Customer Story: Jira Workflow Toolbox Cloud

Transforming Glider Production with Workflow Automation

Jonker Sailplanes, a global player in the glider aircraft manufacturing industry based in South Africa, is known for its high-performance sailplanes and a steadfast commitment to quality and innovation. With a team of 160 employees and a global customer base, Jonker Sailplanes operates under tight schedules to deliver aircraft on time. However, they faced a significant operational hurdle: their production plan was frequently outdated, requiring constant manual updates by department managers to reflect the real-time progress on the production line.

 The Challenge: Outdated and Manual Production Tracking

Jonker Sailplanes had no digital infrastructure to track production progress at the outset of the system development. Updates to the production plan were handled manually, leading to inconsistencies, delays, and a lack of visibility across the manufacturing process. This was a significant bottleneck for a company focused on global deliveries and precision engineering.

"Jira Workflow Toolbox enabled the Zebra team to develop a system where our staff on the production floor updates the live production plan and has added a lot of value to our monitoring capabilities. We are looking forward to the road ahead!"  - Hazel Venter, Jonker Sailplanes

 The Solution: Integrating Live Production Data with Jira and JWT

To solve this, Matogen Zebra - an experienced Atlassian Solution Partner - collaborated closely with Jonker Sailplanes to design and implement a robust, automated system built on Jira Cloud and powered by Jira Workflow Toolbox (JWT).

The core of the solution integrated the master sales production schedule directly with a Jira project. Each glider's production journey is tracked through the system, starting with a generic dataset per specific aircraft model. As the glider advances through different production stages, these datasets are cloned and adapted to reflect the current phase.

Crucially, as workers on the factory floor complete their daily assigned tasks, the production plan is automatically updated in real-time. Once the final task in a production section is completed, the glider automatically progresses to the next section. This live, task-driven update cycle ensures the production schedule is always accurate and current, eliminating manual intervention.

JWT was instrumental in enabling this transformation. Its powerful automation capabilities connected multiple workflows and facilitated data flow across various production stages, making it possible to build a truly dynamic and responsive production system.

 Seamless Implementation with a Human-Centric Approach

The implementation was rolled out in stages to minimize disruption and maintain production efficiency. By phasing the changes gradually, Jonker Sailplanes and Matogen Zebra ensured that change management was handled thoughtfully without causing costly interruptions.

Both the management teams at Jonker Sailplanes and Matogen Zebra were closely involved in the development process, combining deep operational knowledge with technical expertise.

"Atlassian platforms developed by Matoen Zebra is an excellent tool in the JS quiver, enabling content-based management with all relevant information consolidated in one place. It not only allows me to effectively manage my own tasks, but also provides oversight and coordination of the entire team's activities."  - Hazel Venter, Jonker Sailplanes

Measurable Results: Efficiency, Accuracy, and Agility

The results have been transformative:

• Live data reporting from the production floor.

• Dramatic reduction in manual tasks for updating the production plan.

• Improved visibility and decision-making for management teams.

This new system has empowered Jonker Sailplanes to respond more flexibly to production realities while ensuring that the information guiding operational decisions is always up to date.

What's Next: Enhancing Data Accuracy Through Process Adherence

With the new system in place, the next step is to strengthen adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs) at the worker level. Jonker Sailplanes plans to provide targeted training for their technical personnel, ensuring data captured on the floor is consistently accurate—laying the foundation for even more advanced process automation and optimization in the future.