Niche ERP IT tailor-made solution for steel construction

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The basis for stable business processes begins quite small in the steel industry: in a solid IT architecture. The question arises whether standard solutions or customized IT solutions are more suitable. For Stahlbau Queck, a middle ground has proven effective.

For over 60 years, economic, environmentally friendly, and modern steel constructions have been the daily bread of Stahlbau Queck. The company from Düren (Germany) undertakes construction projects all over Germany and worldwide. Their range of services extends from architecture, building and hall construction to power plant and plant engineering, as well as sports facilities and infrastructure and bridge construction. On an area of 24,000 m² (approx. 5,93 acres), about 100 employees produce components weighing up to 64 tons, with an annual capacity of 12,000 tons. A CNC-controlled machine park supports the realization of projects at the highest technical level.

The foundation of Queck's steel construction projects is a cutting-edge IT architecture. A company-wide deployed steel construction ERP ensures smooth processes by connecting all departments with unified data. It wasn't always like this: "Besides Excel, we used two different programs. They had weaknesses and couldn't convince in terms of continuity. Moreover, the important area of sheet metal processing was not covered," says Volker Laufenberg, Sales Manager at Stahlbau Queck. While the hurdle to using Excel is very low, it cannot represent central steel construction processes, nor are the stored data secure or transparently traceable. Therefore, the company had been searching for a tailored steel construction solution that seamlessly and in real-time integrates all company areas with intuitive handling.

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With industry-specific trick questions about ERP

As part of a selection process, several providers presented their ERP solutions for Stahlbau Queck. Contact with IQ Software was also established through a recommendation: "The responses to industry-specific trick questions during the presentations quickly showed whether the necessary expertise to meet our requirements was present. Alfredo Lemke knows all the trick questions. He has an answer to almost everything and understands how steel construction works," explains Volker Laufenberg on the choice of IQ Steel ERP. The managing director of IQ Software was able to impress with his expertise, which he and his development team have concentrated into their niche solution for steel construction. The comprehensive solution for Stahlbau Queck was to represent the entire company operations and interlink all processes, from costing to final documentation. A key aspect was also the ability to import parts lists with NC data, and sheet metal processing was to be integrated as well.

The ERP knows how steel construction ticks

IQ Steel ERP includes modules for offer and order management, data collection, inventory and parts list management, production and work preparation, a form manager, as well as purchasing, materials management, tools, and testing equipment. The offer module supports various calculation schemes and comes with a database of common steel construction profiles that can be adopted for offer creation and flexibly expanded. The order sheet captures all necessary data such as deadlines, trades, or specifications for production workstations, and an order calculation can be made. A DSTV interface allows data transfer from common design solutions, and the integrated material database includes all DSTV-standardized steel profiles in different grades and DINs as well as variations. "Particularly interesting for steel constructors is the flexible parts list management," explains Alfredo Lemke. "It allows the transfer of data directly from CAD. It is capable of learning the data designation and converting it into correct DSTV articles with standardized naming." From the parts list data, the purchasing module can check the availability of required materials based on goods receipts or products already booked in inventory or orders. IQ Steel ERP also takes over all geometry data of a component in the form of NC data. These can also be generated via the integrated NC editor and then directly forwarded to the machines in production. Cutting lists can be created, and workpieces can be manufactured using stock, order, or leftover materials. The system then automatically corrects all inventories.

Seamless manufacturing even in the transformation process

In 2022, Stahlbau Queck began implementing IQ Steel ERP. Initially, the focus was on areas that needed to ensure seamless production even during the transformation process, such as purchasing and production. Later, calculation and data collection were added. Through connected BDE devices, all orders are now available in real-time at the fixed and mobile terminals in the production area at Stahlbau Queck. For efficient inventory management, each part is equipped with a barcode that employees scan upon removal. All inventory transactions are recorded in the log, allowing material flow to be tracked at any time. When stock levels are low, the system directly notifies the purchasing module to make the necessary reorders and ensure the availability of all relevant materials in stock. This also allows the system to track which materials in which compositions and sources were used, with exact quantities ordered as needed for production. IQ Steel ERP also provides evaluations of the production process, allowing for comparisons between actual and target performances. The ERP covers sheet metal processing through an interface to Lantek.

Adapt business processes to the system for short implementation time

After just half a year, the implementation was completed: from 2023, IQ Steel ERP managed all company processes at Stahlbau Queck. "The record implementation time was possible because we knew from the start: We adapt to the system, not the system to us," says Volker Laufenberg. Due to the tailored steel construction solution, they could confidently go along with this approach. Only necessary company-specific adjustments were consciously made, and work practices were adapted to the proven processes dictated by the solution: "We essentially bought the IT tailored suit for steel construction and modified our internal processes where there were still issues." For the users at Stahlbau Queck, who were introduced to the solution by pre-trained internal power users during the implementation process, this led to some adjustments. However, the solution is so intuitively operable that everyone quickly got used to the new system. Operational security comes with regular use. The client also finds the support with its short response times very helpful: "Mr. Lemke can usually say over the phone which button is the right one for which application case," says Volker Laufenberg.

Customized steel construction ERP creates seamless processes

After the first full year with IQ Steel ERP, the inventory at Stahlbau Queck reported the smallest discrepancy in stock booking in the company's history. To build on this, they are already planning the next expansion: "We also want to connect accounting to IQ Software for seamless data integration. IQ Steel ERP covers this through an interface with partner company Diamant, which specializes in accounting and controlling software," Volker Laufenberg looks ahead. This aims to avoid double data storage and further optimize communication between departments. Volker Laufenberg sees continuous processes as the decisive advantage over other solutions: "I change a value in the data collection, and it automatically updates in the reports." The IT tailored suit for steel construction also significantly reduces maintenance effort and error susceptibility. Thus, the foundation stone for impressive steel constructions at Stahlbau Queck rests on a solid IT foundation.

*Silvia Funke is a freelance technical journalist from Leipzig (Germany).