When travel stopped in 2020, managing toolmakers and moulders had to happen by video and data. What worked, what did not, and the remote practices worth keeping now that travel is possible again.
In April 2020 a tool was due for its first trial in China, and nobody could travel. The customer's engineer joined by video at 7 am Melbourne time. The toolmaker's engineer walked the press with a phone on a gimbal, zooming into the parts as they came out. A local partner measured the samples the same day and uploaded a full dimensional report, with photos of every issue. The trial produced a clear decision in hours rather than days, as we later documented in remote mould trials during travel restrictions.
Not every remote trial went that well. The ones that did shared a set of practices worth keeping.
Preparation is everything
- Agree trial objectives, acceptance criteria and the measurement plan before the day.
- Send the supplier a clear checklist: what to show on camera, which parts to measure, which process data to record.
- Test the video connection, camera and lighting in advance.
- Schedule for time zones, with key people available on both sides.
Make the camera work for you
- Fixed cameras for overviews of the press and the parting line, plus a handheld camera for close-ups.
- Good lighting, especially for cosmetic inspection.
- Photos of every part against a scale or reference sample, labelled by cavity and shot.
- Video of the moulding cycle, ejection and any problem in action.
Data over impressions
- Ask for the process sheet and machine data, not just the parts.
- Full dimensional reports per cavity, against the current drawing revision.
- Clear issue logs with photos, owners and dates.
- Shared online folders so everyone sees the same information.
Use people on the ground
Where possible, use an independent representative near the supplier: to attend trials, measure parts, inspect shipments and confirm progress. Local presence remains valuable, especially for new suppliers and critical tools.
Build trust
Remote management depends on trust and transparency. Suppliers who share problems early, provide honest photos and communicate clearly become far more valuable than those who send only good news. Recognise and reward that behaviour.
What did not work
- Relying on supplier-only reports without independent verification.
- Long video calls with no agenda or decisions.
- Sharing only photos of good parts.
- Assuming silence meant progress.
What to keep
Travel has resumed, but the best remote practices remain useful: structured trial plans, video for routine progress checks, data-rich reporting and independent local verification. They reduce travel cost and speed decisions, and they make the visits that do happen far more productive. They also sit naturally alongside the lessons from the factory floor we learned before 2020.
