Every year, Soudronic builds around 100 machines and components for the metal packaging industry, in many variants, and each one goes through an inspection process that spans several departments and several months. For a long time, this was documented in binders and with maximum checklists. It cost 1,600 hours per year and made process reliability dependent on the experience of individual inspectors. Since Soudronic digitized its inspection processes with Operations1 and connected them to ERP and DMS, filing and archiving have been eliminated entirely, compiling documentation takes 95% less effort, and the company saves over €180,000 a year.
Key Takeaways
Soudronic, machinery and plant engineering (production systems for metal packaging)
Digital inspection instructions and inspection records across the entire production process, integrated with ERP and DMS
Over €180,000 in annual savings from reduced documentation effort, down from 1,600 hours per year
95% less effort to compile inspection documentation
100% less effort for filing and archiving thanks to automatic reports in the DMS
The Starting Point
Building machines in many variants to high quality standards requires seamless inspection. At Soudronic, production planning compiled an entire binder of inspection documents for each machine. The binder traveled with the machine through the production departments and was filed and archived once inspection was complete.
With lead times of several months, different employees work on the same machine. At every handover, they first had to figure out which inspection steps had already been completed. After each inspection, department heads validated the complete documentation to make sure no step had been missed. Compiling, maintaining and filing the inspection documentation added up to 1,600 hours per year.
On top of that, process reliability was at risk. Because Soudronic offers machines and components in variants, inspectors worked with so-called maximum checklists and had to know themselves which steps applied to each machine. This worked thanks to the team's extensive experience, but in light of demographic change, it was not a sustainable solution.
When Cyril Maurer took over the department in 2016, he set himself a clear goal: to map a machine's inspection documentation digitally and seamlessly across the entire production process. Finding the right solution took time. "I tried a lot of things and asked other companies. I thought I couldn't be the only one with this problem," says Cyril Maurer, Head of Production and Testbench at Soudronic.
The Path to the Solution
Soudronic introduced Operations1 in early 2020, used internationally and in multiple languages from the start. The company deliberately began with a narrow focus on digital inspection instructions combined with inspection records, with the long-term aim of a group-wide rollout.
Shortly after the launch came the decisive step: integration with the ERP system and DMS. Orders from the ERP are now automatically linked to the right inspection records in Operations1, and completed reports are automatically stored in the DMS. A process full of paper printouts and system gaps became a fully integrated, partially automated and scalable solution.
The way content is structured matters just as much. In Operations1, inspection instructions are built from modular process steps. A step that appears in many inspection instructions exists only once. When it is changed, all affected documents update automatically. This creates a single point of truth for inspection processes.
For inspectors, day-to-day work has changed fundamentally. Instead of a binder, they receive documentation digitally for each order and are guided safely through every inspection step via various interactions. When a machine moves to the next department, the next open inspection step is immediately visible. "Operations1 has taken our inspection process to a new level. Employees can concentrate on inspection, and low-value tasks have been automated," says Cyril Maurer.
The Results
Today, Soudronic has a fully integrated solution for inspection processes, from providing documentation through cross-departmental inspections to filing and tracing quality information.
Over €180,000 in annual savings: By digitizing its inspection documentation, Soudronic saves over €180,000 a year, down from 1,600 hours of documentation effort per year.
95% less effort to compile inspection documentation: Documentation is no longer assembled in binders but provided digitally for each ERP order.
100% less effort for filing and archiving: Automatic reports and transfer to the DMS have eliminated filing and archiving entirely.
Maintenance effort has also dropped. Because reused process steps exist only once, a change only needs to be made once. Transparency and process reliability have increased significantly: guided inspection replaces the maximum checklists that relied on employees knowing which steps were relevant. In case of complaints, reports can be found quickly via the search function, speeding up processing and follow-up.
Soudronic now also uses Operations1 beyond inspection. Alongside inspection instructions and records, the company manages assembly instructions and other descriptions and forms on the platform.
About Soudronic
Soudronic is a world-leading manufacturer of production systems for metal packaging, headquartered in Switzerland, with over 600 employees. Its product range spans individual components to complete production lines. Production is characterized by machines in many variants with high safety and reliability requirements: around 100 machines and components per year with lead times of several months, during which each machine passes through multiple departments and inspection stations.