Amcor improves productivity with on-line plant analyser

That’s one of the key achievements from implementing Citect’s Ampla MES (manufacturing execution system) and its SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system. In addition, the combination has given Amcor the ability to record real-time operational data at the plant, work centre and machine levels, and to generate metrics at each to better optimise production. Amcor Beverage Cans, which operates a plant in Revesby manufacturing 2 million aluminium drink can bodies per day, needed a system to capture downtime and detailed plant throughput data. Management wanted to calculate performance metrics including OEE (Operational Equipment Effectiveness) for the plant in real time to drive process improvement initiatives to maximise throughput. At the plant level, it need to be able to identify systemic causes of lost production and to measure the potential impact of improvement initiatives. But at head office level, it needed to be able to account for differences in installed equipment and product mix in order to monitor the relative performance of its can-making plants. Having installed Ampla on top of Revesby’s existing Citect SCADA system, Amcor says it’s now able to harness its plant data as an information resource for focused improvement. Using the two systems, management’s attention has shifted to machine and work area level initiatives to alleviate bottlenecks, reduce downtime and address the primary causes of wastage in the plant. For Amcor head office, this is the first step in a process improvement initiative that will soon spread to all its can-making plants. Amcor says it has more immediate, more detailed information than ever, and plant management can now quickly identify main causes of lost production not just of the decorator but throughout the plant. As a result, plant managers have greater autonomy, solving problems before they critically affect plant production. Amcor now plans to implement the system in all its can-making plants.