Tool control for Manufacturing

Coplan have worked with some of the largest Manufacturers within the Food, Pharmaceutical, Medical and Electronics industries.

Our solutions are used to help ensure that tools are not ‘left behind’ when used within these environments due to the serious implications of damage and processing ‘foreign objects’.

We love working with clients to enhance Tool control processes and have successfully helped to deliver:

Visual Tool Control (VTC) solutions that easily identify tools not returned
Mobile FOD tool control bags housing all required tools for off-site maintenance
Electronic solutions to restrict access of tools to authorised, trained users only
Electronic audits demonstrating controlled access and FOD reports
Automated tool calibration control

Visual Tool Control – VTC

VTC provides Engineers with an instant visible audit that all tools are present or more importantly which tools are still to be returned.

Our solutions use a robust, multi-coloured foam (usually black on top of a colour) which is then precision cut to suit the requirements of the tools to be stored within a secure tool cabinet.

Coplan adopt a 3-Phase precision tool ‘profiling’ process resulting in a 2D CAD layout profile. The precision within the profiling process ensures that the spaces cut will only accommodate the tool they are designed to take. As a result, visual audits are not compromised with the wrong tool being replaced in the wrong location.

Our team work with our clients to ensure that any tool layout design not only works from a VTC standpoint but we also consider tool arrangement based on handling and spacing, frequency of tool use, storage requirements

The ID tagging within the foam also helps to ensure that tools are returned correctly.

Supply of Cabinets and Cases

Coplan partner with a number of high-end tool cabinet and case manufacturers should a complete turn-key solution be required.

Once our team have profiled and confirmed the layouts to accommodate all of your tools, we can then work to source the correct housing solution whether that be a portable bag or case, a mobile tool cabinet or a fixed furniture workshop solution.

Your complete tool control requirement can be designed, specified and delivered by Coplan.

We rely on Coplan to help us enforce procedures amongst our engineering team

Tool Access Control

Controlling and auditing the access to tools is an important process that all organisations should follow during manufacturing processes. The implications of missing or lost tools can be severe and traditional methods such as manual sign-out sheets can be flawed and difficult to manage.

Coplan have delivered access solutions to clients that automate the access to tools whilst also recording the issue and receipt. Not only does this help our customers with the compliance around recording access but it also provides many efficiencies: removing the requirement for paper-based reports, reducing downtime and removing the need for personnel to manage the process.

The solutions we offer can:
• Restrict access to certain tool kits/boxes to only authorised personnel on a kit by kit basis
• Provide instant audits to log who has accessed which tool kit(s) and when
• Restrict further access to tool kits in instances where all tools are not confirmed as replaced
• Restrict access to tools that are not within their calibration allowance
• Provide custom reports and alerts to Senior staff

I'd like to know more about Tool Access Control

Tool Personalisation

Coplan offer a range of personalisation to enable tool marking specific to client requirements. The importance of ensuring that tools are returned to their correct location has meant that we need to consider how we might identify individual tools so that Engineers and Operators can know where to replace them. Many clients have their preferred marking requirement, but our team work closely to determine the correct solution. Previous marking solutions have included Laser etching and colour coding a via specialist ‘heat-shrink’ process. We also can offer ID tagging within our foaming solutions to aide in the correct return of tools.