moldmakingtechnology.com 27
want software that will help them cut costs and lead times. "Whether you
use terms like cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT) or Industry 4.0,
these trendy buzzwords have one common theme, which is giving users
instant access to rich and actionable information," Sean Brolley, business
development manager at Toolstats (Ferndale, Michigan), says. He adds that
sensors and live monitoring capabilities are becoming more popular in
production facilities, but if companies do not have an efficient way to store
and share that information with the suppliers and stakeholders that need
it, the information becomes less powerful. That is where the right software
platform can make a difference.
Roger Bassous, president of newly-established R.E.R. Software Inc.
(Rochester, Michigan), says that companies are increasingly more inter-
ested in tracking their jobs, using an enterprise resource planning (ERP)
system to better understand their job costs and gain more control over
current jobs. "ERP systems are designed to facilitate a lot of the overhead
that big enterprise companies face," he says. "They tend to be extremely
expensive, both initially and over the long-term, and data is typically col-
lected manually." He adds that ERP systems are not quite designed for a
specific industry and always require detailed industry software develop-
ment to integrate with each implemented location. Nevertheless, Bassous
agrees that there is a need for job-tracking software in moldmaking
because using measurable data to understand past work makes it easier to
more accurately quote and plan future jobs.
Both Brolley and Bassous note that the biggest challenge for mold shops
that want to adopt or should adopt a job-tracking software system is mak-
ing the leap to implementation of the new technology. The answer is
simplicity. Both Brolley and Bassous agree that if the software is too com-
plicated and is not built to suit the people using it, then no one will use it.
"Cloud-based solutions are becoming much easier to use and even easier to
implement," Brolley says. "Software products these days no longer require
downloading or complicated installation because they are hosted off-site,
which makes the maintenance process much easier for IT departments. If
new versions of the software or enhanced features need to be released, it
can happen almost seamlessly without disrupting workflows."
Bassous also says, "Automation is a critical component. Much of the
newer technology of both machinery and software provides for automatic
data retrieval. The easier it is for humans to interface with a technology,
the easier it will be to adopt job-tracking software."
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R.E.R. Software Inc. / 586-744-0881 / rogerb@rersoftware.com / rersoftware.com
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ToolStats / 586-408-9199 / sbrolley@toolstats.com / toolstats.com
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