” Customer performance dashboards are a game changer for the development of a data driven mindset and continuous improvement.”
Tetra Pak World Class Manufacturing consultant
Customer challenge – to gain visibility into operations and establish the root cause of stops
When a large US dairy could not meet its line performance targets due to equipment stops, they did not know if the root cause lay in their packaging or processing equipment.
Without relevant data to hand, they could not be sure if (or how) issues in one area might be impacting the other. To get an objective view, they needed better visibility into the whole line’s operations, including both processing and packaging equipment. Only then would they be able to establish the root cause of the stops and act confidently to remedy them.
Our solution – dashboard with operations visible across the plant
The dairy asked Tetra Pak for help in developing a dashboard that would make operations across its whole plant visible. They wanted to see where issues were occurring and to ensure that any future issues could be identified and resolved in order to guarantee line efficiency.
Our automation engineers set about creating a customised digital platform for capturing and visualising data from the dairy’s processing and packaging areas.
In the first phase, the new system started gathering data and Key Performance Indicators from the packaging area. Our team monitored its performance remotely and made adjustments based on the dairy’s feedback. In phase two, the system was extended to include processing operations and our engineers followed a similar iterative process until everything was working smoothly.
Information from the dairy’s processing and packaging operations are now combined into one reporting tool with information designed to meet the needs of not only operational staff, but also managers, continuous improvement specialists, maintenance supervisors and plant directors. Moreover, the data from different plants can be consolidated into the same dashboard.
Results achieved - access to production performance data at all times
With the new dashboard in place, the dairy has access to production performance data at all times. Users can log in from any location and see what is going on in real-time, as well as accessing historical data. They can see, for example, how many stops have occurred on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, and how efficiently the lines are running.
Based on this accurate, automatically generated data, users can identify issues and rapidly take remedial actions, thereby boosting the overall reliability of the plant. There is a very low risk of errors since data is streamed directly from the equipment, without requiring manual input.
No more guess work. No more hesitation.
No longer working ‘in the dark’ empowers the dairy’s operators to perform their tasks confidently and increases accountability. According to a Tetra Pak World Class Manufacturing consultant on site they’ve really embraced the dashboard, which is now part of the dairy’s Daily Management System and being used for shift handovers.
The account management team and two engineers have been supporting the dairy during its transition period. Having access to information via the dashboard has also made a big difference to their work. As one team member explained, “Before the dashboard was in place, I would often have a gut feeling about what was going on. Now I have access to the data, I can confirm or dismiss my gut feeling immediately. No more guesswork. No more hesitation.”
Armed with the correct information, our engineers can recommend adjustments to the operators’ way of working. They can also offer strategic, fact-based advice to management on how to improve performance.
Making the most of the system
In order to manage expectations, Julia Martinez, Solution Design Specialist at Tetra Pak Brazil, always talks to customers before implementing a solution like the performance dashboard. “It’s important to clarify that the dashboard itself is only an enabler. Customers also need the right people and processes in place to take accountability and continuously improve operations, based on the insights they get.”
In pursuit of operational efficiency, this US dairy acts on insights from the dashboard every day via a continuous improvement programme. Information is consolidated into a daily progress report which is shared internally. “By sharing the same data with us at Tetra Pak,” says Julia, “they are also empowering our team to do a better job supporting them.”
The performance dashboard proved so successful for this dairy, that we have now implemented it at several other companies. Says Julia;