Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for engineering plastics processors.
A checklist built from how engineering plastics processors work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Grade and stock shape register
- Offcut tracking
- Machining routing
- Dimensional inspection
- Material certificates
- Moulded job records
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For estimators
- For machinists
- For inspectors
- For stores staff
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Stock by grade, size and remaining length
- Offcuts held and the quotes that used them
- Parts out of limit after settling, by grade
- Lots without a certificate on file
- Operations pending by machine and bench
- Jobs moved from machining to moulding
- Deliveries with certificate references
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Barcode label printer
- Document scanner
- Accounting export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Can it tell which bar a part was cut from?
- How are offcuts valued?
- Does it record annealing and stress relief?
- Can parts be measured twice?
- Is moulding included?
- Can we scan certificates in?
- Can stock and job history be taken out as files?
- What does the demo cover?
- Who looks after it afterwards?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Grade identity is lost on the rack
- Offcuts have no value on paper
- Certificates are separated from the part
- Quotes ignore settling and rework
- Moulded and machined jobs run apart
Prefer to talk it through? See the engineering plastics processors page.