- Enabled pragmatic capacity/process improvements
- Prioritised projects by value
- Improved cycle times and schedule target setting
- Saved at least 1% on materials alone
- Automated QA and yields data capture
- Meaningful shop floor visibility
Such a sparkling performance
1 min read
I didn't believe you could get meaningful information from machines every two minutes: but it's not just about counting production cycles." So says Denver Higgins, production co-ordinator at £26m soft drinks giant Calypso, based in Wrexham, North Wales. He's talking about the firm's advanced shopfloor data capture (SFDC) system, which has now been rolled out throughout production, and is already being requested by other parts of the business.
Calypso manufactures more than 500m units a year to stock in a variety of single-serve packaging formats – mostly cups, Tetra cartons and freeze pops. In 2003, the firm embarked on a 'war on waste', starting with an activity-based costing project, which was successful, but quickly highlighted poor data and lack of visibility where it mattered most – on the factory floor.
As IT director James Holmes says: "We had a lot of data but it was all driven by spreadsheets – it was manual, time-consuming, and 24 hours behind." Just as important, the data lacked consistency and accuracy: machine downtime, for example, was being recorded ad hoc by operators.
Says Higgins: "We needed accurate information about what was going wrong. If you only see that a machine has stopped you can't do meaningful work: you need reasons." Holmes found MVI, offering its Eventsengine and an implementation methodology. "They looked at what we were doing with paper reports and said, 'we'll generate that live, straight away'."
It worked: and the system went live on the first line before Christmas followed by the next two in January 2004. Higgins: "Our production manager says the system has been a real turning point for the company… Everyone can see what's happening live on the system, the reasons for it and the time."
Typical problems uncovered? Holmes gives an example: "We had a robot dropping cups. Eventsengine allowed us to quantify the problem [which] turned out to be an air line." An end of shift clean means a controlled 10-minute stop rather than unscheduled stops throughout the shift – and no waste. "We also had a cutting tool that was leaking nitrogen and the operators kept topping it up." As it escalated, the system picked it up "and we found there was a leaking seal. The engineers fixed it – end of downtime."
ROI? "My justification for the project was straightforward," says Holmes. "If we saved just 1% on raw materials we would get our money back – and I can already see we'll do that."
Key benefits
