Jota Advanced Engineering Ltd, the recently formed sub-contract precision engineering division of the Jota Group, has invested in a PSL Datatrack production control system to manage their sub-contract engineering business. Having already invested in a skilled workforce to support the requirements of Jota Sport motor racing, the company was in the perfect position to expand its business by lending its engineering skills, quick turnaround and technical capabilities to the highly competitive general sub-contract market. Having made this move the company recognised the need to invest in dedicated production control software, with PSL Datatrack ticking all the boxes.

Photograph courtesy of Jota Group

Ryan Goodger, Director, explains: “Our experience looking after the Jota race programme meant that we were used to fast turnaround, high precision engineering and as we are very good at this type of work we were confident we could offer a similar service to all kinds of engineering markets. That has proved to be the case and now some 75% of our work is in the general sub-contract area of a wide range of industries and covering everything from prototyping to production.”

Jota Advanced Engineering has a comprehensive plant list that includes a Haas UMC-750 5-axis vertical machining centre, Haas Mini Mill, Haas ST-10Y and 30Y CNC lathes, Bridgeport Mills, Colchester Student and Elliot lathes. To manage production, originally the company had started out using a combination of Word & Excel documents, along with an in house database. It was soon realised that a slicker, more capable and less time consuming method of production planning and control was required in order to match their aspirations for growth in the general sub-contracting sector.

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“We needed a system to bring it all together and were introduced to PSL Datatrack by a fellow sub-contractor at the Mach 2016 exhibition,” says Ryan. “Following a full demonstration by PSL Datatrack, rather than just an online demo that was given by another company, we decided it was the system for us over and above other systems.”

Not only was Ryan impressed with the approach, time and help provided by PSL Datatrack during their evaluation of the system, he also recognised the advantageous features of PSL Datatrack software. “The focus of PSL Datatrack is on the precision engineering sector and the attention to detail is clear to see. The system is well designed, fast to navigate, logical and intuitive to use. We also liked its flexibility and the fact that it could be tailored specifically for us.”

The onsite installation and training provided by PSL was focused on fast implementation and enabled Jota Advanced Engineering to go live the following week. The system provides manufacturing process control of Quotations, Sales and Purchase Order processing, through to workshop scheduling, Shop Floor Data Collection, deliveries and invoicing.

Ryan sums up their experience by saying, “We are very pleased with the investment we have made. Our business now has a system in place to complement our technical abilities. We now have far more accurate information available about our business, our commitments and capacity. We can now quote with the confidence that we can keep the quality, precision and punctual delivery promises that we offer our customers"