Starting out as a simple machine shop in Savannah, Georgia, K Machine Industrial Services has grown into a sophisticated machining and repair business that services industrial-scale equipment for power plants, paper mills, steel mills, refineries, and other industrial customers.

It also manufactures large turbine components and other critical industrial parts. K Machine is part of MacAljon Inc., with multiple affiliates serving industrial services from fourteen locations.

As its scale of operations expanded, the complexities of management also grew. During the early years, the rhythm of quotes, proposals, job orders, purchase orders, time billing, and invoices could all be handled by Microsoft Office alongside Jonas Construction Software’s ERP system.

ERP Limitations

Because the Jonas ERP was designed to manage traditional trades such as plumbing, electrical, HVAC, etc., it is not best suited to K Machine’s unique line of business. Servicing steam turbines for a nuclear power plant involves a vastly different workflow than the workday of a plumber or electrician. Plus, industrial repair work falls outside the capabilities of the typical ERP.

K Machine approached TwinEngines to develop a solution platform to manage its flow of information — from quoting and scheduling to installation and invoicing. They needed to move away from Microsoft Office and automate each step in its workflow.

The TwinEngines Workflow Solution

TwinEngines started by mapping systems, processes, roles, and methods in K Machine’s business. How are jobs scheduled and planned? How do site workers measure their time? What’s the best way to quote manufactured replacement parts? What information is best entered via mobile? What functions should be handled by Jonas ERP?

TwinEngines developed MacOps, a cloud-based K-Machine platform that combined the roles of a CRM, project manager, job tracker, and many traditional ERP functions.

The Measure of Success

K Machine measured the success of the MacOps platform by its ability to scale the size and scope of its operations seamlessly as it grew from a local machine shop to a North American operation.

K Machine had reached the scale of a North American operation where the growing pains had become too costly. They needed better systems for more efficient operations without hiring more employees to manage processes as they continued to scale.

“We made it possible for K Machine to retain its investment in Jonas Software for its financial system while we transformed the operational side of its business.” Kevin Seefried, President of TwinEngines said. “This avoided the pain and cost of moving to a new ERP platform.”

A Single Portal Enterprise-Wide

TwinEngines makes continuous improvement and scalability the centerpiece of its technology. Additional functionalities in development include more sophisticated Job Planning, Invoicing, and Scheduling modules. Looking into the future, the transportable platform will serve as a single interface for all nine MacAljon companies.

As a service company managing highly complex industrial projects, the ability of K Machine to orchestrate the people and parts involved in a large-scale industrial project delivered customer satisfaction while enhancing their bottom line.

Over a dozen major add-ins

The MacOps platform contains over a dozen major add-ins, each precisely tailored to K Machine’s operations. These include:

• Customers
• Contacts
• Plants
• Machines
• Rate Sheets
• Opportunities
• Quotes
• Jobs
• Purchasing
• Time Entry
• Mobile
• Inventory,
• Non-Conformance

AI-Enhanced – TwinEngines built automation into several function of the system. For example, AI functionality can read supplier invoices and import the data for job costing and billing.

Job Tracking – Every component of a job – project planning, labor and equipment, services needed, approvals, and invoicing – can be accessed at a glance on a single screen.

Customer Quotes – Salespeople can manage their roster of quotes and opportunities by date, type of service, location, and more. Jobs are automatically created when quotes are won.

Purchasing – The purchasing workflow from P.O. to receipt and assigning materials to a job is managed within MacOps. The module integrates POs and Receipts to Jonas.

Time Entry – Field and shop floor personnel can track and assign their time for a mix of jobs via mobile.

Invoicing – Managers can audit time entry, expenses, equipment, and material usage. Contract and T&M Invoices are generated, emailed to customers, and imported into the Jonas ERP.