Proplanner supports MTM Association Standards

AMES, Iowa--July 24, 2003--Proplanner announced today that it has entered into a joint development and distribution agreement with the MTM Association of North America. Under the terms of the agreement, Proplanner will include a new jointly developed software module to parse and compute times for the MTM-1, MTM-UAS, 4M and new MTM-B standards(a). In addition, the MTM Association and Proplanner will jointly distribute each other's products and services.

The new module was developed in the new Visual Studio .NET environment and is being integrated within both the Proplanner Process and Time module and the MTM-Association's MTM-LINK product. The MTM Association also will distribute this new module to other companies who are legally authorized to use and support the MTM time standards. With this new module, users of certified MTM systems can be assured that their times are computed correctly and developers of these systems can avoid redundant development effort.

In addition, Proplanner, under the direction of the MTM Association, will extend the capabilities of the standard to compute value added work ratios from new and existing predetermined times. Using Proplanner software in the context of a Lean Manufacturing initiative, process engineers will be able to quickly evaluate which operations need the most improvement.

Since 1951, the MTM Association for Standards and Research has provided business and industry with innovative methodologies designed to help them improve profitability, productivity and quality. "The MTM Association brings a wealth of experience and history to our organization." says Dave Sly PE, president of Proplanner. "Integrating these standards into our system will enable our customers to better evaluate and benchmark their processes according to Lean methods, adding considerable value for our customers."

"Proplanner's experience with industrial engineering and with Microsoft's .NET development environment made for a good partner to develop the next rules engine for our predetermined time standards," Says Dirk Rauglas, Executive Director of the MTM Association. "In addition, their extensive product line provides us with an advanced set of applications for use at some of our more sophisticated installations.

(a) (The various MTM time standards recognize, classify, and describe the motions used or required to perform a given operation, and define industry averages for these motions.)