Alestis is a leading company in engineering and manufacturing technologies for the assembly of aerostructures, and one of the three TIER 1 suppliers operating in Spain, with an international presence and major innovative projects. It participates in the most significant programs of the largest manufacturers in the sector, such as Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer, and has five production plants in Spain and one in Brazil.
In this context, it is easy to guess that on a daily basis, they have to carry out many business tasks. They handle a large volume of documents that were initially not digitized and are difficult or not easily accessible across departments.
Given the described scenario and background, the production department was perhaps the most affected, as the documents were not in digital format, the process to view, retrieve, or share any related information was poorly automated, and the validation, versioning, and signing workflows were slow and tedious. Taking into account all the detected issues, the designed project focuses on addressing the following challenges and objectives:
- Centralize the storage, organization, and access to administrative and manufacturing documentation.
- Digitize and streamline the document versioning, validation, and signing workflows.
- Establish digital communication interfaces for sharing documents with other systems in real-time.
- Provide a digital and secure document sharing interface with suppliers and customers.
As in any project of this nature, the first step was to analyze the document flows managed by the organization, its current management process, and its requirements in terms of access and sharing. It was especially important to study the nature of each of the documents they handle: which area they belong to or are intended for, how they are classified, what workflows apply to them, etc. Ultimately, the first step and outcome was to model the existing documents and document types and formalize their management workflows in terms of review, validation, signing, and versioning.
The time for technology: Alfresco CMS. Once the document models and associated business workflows were defined, it was time to digitize, streamline, and optimize them through technology. To achieve this, the decision was made to implement and configure Alfresco, a solution that is beneficial both for its ease of use and its powerful development and integration capabilities.
Integration: Why stop here? Alfresco provides a web interface to manage enterprise content, but it also offers other access methods through CIFS/SMB, FTP, and WebDAV interfaces. These allow for specific and precise searches, reducing the time employees take to find the documentation they need.
And this undoubtedly opened the door to other transversal improvements within the organization. One of these was the integration of the system with the paperless management of production on the plant floor. There is no longer a need to constantly print large manuals and blueprints. The end user can now access all the up-to-date manufacturing documentation in real-time, with just one click, and in a fully digital format.
With the implemented solution, along with continuous subsequent maintenance, not only have the set challenges and objectives been achieved, but it also opens the door to future improvements related to integration with other areas of the organization.
What has been achieved so far?
- An effective improvement in the processes of organizing, reviewing, validating, and signing documents.
- An agile, cross-functional, and secure way of sharing and accessing documents, including with suppliers and customers.
- Real-time integration with production and manufacturing management systems.
Alestis is a leading company in engineering and manufacturing technologies for the assembly of aerostructures, and one of the three TIER 1 suppliers operating in Spain, with an international presence and major innovative projects. It participates in the most significant programs of the largest manufacturers in the sector, such as Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer, and has five production plants in Spain and one in Brazil.
In this context, it is easy to guess that on a daily basis, they have to carry out many business tasks. They handle a large volume of documents that were initially not digitized and are difficult or not easily accessible across departments.
Given the described scenario and background, the production department was perhaps the most affected, as the documents were not in digital format, the process to view, retrieve, or share any related information was poorly automated, and the validation, versioning, and signing workflows were slow and tedious. Taking into account all the detected issues, the designed project focuses on addressing the following challenges and objectives:
- Centralize the storage, organization, and access to administrative and manufacturing documentation.
- Digitize and streamline the document versioning, validation, and signing workflows.
- Establish digital communication interfaces for sharing documents with other systems in real-time.
- Provide a digital and secure document sharing interface with suppliers and customers.
As in any project of this nature, the first step was to analyze the document flows managed by the organization, its current management process, and its requirements in terms of access and sharing. It was especially important to study the nature of each of the documents they handle: which area they belong to or are intended for, how they are classified, what workflows apply to them, etc. Ultimately, the first step and outcome was to model the existing documents and document types and formalize their management workflows in terms of review, validation, signing, and versioning.
The time for technology: Alfresco CMS. Once the document models and associated business workflows were defined, it was time to digitize, streamline, and optimize them through technology. To achieve this, the decision was made to implement and configure Alfresco, a solution that is beneficial both for its ease of use and its powerful development and integration capabilities.
Integration: Why stop here? Alfresco provides a web interface to manage enterprise content, but it also offers other access methods through CIFS/SMB, FTP, and WebDAV interfaces. These allow for specific and precise searches, reducing the time employees take to find the documentation they need.
And this undoubtedly opened the door to other transversal improvements within the organization. One of these was the integration of the system with the paperless management of production on the plant floor. There is no longer a need to constantly print large manuals and blueprints. The end user can now access all the up-to-date manufacturing documentation in real-time, with just one click, and in a fully digital format.
With the implemented solution, along with continuous subsequent maintenance, not only have the set challenges and objectives been achieved, but it also opens the door to future improvements related to integration with other areas of the organization.
What has been achieved so far?
- An effective improvement in the processes of organizing, reviewing, validating, and signing documents.
- An agile, cross-functional, and secure way of sharing and accessing documents, including with suppliers and customers.
- Real-time integration with production and manufacturing management systems.