If the digital age has brought to the Graphic Arts several adaptation needs, the profitability guarantee may be in a differentiated way of managing conventional elements of production process as printing, machines, paper etc..
In case, the managing is an extensive term that involves all company’s operation control: sales, customer service, product specification, production planning and control, materials and financial management, between others.
Is in this niche that Metrics works. The company was present in the last Drupa with an own stand, besides participate of DIP – Drupa Innovation Park, place for companies that presented products with a high innovation rate.
Metrics is a genuinely national company with ten years of market, which has the origin connected to IT (Information Technology) market that found in Printing Industry its main market niche, nowadays it is dedicated exclusively to developing solutions for this market.
“The speciality that we acquired in printing segment is our greater differential. When talks about Printing Industry, there are many details, several items involved in production, in intelligence to control what enter and leaves, the consumables… What we noticed when we started this segment performance, is that the specifics characteristics of this market are not attended by the conventional systems”, explains
Osmar Barbosa, founder partner and Metrics president.
Metrics Printware Concept
One of the highlights of Metrics in Drupa, the Metrics Printware concept involve systematized support for all business process of a printing industry, allowing the creation of modular solutions and adaptable to each company characteristics. The products created in the Metrics Printware philosophy are toward to the new printing industry reality, with more automation, including the JDF standard support for integration with machines and digital workflow system.
“Our goal is to provide to printing, our clients, all management system support to be even more profitable, and can adapt and compete in increasingly exigent market and toward for the digital technology”.
Currently, the acting areas of Metrics solutions are divided in four main segments, printed in a meeting room of the company: Commercial management, production, administrative and decision support.
Commercial Management – Metrics attends all the sales cycle. Bring budget modules able to generate cost estimate based in technical data and according to the company’s characteristics.
The modules are configurable, allowing the users to describe all particularities of the request in work entrance. Once filled, the information are used to supply a database and, automatically, used for price calculation, business proposal generation and offer a base for production planning.
Several costing standards can be applied, and the calculations are detailed until the lowest level.
The cost formation follows rules defined by client, in agreement with its strategy. Is possible to realize simulations to help in negotiation with clients, understanding the impact of each concessions realized.
The system creates commercial proposals, in format defined in company, as documents for internal analysis. The information is presented objectively, and let you to make decisions based on numbers.
Product Engineering – To define the better way to produce a work is one of the more complex activities in printing industry. Metrics system offer tools which uses artificial intelligence techniques from the entered data – and the jobs characteristics, forward each job by a script that optimizes your process. This occurs from the client’s specifications recognition, available machines, materials, etc. The system applies rules and realizes simulations for the cycle optimization, with the lower cost possible.
“Improve the management and process control means cost reduction and more efficiency: do more with less. Means to attend client’s better. It is fundamental for any company”. Said Osmar.
Production Orders - Other important topic covered by Metrics Printware concept is the production order management. It must have all the product specification, process and materials, as the techniques orientation for confection. The documents generates should allow the exact insight by the operators about what they have to do in each special job. Through Metrics this orders are generated automatically from client's specifications based in product engineering. Technical information about each process is available and is used to emit documents, plan and control plant's production.
Planning – The software assumes a position that to be profitable, a plant should operate with a high level of occupation, and great jobs volume.
“But, there are impediments, as products deadline increasingly shorter, drop of circulation and work entry with more complex level”, said Osmar. “This requires greater intelligence in production organization moment.”
According to Metrics specifications, the system allows by Metrics Planner tool, to plan properly all Production Orders execution, considering deadlines, priorities, productive capacity and restrictions. The Production Orders once released, are included immediately in planning, and any change, like specification, date or quantity, adjust automatically to work plan.
With intuitively and quickly way, the system operators can distribute all activities between several machines, generating the production scheduling. Through a simple printing interface with many resources, the user has the possibility to modify the sequence, obtain expected occupation information, and generate reports and more. The finish forecast is adjusted in real time, as the information of produced quantities is captured in machines. Using the simulation functions is possible to evaluate the impact of any planning modification, like a greater request entry, equipment’s breakdown or overtime uses.
The delivery forecast information, future occupation and sequence are available for all company’s consulting.
“This way, is simple to make decision about accept a request, work overtime, renegotiate deadlines or adopt commercial politics to ensure the plant occupation”. Said Osmar.
JobTrack- Another highlight resource and fundamental in Metrics Printware concept.
Metrics Job Track allows the systematized follow up of all production activities. Integrated product engineering and planning modules, allow an integrated control and total product preparation cycle.
Offer resources to register productive and unproductive times, and the produced quantities, even with electronic data captured directly from machines.
The information generated can be used for programming automatic adjustment in real time; product costing; productivity indicators, presented through reports and charts.
Cost Analysis – Metrics Printware offers an intelligent way to analyze and calculate variations between estimates and reality about what is been produce in printing.
Metrics ACR register all estimate cost information in budget, including materials, workforce, outsourcing, commissions etc. Production real data are captured by the operational production system, stock and financial. Through consult and management analysis, is possible to identify where changes, reasons and the impacts in profitability occurred of each product and client.
And, the most important of this system is that, according to Osmar, it works with complete information, captured of printing day-to-day. “This allows to align all the industrial and administrative changes and avoid that localized mistakes can may go undetected and contaminate the business as a whole, "he said.
Inf.: www.metrics.com.br
A national legend
In an interview for Revista Desktop, Osmar Barbosa explained a little of the challenges found by a national technology company.
Desktop - How to be a national technology company in a country like Brazil?
Osmar – Is challenging, but very satisfying. To be a technology company, we have to be prepared, promote constant investments in research and development, ensuring the technologic advances in our products so that they are compatible with our customers’ needs.
This put us in constant movement, innovating all days. We have in Brazil companies that have the better resources and technologies, which are compared to what is best in world. At the same time, we live with companies’ contrast that have a lesser specialization degree and of investments in technology.
This view requires a continuous process of knowledge acquisition, which develops in direct partnership with our customers, which help us to create a knowledge and software basis with large acceptance in companies with all sizes.
In addition to the operation in Brazil, Metrics export technology for more 6 countries in Latin America: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Mexico where have a branch, this show that we are in the correct way.
Desktop – Recently, you have joined to Afeigraf...
Osmar – Correct. Afeigraf began as an association that brings new proposals for printing market. This is Metrics goal too as a technology company that always searches innovation.
Desktop – What are the differentials of Metrics products?
Osmar – We stat to approach production and cost planning tools in a way that is not so common. We increase our solutions and today we attend all business cycle. Efficiency in management impact in radical way in productivity, and the management systems are the key for this impact is positive. The industry, in a general way passes through a strong production automation process, and this require specifics solutions, that allows to see how the company’s work and discover ways to work better.
(1) JDF – Job Definition Format: Standard language for process integration and automation in printing industry. For more information: www.cip4.org
