PDM Success Story: JASTA Fittings

How GAIN supports collaboration in valve manufacturing

When gases or liquids with a temperature of up to 1000 degrees Celsius have to find their way through melting plants, gas turbines or entire chemical plants, it is worthwhile to contact JASTA Armaturen. The technology leader in the field of control and shut-off caps for industry has been able to maintain its reputation for its uncompromising quality fittings time and again for 50 years now. Independent of any group and flexible, JASTA supplies valves to various industries such as cement works, heat treatment plants or even crematoria. In order to also be able to meet overlapping industrial requirements, the approximately 50 employees at the Essen location have expanded their portfolio to include innovative, related solutions from measurement and control technology for plant engineering. Worldwide distribution partners speak for numerous quality products “Made in Germany”.

From zero to GAIN Collaboration

JASTA Armaturen previously worked without a product data management system at all. Felix Möller, design manager at JASTA Armaturen: “This worked relatively well, but the disadvantages certainly outweighed the benefits. For example, it is difficult to find something because the search options via Explorer are very limited. After all, we now have about 62,000 files, primarily CAD documents, but also PDF and Excel documents. And our projects, folders and the documents behind them are not exactly small. So, it was an obvious choice to be supported by a PDM system.”

4 systems in intensive practical test

The Essen fittings experts wanted to be sure. The PDM software you are looking for should be perfectly adaptable to your needs. And in this respect bring the appropriate flexibility. “After all, it’s not every day you introduce a PDM system,” Möller says. And so, he and his colleagues from the design department put a total of 4 PDM systems through their paces over a period of six months. “After all, we designers still have the highest demands compared to other departments. In addition, we benefited from our practical experience. So that we can really make the best possible decisions. What’s available, what are the possibilities, et cetera.”

Possibility of own programming was the deciding factor

The decision for GAIN Collaboration was made quickly at JASTA Armaturen. Felix Möller: “Our first impression – of the raw system, so to speak – was very positive. Two points quickly tipped the scales in favor of GAIN Collaboration. Firstly, that own programming can be easily realized in GAIN Collaboration without any external service. This saves time and money. Secondly, the possibility of deep integration of external systems into the PDM system. Here we are aiming at special connections and automatisms with our future ERP system Sage 100. Moreover, GAIN Collaboration also convinces with its enormous flexibility”. JASTA Armaturen felt that training in the classical sense was no longer necessary. “Michael Sobisch from the GAIN software system partner cubikom had already shown us the basics during the first installation. We learned the rest mainly by learning by doing. We learned a lot ourselves”, Möller explains. Due to the new start with PDM, JASTA Armaturen took the opportunity to spotless up the old data. Here, too, GAIN Collaboration helped to transfer all data cleanly and without errors. The PDM system checks all data and does not allow incorrect or inconsistent data.

Simply programmed in

Möller and his colleague wanted to preserve the practices that had grown up at JASTA Armaturen. These should be displayable and easy to use in the PDM system. “The program eventually gives that away. My colleague and I are quite fit in the programming language C-Sharp. And so, we made GAIN Collaboration exactly what we wanted it to be,” Möller smiles and lists a few examples. “GAIN Collaboration shows us, for example, if the neutral formats are still up-to-date. Additionally, we can check if they have been activated again on a saved model. We have integrated this directly into the GAIN Collaboration ribbon using simple icons. You can see immediately whether the model has been saved and whether the neutral format has been updated. We let GAIN Collaboration automatically generate the file name from the document number and the label. Documents designated in this way are easier for our customers to process,” says Möller. “With GAIN Collaboration, we can quickly get an overview of all documents, their references, uses, status, and more.”

In future with classified 3D components

For many years, the construction was done in 2D. With the introduction of a PDM, however, the 5 designers want to work only with Autodesk Inventor in the future. “The interface to Autodesk Inventor works flawlessly. You have many, many possibilities. The many small built-in help functions are good, for example the automatic creation of neutral formats for export,” says Möller with satisfaction. Many JASTA valve models are built in similar designs. Möller: “So that we can also find very specific components quickly and reliably in this database, the classification is super-practical for us. We’re blazing fast on just the right component.”

Colleague insights and software updates

Adjacent departments are still being involved. “As soon as the upgrade of our current ERP system Sage Classic to Sage 100 is in place, we will also integrate purchasing, sales and manufacturing via GAIN Collaboration Office and GAIN Collaboration View, respectively. So that the colleagues can also have a look.
I also find it very positive how you can see that the software is constantly being developed. There’s an update coming in at least once a month. Not just once every six months,” Möller says appreciatively.

Summing up, the design manager says: “GAIN Collaboration has fully met our expectations in terms of functionality, overview and convenience. We programmed the rest of the special requests ourselves. It was clear to us from the outset that only an adaptable, flexible solution would be considered. And that’s where GAIN Collaboration is an excellent player.”