Case Study: Managing Manufacturing Tools with Microsoft SharePoint
Wrench Tracking Case Study: Springhouse proposed using Microsoft SharePoint because we knew the company had familiarity with that solution.
Taking a "monkey wrench" out of tracking torque wrenches
Manufacturing companies often have many employees using and sharing tools over multiple shifts. Our client asked us to create a novel way to track their torque wrenches and identify when they need calibration.
Mechanics use a torque wrench when the exact tightness of screws, nuts, and bolts is crucial to the job. Torque wrenches are necessary in the automotive, aerospace, construction, and engineering industries. For product safety and stability, these tools need to give consistent and precise measurements. Depending on the type of torque wrench, they need recalibration after a set number of uses (i.e., 5,000 operations) or once per year, whichever comes first.
Goal
"We need a process to track torque wrenches and ensure calibration is maintained for audit purposes." To meet regulations and quality guidelines, our client needed a method to request torque wrenches that meet quality and specification guidelines.
Recommendation
Having worked with this client for several decades, Springhouse proposed using a Microsoft SharePoint solution because we knew the company had familiarity and comfort with that application. We developed a SharePoint form for mechanics to submit their wrench metadata and to serve as the repository for submitted requests, and recommended a custom workflow to automate email notifications among the stakeholders.
Approach - The Form
The Torque Request Form standardizes a way for mechanics to request a wrench that meets strict specifications. Mechanics complete the form with the serial number, torque amount, the unit of measure, requestor, and shift. Knowing the shift is important for sending reminder emails when the wrenches are due to be returned to the tooling department. The form moves to Quality Assurance (QA) for processing. QA assigns an inspector to calibrate, test, and record the results for each wrench - a pass designation prompts an email to the mechanic letting them know the wrench is ready for pickup, and a fail designation alerts QA to set the wrench aside for repairs.
Approach - The Workflow
When the form is submitted, the automation workflow sends an acknowledgment email to the requestor, and QA receives an email to assign an inspector to complete the calibration and testing. When the QA inspector calibrates and passes a wrench, the system emails the wrench's serial number to the mechanic, alerting them that it is ready. If a wrench is overdue for an inspection, the workflow emails a reminder to the mechanic and QA.
The Records
In the SharePoint wrench audit library, we created list views that group and sort the metadata for reporting purposes. With SharePoint column filtering, employees can create and save reports that meet individual needs. After completing the form and workflow, the client requested metrics that captured time-to-complete, so a calculated column was added to the SharePoint library and made available to the various list views for reporting.
Results
The Torque Request Form provides a means for employees to request a torque wrench they know is up to specifications. In addition, the SharePoint library provides the history of requests and verified certification, providing an audit trail. In its first three months, the form captured between 250 and 315 torque wrenches per month. Not a single wrench failed calibration, and all were returned on time.
Next Steps
Springhouse recommended a SharePoint solution to this client because it is a SharePoint-centric organization. With other consulting clients (and eventually with this client, too), Springhouse suggests developing solutions using Microsoft Power Platform tools, such as Power Apps for form development and Power Automate for workflow automation.