What gets in the way in Sheet Metal Fabrication
These are the problems we hear most often from workshops of this kind, and what Brytebuild does about each one.
| The problem | How Brytebuild handles it |
|---|---|
| Quoting from drawings takes too long | Build a quote from a BOM and routing once, then reuse it. Revisions are versioned, so a re-quote is a change, not a rewrite. |
| Offcuts and remnants disappear | Track remnants as their own stock with their own barcode, so the next job can consume them instead of cutting into a new sheet. |
| Job cost is only known after the fact | Material, labour and landed cost accrue against the works order as it runs, not at month-end. |
| Material certs get lost | Lot and batch numbers are captured at goods-in and carried through every operation to the delivery note. |
How a job actually runs
A fabrication job touches quoting, purchasing, the floor and the despatch bay. Here is the order it happens in.
The enquiry arrives as a drawing
Build the bill of materials and the routing once against the part. A revision is a change to that record rather than a new spreadsheet, so re-quoting the same job next year takes minutes instead of an afternoon.
Steel arrives with its paperwork
Receive against the purchase order and capture the mill certificate and batch at the door. Freight and duty are added at the same moment, so the sheet costs what it actually cost rather than what the invoice said.
Cut, form, weld
The works order sits on the floor with the drawing attached. Operators book time and material against it as they go, from a shop-floor seat rather than a full licence.
The offcut goes back on the rack
The remnant is booked in as stock in its own right, with its own barcode and dimensions, so the next job can consume it instead of opening a fresh sheet.
Inspection against the drawing
Measurements are recorded against the characteristic, with the gauge that took them. A reading outside tolerance raises a non-conformance rather than a conversation nobody writes down.
Despatch, with the trail intact
The delivery note ties back through the works order to the mill certificate. When a customer asks which heat number they received, the answer is a lookup rather than an afternoon in the filing cabinet.
What you get
- Works orders with routing and capacity scheduling
- Lot and batch traceability from goods-in to despatch
- Barcode-driven picking and stock moves
- 3D warehouse layout with live stock in the racks
- Quality inspections and non-conformance reports
Brytebuild supports the records a quality standard asks for: traceability, inspections, non-conformances and document control. It does not certify you. The audit is still yours to pass, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise.
Is it a fit?
The honest answer is that it depends on how you work. Look at the full feature list and pricing, or see how we compare to Katana. If you would rather just ask, get in touch, and we will tell you if we are not the right fit.