Real-time shop floor technology by Shoplogix is profiled by manufacturing journalist Thomas R. Cutler in the current issue of the online version of Quality Digest.
According to Cutler’s article, At the Shorewood Packaging Midland Avenue facility in Toronto, real-time information helps yield world-class lean manufacturing results. Shorewood Packaging is part of International Paper, which has operations in more than 40 countries and sells its products in more than 120 nations. Shorewood Packaging has three plants in Ontario, Canada, and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of premium packaging.
The company could identify machines that were ahead or behind in productivity through key performance measurements, but these numbers weren't relevant to machine operators. Management needed to find a way to provide relevant information to operators and give them the ability to set efficiency goals on a per-job basis.
In an attempt to increase efficiency, Shorewood Packaging first looked for a device to identify machine status via light emitting device (LED) display marquees connected to their equipment. They implemented four test devices to see if lean manufacturing results would be possible. The company implemented a software solution by Shoplogix, with which the employees became engaged. This solution offered real-time cost and job variances on the LED display boards to help operators and management visualize and graphically understand where they were versus where they needed to be in the production process. Shorewood evaluated other solutions based on these criteria and assessed typical server-based data-collection systems. The Shoplogix software enabled a direct connection to existing production equipment and allowed the company to capture real-time machine-productivity information, quantifying improved performance and contributing directly to the bottom line.
ABOUT SHOPLOGIX
Shoplogix develops integrated web-based software solutions that optimize plant floor operations. Shoplogix solutions improve productivity, efficiency, and total operational performance by allowing companies to make real-time decisions that impact profitability while actively engaging employees in the process.
Shoplogix Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in Oakville, Ontario, with offices across North America. The company serves a growing base of Global 2000 companies to set new standards for production performance and efficiency in industrial environments.
PLANTNODE
Plantnode is a hybrid web-based software application designed on an open platform to integrate with existing production equipment, analyze real-time performance, and evaluate machine productivity. Plantnode’s built-in intelligence goes beyond raw data collection to provide a fully integrated production and performance management application; differentiated by the ability to compare real-time data against planned estimates. Plantnode is proven to increase Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and enables machine level visibility on a 24x7 basis with automatic escalations and interactive processes to drive higher levels of operational efficiency, quality, and performance.
PLANTNODE NETWORK
Plantnode Network is an enterprise web-based software application that consolidates and analyzes operational data for all Plantnode enabled equipment providing a complete and accurate view of production performance. Plantnode Network’s distributed design provides true enterprise scalability to evaluate real-time performance on a plant-wide, multi-site, or global basis.
Shoplogix
Hellen Budaya Pileski
hbudaya-pileski@shoplogix.com
Manager, Marketing Communications
905-469-9994 Ext.120
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