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The Sterling is a precision manufacturer of helicopter transmissions, landing gear and structural parts. Since 1995, Sterling Machine has depended on Vista manufacturing software from Epicor to manage all aspects of its business. The company recently upgraded to Vista 6.0.
Flying High, Flying Smart
Advanced technology will enable the U.S. military's first "stealth" helicopter to evade detection while offering superior vision capabilities in darkness or adverse weather conditions. The RAH-66 Comanche helicopter being developed by a Boeing Sikorsky team will also include components made by Sterling Machine of Enfield, Conn. Just like the Comanche helicopter, Sterling relies on state-of-the-art technology to operate and navigate successfully.
Founded in 1956, Sterling is a precision manufacturer of helicopter transmissions, landing gear and structural parts. Since 1995, Sterling Machine has depended on Vista manufacturing software from Epicor to manage all aspects of its business. The company recently upgraded to Vista 6.0.
"Our strengths in the marketplace are outstanding quality and on-time delivery," explains Tim Caravella, office manager for Sterling Machine. "We continue to grow our business by delivering on these promises."
Even in today's competitive business environment, Caravella says the company has set sales records the past three years and revenues have increased by 50 percent during that time. "With Vista, we've been able to keep the same level of administrative overhead despite our growth." Adds Caravella, "Vista has more than paid for itself."
Choosing Vista
During the early 1990s, however, Sterling's business wasn't always looking up. "Our customers were consolidating their lists of vendors," remembers Caravella. "Streamlining and downsizing were common terms." He says that Sterling had to either respond quickly and positively, or close the doors. "That's where Vista came in," comments Caravella. "After exploring several options at trade shows, it was obvious that Vista was the software solution to take us into the next century."
Before starting with Vista, Sterling's first response was to completely redesign its shop layout to drastically simplify workflow, resolve traffic jams and boost productivity. After that, the new computer system was implemented, complete with new workstations, server and Vista software.
Noticeable Improvements
"We noticed immediately that Vista gave us incredible control of all our shop floor functions and tied them all directly into the books," recalls Caravella. "Shop floor Data Collection enables us to give our customers immediate, real-time answers to their inquiries, which was impossible with our old manual system."
The new Vista system also helped Sterling earn ISO 9002 quality certification in early 1998 -- the culmination of a thorough, dedicated effort from every employee, along with investments in new technologies and programs. Currently, Sterling is upgrading to the latest ISO standard.
Customers also noticed the improvements. In 1997, Sterling was the first and only vendor to receive "World Class" status from Sikorsky Aircraft, followed by a "Supplier of the Year" award from Sikorsksy in 2000. These ratings were based upon guidelines set forth in engineering, technical, inspection and environmental issues.
"We never could have received the awards and certifications without Vista," observes Caravella. "Vista showed us where our weaknesses were and helped us excel in those areas."
Ahead of Competition
"Vista just keeps getting better and better," declares Caravella, who adds that Epicor training and user conferences have also been very valuable. He believes the recent enhancements in Vista 6.0 are the latest example of Epicor's dedication to keep Sterling one step ahead of its competition.
"We are becoming more involved in higher-level assemblies and larger, more complex products," explains Caravella, who says Vista's new Advanced Bill of Materials (BOM) module enables easy tracking of detailed, multi-level jobs involving many different sub-assemblies.
Customer demands, particularly among Sterling's core military-aircraft customers, are also driving the demand for serialization and precise part-number tracking, which is possible with the new Advanced Inventory Management module in Vista 6.0. Caravella says Sterling also loves the new Quality Assurance module, which will enable the company to integrate its five separate ISO-related databases into one centralized solution.
Efficient Choice
Since implementing Vista in 1995, Caravella says the ability to track efficiencies has been "huge" for Sterling. "Our productivity increased dramatically, just from posting efficiency reports for all employees," he notes. "Employees can see how they're doing, and the spirit of competition has spurred significant improvements."
With Vista 6.0, Caravella appreciates the flexibility to choose either the Microsoft SQL Server or Progress RDBMS database. Sterling is currently using Progress and Caravella has been impressed with the performance of the system. "Searches are fast and printing speed is an improvement," explains Caravella. "Progress provides a stable, low-maintenance system – it virtually takes care of itself, which gives us peace of mind."
Fantastic Response
Overall, the response to Vista 6.0 by Sterling employees has been "fantastic" according to Caravella. "We've been waiting for some of these features, and our employees are fired up."
The new Vista Dashboard interface provides a one-stop, quick overview of key system indicators and functions, customized to help "drive" the users' daily activities. "With the Dashboard, we can easily monitor plant activities and set up queries," explains Caravella. "Because the Dashboard refreshes automatically, we're always kept up to date."
Caravella continues, "Our engineer loves the Engineering Workbench, which enables him to easily create, manage and track all his parts." For ISO documentation and other tracking purposes, the Change Log throughout Vista 6.0 leaves "footprints" everywhere, creating a full audit trail of all system or job changes.
Looking to the future, Sterling will keep evolving to meet customer needs. A building expansion is planned for 2003, including new machinery and equipment, and Sterling plans to implement lean manufacturing principles. Caravella expects Vista to play a crucial role in the company's future and he praises Vista 6.0 as "a fully integrated package, from the production floor all the way through financials." On the battlefield known as today's competitive economy, Vista will continue to be a vital weapon in Sterling's arsenal. |