touching the TV.
• Car-set tracking against the delivery commitment: what has shipped, what each assembly station has built, and what is holding up the next set.

The outcome

• Five apps and a desktop planning suite replaced by one system of record.
• Plan, actuals and quality in one place, so the daily meeting starts from the same numbers.
• Live on the shop floor within days, then 70 iterations in its first three weeks, backed by unit, database and end-to-end tests.