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SUCCESS
Game-changer – PlantRun integrates live machine data with production information .
PlantRun is the secret ingredient in food and drink excellence
In today ' s fiercely competitive food and drink industry , delivering outstanding products in an efficient way is the name of the game . Driving improvements is all about the data , and while manual data collection methods have long been the norm , they come with inherent limitations , such as their time-consuming processes and potential for inaccuracies .
Enter PlantRun , the production monitoring game-changer that goes beyond simple overall equipment effectiveness ( OEE ) and downtime monitoring systems to integrate live machine data with production information .
Developed by Tascomp , a Teesside-based industrial automation company , PlantRun is the result of more than 40 years of software development .
The secret ingredient to manufacturing excellence using PlantRun is that the data is collected directly from the machines and made available to everyone in the most appropriate way .
Whether that is through integration with third-party systems , or triggered notifications that appear on TV screens or through text messages , PlantRun provides these and more .
Using this philosophy , PlantRun has tasted success helping numerous companies in the global food and drink industry , from monitoring sparkling wine bottling lines in Turin to sandwich sealers and flow wrappers in Croydon .
Each system is tailored to satisfy the specific requirements of the customer with an array of optional features and an inhouse programming team that can create completely one-off functionality .
FLIPPING QUALITY Closer to home is a sausage and burger manufacturer based in Thirsk .
PlantRun has tasted success helping numerous companies in the global food and drink industry , from monitoring sparkling wine bottling lines in Turin to sandwich sealers and flow wrappers in Croydon .
As part of implementing PlantRun for their production monitoring and continuous improvement processes , they also requested a number of interesting features , from onthe-fly translations to foreign body alerts and a banger counter .
Visualisation is an important lean technique for promoting improvements and here it has included making all staff aware of delays in production .
A " time of first pack " KPI makes it clear how long it has been from the start of a shift to when the first product was received in the packing area .
Product quality is a key element to all manufacturing industries , and this has added weight in food production with its stringent requirements that will reject products if they are , for example , underweight or contain foreign bodies .
Real-time tracking of scrap costs over the course of a shift makes it easier to be proactive about developing issues , with notifications through email and priority messages on TV screens triggering faster responses from key personnel .
BOTTLING SUCCESS
By analysing their captured production process data , a local bottling plant is now
Visit plantrun . co . uk for more information .
reaping the benefits of implementing PlantRun on its site .
When asked how PlantRun has helped streamlined its process , the firm ' s manufacturing manager responded : “ Initially in the early roll out of PlantRun we were unaware of the lost time that issues with line build back and constant stop-starting of the production line were amounting to . PlantRun enabled us to see that short stoppage was the main driver .
“ By analysing and using this data , we found that overall balancing of the line was crucial to minimising short stoppages .”
By looking at optimum run rates identified by the data PlantRun collects , they were able to synchronise the speeds of the filler , labeller and packing machines and reduce downtime significantly .
The results were clear to see for the manufacturing manager , who added : “ Immediately we saw improvements in output and short stoppage went from hours lost to minutes per week .”
Going forward they are now extending the functionality to focus on changeovers and ensuring there is visibility of all of the key elements .
With its integration with the site ’ s ERP system , SKUs are automatically imported and using the works order data , PlantRun can notify relevant staff about upcoming changeover events .
Energy management is a key element of profitability in food and drink manufacturing .
PlantRun ’ s tariff-tracking functionality allows its customers to understand the actual costs of production and what they could be by rescheduling to lower cost times .
This is one of the many ways in which PlantRun can help manufacturers maximise their efficiency .
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