Each case is built to order depending upon the internal size required, the amount of protection for the items inside and how the case is to be transported. Most cases are hand made out of wood that is cut to order.

The type of wood, lengths of wood to be used to make the case used to be calculated by the foreman, who would then give the cutting list to the sawyer. The sawyer would then cut the wood to size and give them to the case assemblers. This process of designing the cutting list could take 30 minutes and be prone to human error.

Any mistakes in the calculation of the cutting list leads to wastage of wood and delays in making the cases. Considering that most of the work is JIT (Just in Time), Tuplin could not afford to have delays. A delay in a packing case could mean the delay in delivering a multi million pound flight simulator.

Ask Laser Byte to design a program that would calculate the amount of wood required to make a case. All the user now does is tell the system what type of case is required and the internal dimensions, and the program does the rest. The program does the calculation in less than 3 seconds and will also tell Tuplin how much the case will weigh and how much it costs to make. The cutting list is printed out and given to the sawyer.

The system has been in and working for years and has revolutionised their business. They can now take later orders and have increased their throughput. In addition, and probably most importantly, the system has reduced wastage.

There are also other hidden benefits of using the system......

Repeat orders are located on the system and duplicated. This process takes less than 5 seconds and ensures reproducible packing case design.

The number of jobs completed by customer is easily available to be analysed.

Profit margins can be more accurately calculated from the previous orders.