REAL-TIME DATA VISIBILITY
Speed + Quality + People + Machine + Materials + Customer = Output (Profit, Costs, Etc.)
Overall Equipment Efficiency is more than just a buzzword, it’s a detail every manufacturer must know in order to improve the bottom line.
We talked before about If You Can Measure It, You Can Improve It. There are so many variables to be measured in the folding carton industry, from job to job or even from machine to machine. Our WIP Tracker product idea came from a software product for athletes, who need to monitor multiple variables to improve their performance.
Cyclists, for example, can monitor time or distance ride to ride – but that isn’t a clear enough picture. Think about all the variables in tracking performance during a bike ride:
- Weather – rain, snow, wind or sunny
- Hills and terrain
- Elevation
- Distance into the ride
- Heart Rate
- Speed
- Time of day
- Type of ride – practice, fun, race
All of this data is then consolidated so you can see all of the variables during each ride.
These very same principles apply to folding carton manufacturing
- How do you know which materials are run well on your machines? If you could know for sure that paperboard from supplier A always runs faster, better, cleaner than supplier B, wouldn’t you want to know?
- Or, if Operator X always complains that the machine gives him/her issues while running a job, but Operator Y runs the same job, same machine without issue – and much faster – you’d want to know, right? This information would allow you to better cross train that operator X, and thus increase efficiency and make more money on those jobs.
- Say you ran Job A in February and again in May – but the May run was way off in terms of timing, it shouldn’t have taken as long. Then you ran it again in June and time was improved, but the machine and operator were the same. How could you find out what was different? This is exactly the type of data and insights missing from the shop floor. You need visibility to humidity, materials supplier, operator, and other many other metrics to improve reporting and production review. You can monitor and respond in real-time, and review all of this information before setting up a repeat job. This exact information empowers you to quote, schedule, and run more effectively.
This is the type of contextual data that can put you ahead of other folding carton manufacturers. You’re able to measure all data points where they intersect at the micro (and actionable) level.
What type of information can WIP Tracker monitor?
- Machine Speed
- Waste Report
- Operators
- Supplier / Materials
- Job (customer, carton, printing)
- Humidity Levels
- So much more
At any point of the job run, you can have reports that tell you: This person, ran this material this time of day at this humidity level and their output was ____.
Pretty powerful information, giving you a competitive advantage. Let’s talk about putting this to work for you. Request a demo today.