Customer reference
How UniMek went from filing cabinets to full digital control: – It has changed the entire way we work
The machining company UniMek produces parts for prototypes and small to medium-sized series. With a modern CNC fleet and high precision requirements, predictability and control are crucial in everyday operations. Good documentation is important to ensure knowledge when parts are to be reproduced.
– Before, we had filing cabinets, Word files, Excel sheets, and a little bit here and there. The documentation was sometimes incomplete, and sometimes we had to spend some time finding the history of previous jobs, says Refsnes.
Documentation needs
When a previous part was to be reproduced, it happened that we had to have a chat with the person who had run the job last time – simply to ensure that we used the same good solutions as last time. Routines and experience could reside in the heads of individuals.
– That made us a little more vulnerable. Each operator has their own way of doing things. When the quality of the documentation varies, it can also take unnecessary time. You often don’t quite know what to expect when you don’t have a complete history of previous jobs, explains Refnes at UniMek.
Easier to work correctly – every time
Keep is developed by former CNC operators who are familiar with the workshop environment. User-friendliness and simplicity are a major focus when programs, tool lists, images, clamping equipment and history are gathered in the digital solution, Keep.
– We saw early on that many workshops lacked a user-friendly system that actually supported the work on the shop floor. Keep is designed to be intuitive for operators and provide full control, points out Morten Holtberget, Project & Delivery Manager at Ignos.
Requires no extra IT resources
For UniMek, it was crucial that the operators themselves could be responsible for the documentation, without having to invest in heavy digital systems or new IT processes, which often require an extra IT resource.
– We needed a solution that was simple and accessible, not a large digitization project. Keep was a good fit. The operators understood it immediately, and the training was almost automatic, explains Refsnes at UniMek.
Endre Refsnes, IT Manager at UniMek, uses Keep to gather programs, tools and documentation in one place. Photo: UniMek
From paper to screen – and from searching to reuse
Today, Keep has become one of the most important work tools at the machines at UniMek.
– The entire job is in Keep: Drawings, programs, images, tools and previous experiences. If we are to produce a similar part, we can find it again in seconds, and we don’t have to create everything from scratch. That saves us a lot of time, explains Refsnes.
Easier to plan
One of the improvements is particularly noticeable: Tool control.
– Previously, it happened that the operator was ready, but discovered that a tool was missing when production was about to start. Now we see it in Keep in advance. If the tool is not in stock, it will be ordered in advance. This alone has saved us many stops and costs, points out the IT manager at UniMek.
Easier to train the new ones – and safer when the experienced ones quit
As in many workshops, competence transfer is a continuous challenge. Keep has made UniMek less vulnerable when people change jobs or retire.
– Now everything is documented. It makes the transition to new operators much easier, and we have a completely different sense of security if a key person quits. Before, we were perhaps a little dependent on what people remembered. We are no longer, emphasizes Refsnes.
He also highlights the environmental effect: Fewer printouts, fewer papers and less maintenance of physical archives.
Data security and control
For UniMek, data security was also an important consideration. Keep uses Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) for login and access management, and the customer owns their own data.
– We feel that we have full control. Everything is stored safely on our server. That is important for us and for our customers, says the IT manager at UniMek.
– Recommended
After almost a year in full operation, UniMek says that Keep has made the difference between recreating and reusing.
– Keep gives us better control, less searching and far better documentation of previous jobs. I would absolutely recommend Keep to other companies. It makes everyday life easier and more predictable, concludes Refsnes.
Ignos believes that more Norwegian workshops are facing the same threshold that UniMek has just stepped over.
– Many are good at production, but lack digital systems that bind the experiences together. Keep is made for exactly this, concludes Holtberget in Ignos.
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