Induron Coatings Adds eWorkplace Apps Quality Management and Process Manufacturing

Simplifies the manufacturing and quality control process with improved workflows and accessibility

Acumatica VAR

Industry

Paint and Coatings

Manufacturing

Protective coatings for water tank, industrial and architecture market, power transmission, and more.

Headquarters

Birmingham, Alabama

Employees

40+

Overview

Induron Protective Coatings is an industrial coatings manufacturer, primarily manufacturing epoxies, urethanes, zinc, rich coatings, and more. The 80-year-old company, founded in 1947, develops and manufactures industry-leading protective coating products, such as innovative ceramic-modified industrial coatings, for markets including general corrosion protection, electrical transmission tower maintenance, industrial epoxy floor coating, specialty industrial finishes, and potable water tank paint.

Induron Coatings, a company with over 80 years of excellence and ISO 9001 certification, relied on Sage PFW for its operations. However, the discontinuation of support for Sage PFW in 2014 and the looming obsolescence of Windows 10 posed significant challenges. Induron isolated its program on a separate server for nearly a decade to maintain operational efficiency and compliance. However, the lack of support became unsustainable, prompting them to seek a modern solution. Induron deployed Acumatica ERP with eWorkplace Apps’ Quality Management Suite and Process Manufacturing Suite to remain compliant and streamline manufacturing operations.

We have pretty strict quality standards and how we want to do things and we were trying to replicate what we were doing and you guys helped us do that. I think the good thing about it being cloud based, at least the way I understand it. The team really strive to meet all of our requirements. They did a really good job.

Jeff White

Executive Vice President and General Manager,
Induron Coatings

Products

eWorkplace Apps Quality Management and Process Manufacturing Suite with Acumatica Manufacturing Edition.

Key Results

Implemented end-to-end, flexible cloud-based Acumatica ERP platform seamlessly connected to Quality Management and Process Manufacturing system
Enhanced collaboration with ease of multiple access to the cloud system
Automated workflows, increasing productivity and accountability
Gained eWorkplace Apps’ Process Manufacturing management system supporting formulas and allows users to use volume and weight units of measures while saving time
Smooth transition with no rework of the whole ISO system
Gained customized three-page batch ticket, resulting in improved operational workflows
Streamlined manufacturing process, ensuring quality control and compliance with eWorkplace Apps Process Manufacturing and Quality Management Suite
Improved data and records transparency with feasibility to scale formulas
Increased record accuracy and access with a single, end-to-end platform

Challenges

Discontinuation of Sage PFW

In 2011, Induron Coatings started operating on a legacy Sage PFW system, where they manage their overall operations throughout the manufacturing process. In 2014, Sage quit supporting the Sage PFW program, which was a critical matter that Induron had to deal with. The discontinued program led them to isolate it on a separate server, preventing updates and creating long-term vulnerabilities.

“We were just worried that there’s a crash coming sometime and we would be back to pencil and paper”, says Jeff White, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Induron Coatings.

For nearly a decade, they managed their operation without any support. Induron tried the transitions to other systems, such as Process Pro and other Sage solutions. Additionally, the obsolescence of Windows 10 further heightened the urgency for modernization. They got a recommendation from a Sage consultant to use Acumatica as a robust and modern solution through a consultant, leading to the integration of eWorkplace Apps’ Process Manufacturing Suite.

ISO Compliance Needs

As an ISO 9001-certified company with a long-standing reputation for quality, maintaining comprehensive records has always been a priority. Since 1947, the company has meticulously documented quality control (QC) records for every batch produced.

“We are ISO 9001 certified registered company and we have all of our QC records back from 1947. Every batch we’ve ever made, but we’ve never put those into a computer system, says Jeff.” This explaining the QC records were never digitized, making it challenging to analyze historical data effectively and uncover trends to inform future decisions related to quality control. Induron performs quality control tests on batches and processes, and they are developing QC data that they have never done before. They can now build and see the trends, which will help them enhance their operations, ensuring quality control and compliance requirements are met.

Induron, being ISO compliant, needed lot-wise information on every product. With a customized lot-wise label form, they can now track each batch/lot with detailed information related to product code, batch/lot number, sequence number, manufacturing date, and more.

Data Accessibility with Legacy Systems

There was a significant operational challenge due to their legacy system, which was server-based and data not accessible remotely. “I haven’t been sales manager in about a little over 10 years and our sales manager is remote and our other computer system was not cloud based, says Jeff.”

This setup limited the ability of their remote sales manager to access critical data, creating inefficiencies and increasing the workload on other team members. “I was doing my job plus a lot of the sales manager as far as costing pricing salesman P&Ls, things like that and this job. And being in a cloud system, he now has access to all of that information, Jeff says.”

Specifically, the lack of cloud-based capabilities meant that the responsibility for managing essential sales functions such as costing, pricing, and profit and loss analysis often fell on individuals outside the sales management role.

“So really just to access for the sales team, I mean they have limited access, but they can look and see what they’ve got and you know things like that and it gives the sales manager a lot of access to data that he’s never had before, Jeff says.”

Solution

Acumatica connects seamlessly with eWorkplace Apps Process Manufacturing and Quality Management Suite

After the discontinuation of the Sage PFW program, Induron looked at several solutions. With the recommendation from Sage Consultant and Acumatica, Induron learned about eWorkplace Apps Process Manufacturing and Quality Management Suite. “We did look at another Sage solution as we were looking at you guys, but we just felt like this was the better solution, Jeff says.”

Acumatica allows users to connect with third-party applications and create custom processes, workflows, and applications to meet the unique requirements of industry-specific businesses. eWorkplace Apps extends Acumatica to meet the quality and manufacturing needs of manufacturers and distributors with a comprehensive Quality Management Suite and Process Manufacturing Suite for Acumatica.

Induron deployed eWorkplace Apps Process Manufacturing and Quality Management solutions in 2024. Process Manufacturing and Quality Management Suite for Acumatica are fulfilled by Acumatica Solutions.

eWorkplace Apps Process Manufacturing and Quality Management

Process Manufacturing and Quality Management solutions developed by eWorkplace Apps are natively built within Acumatica with the same toolset and database, making it seamless to operate the solutions within Acumatica. “Our objective was to make it as similar as possible, and you guys did a really good job helping us do that, says Jeff.”

The Process Manufacturing solution integrates with Acumatica’s manufacturing edition, making it a robust solution for process manufacturers. It allows process manufacturers to manage formulas and recipes, intermediates, finished goods, by-products, and consumables, optimize batch production and laboratory modules to innovate formulas and streamline the manufacturing operations of process-based industries.

The Quality Management Suite for Acumatica integrates with Acumatica’s manufacturing and distribution edition. It provides manufacturers and distributors with the ability to conduct end-to-end quality control testing. Perform receiving, production (in-process and at completion), shipment, RMA, ad hoc, and kit assembly. It allows for inspection and checklists and ensures the calibration and maintenance of tools and machines.

The solution allows for the generation of reports such as COA and forward/backward lot traceability. It also provides non-conformance and corrective and preventive action to control deviations in a product, process, or service.

Process Manufacturing and Quality Management Customizations

eWorkplace Apps also customizes to meet the unique needs of manufacturing and distribution businesses. Implementing the solution with specific custom features, usability, functionality, workflows, and more, eWorkplace Apps understands its customers’ needs and provides a perfect solution to map their requirements.

Process Manufacturing and Quality Management Suite, an integral part of Acumatica cloud-based ERP, implemented the customizations for Induron. These customizations included a three-page batch ticket, lot-wise label printing, and a customized formula report.

Induron performs lab operations where they are required to manage formulas, and complex conversions of weight to volume and volume to weight are included. The formula report gives them a consolidated view of the unit conversions, physical properties of a formula, and formula details.

eWorkplace Apps developed a customized three-page batch ticket for Induron that consisted of formula/recipe, packaging, and QC test details mapped to their requirements. While changing the systems, the updates were incorporated seamlessly, and they were similar to the previous one, leaving Induron without having to rework their whole ISO system.

“Everyone on the team, really, I think, had our best tried to meet our requirements as best as best they could, and they did a fantastic job on the three-page batch ticket, which is kind of the number one thing we have in our company that we run our company off of because on our shop floor, we don’t have computers, Jeff says.”

Benefits

Enhanced Operations

The customized batch ticket is tailored to meet Induron’s requirements and runs through the company’s defined workflow. The form flows from lab, customer service, shop floor, QC, and back to customer service to close the batch. “It’s the number one workflow document that we have, says Jeff.” It helps Induron ensure the batches are executed accurately, enabling them to effectively meet quality control standards with streamlined manufacturing operations.

Additionally, the system’s intuitive design has simplified their daily workflows and made their day-to-day operations easier and more efficient. The eWorkplace Apps Process Manufacturing combined with the Quality Management Suite for Acumatica has enhanced their overall operations, from accessing the data remotely to executing the quality control for data trends and process manufacturing operations throughout the manufacturing process.

Improved Traceability

Induron labels each lot, which is an ISO form for them. Every bucket that is shipped from their facility requires a label. With eWorkplace Apps’ customized lot-wise label, Induron has successfully enhanced its ability to track the information of each lot.

“It tells us all that information, so we can lot track stuff, and even within a batch, we can tell when it was filled, says Jeff.”

Improved traceability reduces the time spent in investigating the issues. The sequence number on each bucket makes it easy for Induron to gain a granular level of details even within each batch and identify any potential issues that arise, if any. “So if there’s an issue, it can kind of give us ideas, he says.”

Seamless Transition Maintaining Continuity

Induron was able to replicate its previous processes seamlessly. The team’s lack of tech-savvy made the transition from one system to another is difficult. eWorkplace Apps made it as simple as they can. “Team really strive to meet our requirements and made the transition as painless, says Jeff White.”

The customized three-page batch ticket was very crucial for Induron. A specific format was maintained to make it similar to the previous one. This preserved ISO compliance and reduced the learning curve for employees.

“We did change the revision on that form when we changed systems, but you look at it, and you can’t really tell the difference. I mean, and so that was a big thing for us, you know, to make sure with us being ISO that things remained very similar, Jeff says.”

Greater Accessibility and Visibility

The migration to a cloud-based system, which provided remote access to the sales manager, helped increase accessibility across the company. “Being in a cloud system, he now has access to all of that information, says Jeff.”

Team collaboration and visibility into the systems remotely helped Induron gain insights into critical data. This improved efficiency and reduced the dependency on personnel within the company.

The formula development, manufacturing instructions, production packaging, QC test details through three-page batch ticket report helped Induron with improved insights into the operations throughout the manufacturing process.

Conclusion

The Quality Management and Process Manufacturing Suite for Acumatica developed by eWorkplace Apps has significantly contributed to Induron’s streamlining of its manufacturing process. The web-based solution has simplified their daily operations with automated workflows. They don’t have to keep the records off the system, and everything can be accessed remotely, encouraging feasible team collaboration.

“The one that you guys have with it being web-based, I think I think it is more intuitive than some of the others, Jeff says.”

Induron’s R&D team develops unique formulas, and each batch goes through rigorous testing to meet high-quality standards. eWorkplace Apps provided tailored solution to meet their specific requirements making it a seamless experience for Induron to manage their day-to-day workflows effortlessly. “It’s been very beneficial. It met our needs, says Jeff.”

You know, if it’s somebody that’s never had a process manufacturing system, I think it would be 1000 times better than trying to track everything manually. And if they’ve got something else, I do think that it would be better a court again, according to what they’re using or how old it’s been.

Jeff White

Executive Vice President and General Manager,
Induron Coatings

Want To Learn More About eWorkplace Apps?

Contact us to learn more about the ERP solutions and services offered by eWorkplace Apps, focused on the Acumatica platform to drive the remarkable success of manufacturers and distributors.

Induron Coatings Adds eWorkplace Apps Quality Management and Process Manufacturing

Acumatica VAR

Industry

Manufacturing

Headquarters

Employees

Overview

Products

Key Results

Discontinuation of Sage PFW

ISO Compliance Needs

Data Accessibility with Legacy Systems

Acumatica connects seamlessly with eWorkplace Apps Process Manufacturing and Quality Management Suite

eWorkplace Apps Process Manufacturing and Quality Management

Process Manufacturing and Quality Management Customizations

Enhanced Operations

Improved Traceability

Seamless Transition Maintaining Continuity

Greater Accessibility and Visibility

Conclusion

Want To Learn More About eWorkplace Apps?

Advanced Planning and Scheduling

Successful Quality Management Implementation Tips with Acumatica Customers

Successful Quality Management Implementation Tips with Acumatica Customers

Successful Quality Management Implementation Tips with Acumatica Customers

Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) Powered by Siemens Opcenter - Overview

EWPA Laboratory Module - Overview

Batch Ticket (Production Order)

Setting up Formula and BOM

Process Manufacturing Suite Overview

NC and CAPA

In-Process and Production - QC Testing

Purchase Receipt - QC Testing

Quality Management Suite Overview

Form 1

Form