North American Tissue Manufacturer
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Challenge
As part of its growth strategy, a major tissue paper manufacturer acquired several manufacturing sites, which resulted in disparate automation infrastructures. The lack of consistent visibility, reporting and performance metrics hindered the ability to effectively assess production efficiency, quality characteristics and grade profitability. The company could not compare the operational performance of its individual sites to make informed decisions about how to allocate new grades across its operations.
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Solution Overview
With GE Intelligent Platforms’ Proficy software solutions, the company implemented a phased approach to upgrade the automation infrastructure of the paper line across its key manufacturing sites.
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In the first phase, the goal was to identify key process parameters and to ensure that data was collected uniformly across all sites. The company leveraged Proficy Historian to provide a site-wide platform for consistent data collection, archiving and distribution.
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In the second phase, it installed Proficy Plant Applications to provide a common MES platform. It captured and compared real-time quality and production information such as actual vs. planned production, production cost per grade, and output per shift. As a result, management could leverage a clear understanding of the capability and performance of each site to make better decisions about where to allocate new grades.
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To facilitate continuous improvement, the company also integrated Proficy Real-Time Information Portal—a web-based tool with sophisticated trending and reporting capabilities to access, analyze and visualize production data.
With a single view of production and quality data, operators could make informed decisions to drive quality improvements, reduce inventory and waste, and increase manufacturing efficiency across the various sites—critical for sustainable growth and a competitive edge.
Results
GE Intelligent Platforms’ Proficy software suite of solutions helped this manufacturer drive true operational improvements:
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5% increased efficiency
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2% reduced waste
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4% reduced inventory
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