Snack Producer Bags Productivity

Solution Overview

With a complex product mix, and variations in machine configurations and ages across plants, the engineering team needed a solution that could deliver a single performance analysis regimen that delivered meaningful insight despite local uniquenesses. Proficy provided an asset, event and material modeling capability that allowed meaningful comparisons between different production lines and different plants. Further, Proficy enabled the data present in widely varying automation systems to be processed through it's logic engine, so reaching a common interpretation machine events did not require extensive automation reprogramming.

With the variations between assets smoothed out, the engineering team was able to use Proficy's wide array of standard views and reports to serve the needs of various stakeholders. Straightforward production performance analyis enables line workers, supervisors and material coordinators to track progress against orders and coordinate activities, while deeper, muti-dimensional analysis of throughput and quality gives continuous improvement teams the insights needed to engineer greater reliability and predictability into their lines.

Results

Because they were able to rally all plants in their division around a single reporting and analysis platform, this producer has been able to make and sustain significant gains:

• Overall Equipment Effectiveness rates sustained in high 80's and low 90's 
• Reduced direct and indirect labor rates thanks to recovered capacity reducing the need for overtime
• Clear and  objective understanding of effective capacity leading to better material planning