Alpha Goes the Extra Mile - A Goodwill Mission to Karavan Trailers.

In the middle of winter, with sub freezing temperatures and wind chill, two Alpha Software representatives journeyed to a small Wisconsin town to learn more about Karavan Trailers and how Alpha Software serves their bottom line.

My name is Scott Allen. I'm the lead designer on staff at Alpha Software. I'm busy from day to day making videos, website edits, or designing UI updates in our software platforms, I don't typically have the chance to meet Alpha Customers. That was something that changed this year when Professional Services Liason Rich Kerr and I took a trip to Fox Lake, Wisconsin to visit Karavan Trailers, one of the largest trailer manufacturers in America and an Alpha Software client.

Going the Extra Mile...

This all began a couple of months prior to the NATM convention when Rich Kerr showed me some of the apps he had been working on. A powerful suite of applications that were designed to facilitate swift and accurate data collection at all key points of production. Data that is more quickly and easily integrated into their system of record and could facilitate more responsive corrections in their flow of production. 

These apps were built collaboratively between Renee Wendt, Karavan's Manager of Quality, and Alpha's software's professional services team. The close working relationship between Renee and Rich, allowed for the apps to be built quickly and to the exact specifications and capabilities to meet Karavan's unique production goals. 

The app development process developed a solid and trust built relationship between Renee and Rich. It was through colaboration that the suite of applications was so sucessfully tailor made to Karavan's specfic needs. This collaboration led to an idea. Perhaps it would be a good idea for Alpha to send a small team, Rich and I, to come out and tour the Karavan production facilities so that we could witness directly the real world benefits of Alpha's applications and to capture in pictures and video some staff testimonials and the Alpha tools in action.

Touring the Factory

In the midst of January I packed my bags, replete with my AV equipment, and readied to depart from the realitively balmy Portland, Oregon. I flew out to Chicago where I was picked up by the Karavan project lead, Rich Kerr on a zero degree day with wind chills down to neative 20 degrees. Rich drove us up to Milwaukee, where we stayed the night so that we could get an early start to allow us plenty of time at the Fox Lake, WI facilities the following day. When we arrived Rich introduced me to Renee and soon we were off touring the factory and making stops at each point of relevance in production. 

Witnessing First Hand How Alpha Impacts the Lives of Production Managers

As we toured the each production station we got to meet the various managers overseeing the quality of product. We met Inspections tech Chandra Solis, Emerson Moya, and Sarah Lemke, the Paint Quality Manager, who we witnessed in her regular daily process of inspecting trailers frames with the Alpha application as they moved through the paint assembly line.

It was gratifying for both Rich and I to see our tools put to such beneficial use. As Sarah quickly captured images and made deft notation on 10 to 20 pictures per frame, it became clear that for her to have done this with paper and photographs, as they had previously, would have been extremely clumsy, time consuming and potentially a substantial bottleneck toward releasing product in a timely manner.

Why was it important? 

In the high stakes world of manufacturing, a profitable bottom line can be quickly erased by production mistakes, missed or incorrectly noted flaws, unrecognized trends in quality, bottlenecks, stoppages, or other inefficiencies. Any tools that can facilitate an improved flow of production can represent increased profit margins and consistency. Alpha has the tools and expertise to enable more accurate data recording and efficient work flow in our quality management solution for any kind of product. For companies dedicated to creating the best products at the most competitive prices, there is no better option. 

What can Alpha Software do for you and your company? 

Alpha Software offers mobile apps for all sectors of manufacturing. Apps that make managing your workflow simpler. Our apps streamline daily data collection that facilitates production and quality control. Managers are better able to quickly analyze data for critical decision-making. With our tools, your daily tasks become much more streamlined and efficient, even in industrial production facilities where connectivity might be a challenge.

Talk to us about how we can help your team. In just 10 minutes, an expert will review your needs and suggest practical steps to improve your processes. Let’s start your system modernization today.