Unlocking Efficiency: How Custom Software Transformed Haines Finishing Co.’s Operations

In any business, identifying and mitigating your most troublesome bottleneck can be the key to unlocking improved productivity and profitability. For manufacturers, software is one of the most overlooked areas of trouble. Buggy, laggy, or just slow software can damage the efficiency of your front office staff and line workers alike. Fixing this problem can benefit the company’s overall health; but with custom software, you get a chance to expand your capabilities, too. In this case study, we’ll look at a business that needed a new management solution and ended up with a system that allowed for greater traceability, worked cross-platform, supported as many simultaneous users as needed, and ultimately allowed them to expand with confidence.

Haines Finishing Co.

Haines Finishing Co. is an industrial powder-coating provider based in New Haven, Missouri. Powder-coating treats raw metal to improve its durability in various environmental conditions and creates an aesthetically pleasing final product. The company’s average order is for tens of thousands of parts to be coated, requiring efficient operation to deliver on time. Haines also has a smaller secondary facility specializing in rubber handles and coatings on metal parts, but it has an entirely different workflow that still requires centralized management.

The Problem

Before working with Skeleton Key, Haines relied on a software package for processing and tracking orders and managing customers, customer parts, quotes, jobs materials, vendors, and billing. This software was innovative in its time but had, inevitably, reached its end of life—meaning it was no longer being supported or updated. Because there wasn’t a new version available to purchase, Haines was forced to stick with the aging software; as a result, performance and reliability began to suffer. The software could be used only on a single older machine in the office, greatly limiting the amount of work that could be done. Their financial software vendor also dropped support for the operating system, which led to compatibility issues.

These combined issues meant that, on any given day, the company was dealing with a slow program on a slow computer that only one person could use at a single time—and that’s not factoring in the occasional software outage that would require hours with technical support to fix. On the factory floor, processes were documented on paper to keep the lines running, but that meant getting a current status report could be time-consuming because all the relevant forms had to be rounded up.

To grow and modernize, the company wanted to supply its line workers with iPads to reduce reliance on paper forms on the factory floor. However, the existing technology lacked a way to integrate them with the office’s PCs (and legacy software). The complexity of these issues meant there was no easy 1:1 off-the-shelf solution that would cover their needs. They needed a custom solution that met their specific needs and got their manufacturing back on schedule.

The Solution

Haines evaluated several vendors to build a custom solution to meet their needs. Something that immediately jumped out about Skeleton Key was our depth of knowledge of the Claris FileMaker platform and custom software development in general and our process for working collaboratively to develop a solution that fits perfectly. Skeleton Key’s solution enabled Haines to manage their processes on modern devices in the front office and equip their line workers with iPads. All information remained current, regardless of the device used for the request. That additional insight allowed Haines to catch some errors earlier and eliminate others, creating substantial cost savings for the company.

Skeleton Key’s experience in the area and its team-based approach to software development meant minimal tweaking was required after deployment, a process that would have taken months or years with an off-the-shelf solution. The deployment also meant the end of work stoppages related to failing software or hardware, increasing uptime and ensuring that Haines could deliver on time and more reliably.

The Result

Rolling out iPads to the factory floor was a transformative move. In the past, it was difficult for Haines’ staff to know exactly where an order was at a given moment. If a customer wanted an update, an office worker would have to dig physically through paperwork filled out by a line worker, which was time consuming. Worse, there was no guarantee that it was up to date, because recent developments might not have been recorded yet.

With iPads, line workers are able quickly to update project statuses, and office workers can get real-time information without leaving their desks. This helps the company notice any issues in their workflow much more quickly, and enables them to better understand where the production line is at a given moment in a fraction of the time it would have taken in the past. The software’s flexibility also means they can manage their secondary rubber handle production line through a single software interface.

Plus, reducing paper use is an eco-friendly move and significantly reduces costs. Today, Haines can deliver great powder-coated products in record time while keeping management and customers better informed of progress at each and every step.

What Can You Build?

Haines Finishing is an especially interesting case because the company needed a product that would transform their operations from end to end, and because they had technically sophisticated staff that knew how their software needed to function. Ultimately, the company needed a partner who could help them execute their vision. One of the things they loved about Skeleton Key was their ability to work collaboratively and unpack each need to ensure that the solution was as complete as possible.

Of course, not all companies have a coder or technically sophisticated workers on staff. If you’re looking for a partner that can execute on your vision and even help you create it in the first place, then Skeleton Key is ready to meet you where you are. We start with your business problems, in your terminology, and work iteratively to ensure you get a solution that fits your needs perfectly and makes sense to you and your team. Interested in how we can help? Fill out our form for a free consultation.