CASE STUDIES

Manual data collection was time consuming and out of date fast

Boddingtons Plastics previously monitored rejects, downtime and output using a manual process and a spreadsheet system, which meant that the data collected was always historic. This provided limitations in their ability to react, often providing an inaccurate picture and took hours to process. This lack of real-time visibility justified the business case for an MES system.

They investigated other systems in the market that could deliver against their primary objectives. Due to the nature of traditional hardwired systems, the capital outlay costs were too high, which meant that the cloud based Intouch production monitoring system was a perfect fit for them.

Wayne Allen, Operations Manager at Boddingtons said “Having worked with Intouch at a previous company, I could see the benefits of an MES system and what improvements and opportunities it could bring to Boddingtons”

Since implementation, back in 2019 they have managed to make incredible improvements to their site’s OEE and utilisation, as well as saving time, improving data accuracy and increasing visibility.

The challenge – A lack of accurate data to help pinpoint inefficiencies

Boddingtons Plastics were seeking to collect fast and accurate production data so they could understand what processes were not performing to the levels they wanted to achieve. This would enable them to assign the right resources to understand the route cause to machine performance and put a corrective measure in place.

At the time of evaluating their options, they had just completed building a purpose-built factory housing a class 7 cleanroom for manufacturing its medical products. this meant that they needed a system to help them overcome the issues of manufacturing over multiple sites, bringing all production data to one central system, which could be accessed remotely.

Wayne added “We knew Intouch was the right partner for us due to previous relationships, excellent UK support and their intuitive software”

Up and running in 1 week

Wayne Allen, Operations Manager at Boddingtons Plastics commended intouch for the straightforward implementation process and praised Lucy Hardwick for her support during the onboarding process. As a result, they managed to get the system up and running in one factory within a week.

Wayne also highlights how the intouch system is intuitive and easy to use, thanks to the online training videos which are easily accessible and can be used by new staff. The access to learning and training, along with a knowledgeable onboarding and support team at intouch facilitated a very speedy process to be up and running and benefiting from the system in one week.

The approach

When Boddingtons Plastics approached Intouch in 2019, they were spending many hours manually sorting through production data, which quickly became out of date.

They initially installed the system onto a few machines but did not install interfaces at the machines, so staff were unaware that there was an MES system in place. On one manual job alone, the OEE was at 68%, once the interface was installed and the staff were aware of the system, they instantly improved by 5% OEE. This was more than enough to justify the monthly subscription straight away!

The team would spend many hours calculating their OEE from various spreadsheets of production data, but the senior team could never be 100% sure that the figures were accurate.

Now, they no longer have an administrator inputting the data to calculate efficiencies and capacity daily, which has helped save them money and assisted with the quick ROI and payback.

The production planners would have had to previously track down a supervisor either by phone or physically finding them across their two buildings to understand the situation.

Wayne outlined that there was some resistance to implementing MES from some areas of the business. Firstly, the initial issue was justification for an MES system in terms of capital outlay – as most solutions on the market would require Capex approval to implement.  This was overcome with the introduction of the subscription-based monitoring system.

Secondly, there was resistance from the shop floor staff who believed the system could be viewed as a “big brother” tool. This was very quickly overcome once the system had been installed, as they could see the benefits gained from having a system in place which makes their job easier.