An Equipment Manufacturing Company Reduces Downtime Using Connected Worker
The client is an equipment manufacturing company specializing in filling and packaging units. The company designs conveyor systems and equipment solutions that beverage producers trust to safely transport bottles throughout the entire production process—from brewing and bottling to assembly, packaging, and distribution. Beverage containers are filled on a conveyor belt. Any unexpected stoppage at one station impacts the entire production line. The team approached Plutomen for a digital solution to digitize their shop floor procedures for transparency and issue prevention. The solution had to serve as an information system, allowing frontline workers to input data easily and enabling supervisors and managers to share information with employees effortlessly.
THE CHALLENGE
The Problem Statement
Manufacturing processes in plants follow clockwork precision thanks to their conveyor belts-driven mechanism. When a conveyor system experiences downtime, employees may need to work overtime to make up for lost production and fulfil orders on schedule. This additional work can lead to increased labour costs for the company.
In the past, the company experienced unexpected breakdowns of conveyor systems, leading to expedited shipping charges due to missed deadlines. Moreover, breakdowns caused damage to customers, resulting in interruptions in their production lines, for which the company had to be compensated.
At Plutomen, we figured out that the company’s manufacturing operation needs a complete overhaul. They experienced significant time losses due to slow, sluggish manual processes, particularly for routine daily maintenance signoffs. They lacked visibility into completed maintenance operations and lacked systematic methods for reporting, tracking, or escalating issues. Additionally, they lacked an organization process to standardize equipment inspections, establish accountability, and capture images for documentation purposes.
These challenges prompted the need for a robust digital solution to streamline operations and enhance productivity.
THE SOLUTION
Plutomen Connected Worker to the Rescue
The company leveraged Plutomen’s digital connected worker to digitize its processes for plant preventive maintenance checks and auditing procedures. The integrated data collection capabilities enabled the company to eliminate manual data capture and inspection recordings, while also enhancing documentation for OEM and warranty communications. Through wearable devices, workers were able to collaborate successfully, ultimately paving the way for advanced capabilities.
Some of the key highlights of the digitization solutions include:
- Standardized digital work instructions replacing manual entries for real-time report generation.
- Collaborative spaces on the solution enabling media sharing such as photos, audios, and videos to diagnose and troubleshoot malfunctioning equipment.
- Digital platforms for everyday work to move away from siloed operations among departments and teams towards integrated solutioning.
- Generation of accurate data from machineries and connected workers for informed decision making.
- The unlocking of data generation led to scope for preventive and predictive models to estimate machine downtimes and servicing requirements.
- Process standardization across different hierarchies and departments of workers and teams.
- Digital documentation and retrieval modules to ensure seamless end-of-shift handovers, knowledge transfers, and onboarding of new workers.
- Process and resource optimization through generation of best practices from data analysis.
THE RESULTS
The Results
Through our connected worker solution, we transformed a mundane ecosystem into something agile and dynamic. With this implementation, the client observed some key differences and numbers:
- 73% decrease in the usage of paper and other obsolete resources, further promoting sustainability.
- 98% reduction in time spent recording, compiling, and transferring machinery defects across hierarchies.
- Improved safety and security standards among workers in an industrial setting.
- Decreased conveyor system downtime & increased production rates due to proactive preventive maintenance schedule.
"Our main challenge was sudden breakdown of our customer conveyor systems. Although most of these are unplanned, we wanted to establish a process so that our employees could atleast proactively implement preventive maintenance techniques before that could happen. Team Plutomen was of great help throughout the process"
Director of Operations
Equipment Manufacturing Company
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