MAY 2019 IT IN FOCUS
SPONSORED BY EXEL COMPUTER SYSTEMS
CUSTOMISED AUTOMATION
A specialist engineering firm finds additional savings with Exel’s customisation toolkit
CONTRIBUTOR: EXEL COMPUTER SYSTEMS
Prior to implementing EFACS E/8, James Fisher
Nuclear Ltd, a project-based specialist engineering
and technical service company, depended upon Sage
financial software, timesheets and spreadsheets. Project
managers had to gather information from timesheets,
record costs and constantly monitor progress. It was
becoming a significant burden with little up-to-date information.
“The only people with access to financial information were
the accounts department, but the people that needed it were
the project managers,” says Paul Rivans, business improvement
manager at James Fisher Nuclear. “We were looking for a fully
integrated ERP system. We wanted the provider to have
an understanding of the business so they could support
future improvement.”
The key was instant access to up-to-date and
accurate project information. This had to include
timesheets, operating costs and material purchases.
“We wanted to put controls in place that enabled
automated timesheet data collection. Expenses had to
be collated and costed against projects too.”
A review of a decade-old EFACS system used only at
the company’s Malton site in North Yorkshire pointed the
way. The latest version – EFACS E/8 – offered a wide range of
ERP modules, including Contract Control.
“I invited Exel to demonstrate EFACS E/8 so I could do a gap
analysis. It was very configurable,” says Rivans.
As an off-the-shelf solution, EFACS E/8 met around 90% of the
business requirements and could easily accommodate process
differences between sites. The integral Customisation Toolkit
allowed core functionality to be added or modified with ease.
“EFACS E/8 was the most competitive offering, even with
allowances for the configuration work,” continues Rivans. “It gave
us the fine-tuning that deviated from the standard disciplines
that an ERP system provides.”
The implementation began in 2013 by installing a test system
and assembling a project team. Backed by Exel’s expertise and
practical help, this team was responsible for user workshops,
software implementation and system configuration. Current
business processes were investigated and functional changes
specified. EFACS E/8 was then configured for two operating
divisions operating across six business sites.
The Customisation Toolkit permitted elements such
as menus, forms, tables and fields to be changed without
amending the applications. A new accounts structure was
designed and timesheet collection and expenses recording
set up. Templates were created for invoices, testing certificates
and other documents. The Workflow module helped automate
business procedures to increase operational efficiency.
Following some localised user training, the
system went live at the end of 2013.
“This work gave us project management and
cost control for every aspect of the business.
Exel did really well,” says Rivans.
In 2012 the company’s turnover was
£10m; by 2016 it had reached £60m. EFACS E/8
has proved ideal for contract control, even in
areas such as the nuclear industry.
“Anything that generates revenue in the
business, we now have a control and a process
in place for,” explains Rivans. “We have got full
visibility of all the costs too.”
If a project changes, the new details
are immediately accessible. Project
managers are automatically alerted
by workflow triggers to issues – like
labour overruns – before they become
costly problems. They can see what
everyone is doing, including over 300
designers using CAD systems.
“EFACS manages the risk,” says Rivans.
“It protects our margin and the performance
of the project. We now have total control of
allocation of resources.”
The Customisation Toolkit has allowed
subsequent changes to be quickly delivered. In
the year to February 2016, the financial benefits
were impressive.
“We made a net cost saving of £83,610 by
doing some EFACS E/8 configuration work to
improve the processes to meet our business
requirements,” concludes Rivans.
At the start of the project, James Fisher
Nuclear had ambitious growth targets and knew
that they needed the right ERP system to support
the business. Thanks to EFACS E/8, the company
has introduced tighter management controls,
gained full visibility of costs through real-time
data and can easily modify the system.
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