Proof
Real problems, solved, with a foundation to build on.
Three jobs, told in the customer's terms. Each included an assessment of the current state. Customer names are left out.
Equipment manufacturer
Replaced an expensive legacy tool. Now running in 15 plants.
The challenge
They had visibility into limited plant operations but couldn't extend and scale the solution. Existing solution was built on expensive older technology, and they wanted out from under its contract.
What we did
We ran a Unified Ops Assessment and built a roadmap and an architecture. We also replaced the plant management system built on old technology with one built on Ignition. It gives visibility into production, downtime and quality for manual assembly. It pulls data from the handheld equipment used in the manual process and delivers work instructions integrated with the PLM.
The result
It pays for itself at the end of the first year. It now runs in 15 plants.
What their team has now
The solution provides an extensible and scalable platform to build other much needed functions, and the cost of adding further solutions on top is incremental.
What we built, for engineers
26 screens in two apps.
- Guided work instructions. Scan a serial number, or pick a model and station. See PDF and 3D CAD instructions from the PLM, with component and tool lists.
- Handheld tool tracking. Connects to handheld tools. Look up the history by serial number or date for audits and traceability.
- Line performance. Live uptime, downtime and cycle time, with Pareto charts. Built as templates, so each line reuses them.
- Andons. Raise one by type from a touch screen, then respond to it and close it. Emails go out when a call runs long.
- Overhead displays. Production status, cycle time and active andons for each line.
- Reports. Process plans, material analysis, station assignments, bill of materials against the ERP, model changeovers and batches. Export to PDF and CSV.
- Inspection app. Touch-screen quality inspections with pass/fail checklists and defect logging.
- Setup and access. Users and roles, sign-in with the company directory or a badge scan, and multiple languages.
Built with: Ignition, HiveMQ, Canary Labs
Metals manufacturer
Certificates of quality (lab certs) in seconds. Research in minutes.
A multi-plant manufacturer that makes rolls of metal. We started with one plant. Five are now in process.
The challenge
The Unified Ops Assessment found data in silos, a lot of paper and spreadsheets, multiple products, and limited connection to plant equipment. It also found IT and OT teams not working together, and IT taking an IT technology approach to OT projects. The result was a low digital maturity score.
What we did
After the assessment, we did two projects.
- Root cause data for quality. A very small project connected several data silos and gave the quality department the data to find root causes. Research on plant issues went from days to minutes.
- Lab certification. An application pulls data from the data historian, the spectrometer, the MES and the ERP, and produces a certificate of quality with no manual work. The certificate confirms the product was made to the specifications the end customer requires, and the end customer's engineers receive it. It takes seconds. The manual process took hours to days.
We also put in an event-driven architecture built to best practices, on HiveMQ, Ignition, the customer's existing data historian and HighByte.
The result
- Certificates of quality in seconds, where the manual process took hours to days.
- Research on plant issues in minutes, where it took days.
What their team has now
The quality team spends more time solving problems than pulling data together. They are improving processes and the quality of the products going out the door. The same foundation is the platform to scale to five plants.
Built with: HiveMQ (MQTT broker), Ignition, the customer's existing data historian, HighByte (data ops)
Metals product manufacturer
An estimated 35% less time to stabilize in-spec production.
One plant, with a spray dryer process.
The challenge
Without historical process data, it was hard to repeat results from one batch to the next. Operators stabilized the process from memory and estimates. Product also left the plant before it should have, out of spec, and nobody knew. The customer found the problem and returned the product, which is very expensive.
What we did
We assessed the current state, defined the key process parameters to capture, then designed and deployed a data collection and visualization solution. It includes an integration with the lab information system. Lab results are pulled in, stored and shown to the operator right away, instead of arriving in a paper report later in the day, when it is too late to change the product.
The result
- An estimated 35% less time to stabilize in-spec production.
- Faster process startups, with setpoints backed by data.
- Multiple quality escapes prevented, and fewer costly product returns.
- Hours saved on each production run, and less time spent investigating process and equipment issues.
What their team has now
- Operators can retrieve the parameters of earlier runs for any grade of material.
- Lab results reach the operator immediately.
- Historical data supports maintenance troubleshooting.
Built with: Ignition, Canary Historian, Canary Axiom, and a LIMS integration
Tell us about your plant.
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