How Flowfinity Smart Factory Solutions Help Ensure Production Quality and Reduce Waste
Oct 8, 2024, by Alex Puttonen
Region: North America
Organization Size: Medium Enterprise
Industry: Manufacturing: Windows & Doors / Custom Building Products / Machinery & Equipment
Functionality: 24/7 monitoring, proactive maintenance, quality control, capacity planning
Background
Manufacturers in North America are enjoying a period of growth driven by market and product line expansion however inflation and the rising costs of materials, labor and land are challenges squeezing the bottom line in the current economic climate.
To keep costs and prices down many are turning to technology with 68% of respondents to a 2024 survey reporting they intend to adopt or increase automation within their production facilities and another 40% actively pursuing AI opportunities for quality control.
With the right solution manufacturers can avoid unplanned downtime, reduce material waste, and have the data they need for effective capacity planning without replacing expensive equipment, programming complex hardware, and struggling to integrate incompatible systems. Allowing for expansion of facilities in a cost-effective manner.
For example, a growing manufacturer and installer of custom windows and doors with multiple factories and partners wanted to increase operational efficiency for sustained competitive advantage by automating the monitoring and control of crucial equipment to maximize overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
They adopted a Flowfinity Smart Factory solution consisting of natively compatible controller hardware and software to continuously collect and share sensor data from machines and the environment throughout their manufacturing and storage facilities.
The Challenge
Manufacturers' most expensive preventable costs are unplanned downtime and material waste. Operators and maintenance teams need to know about anomalies before they cause a significant shutdown or create imperfections. These issues can lead to production delays, increased costs, and customer dissatisfaction due to defective products.
The window manufacturer realized that by connecting their machine data to processes and the people who drive them, they could gain 24/7 asset monitoring and control for proactive maintenance and consistent quality. However, when they went to look for solutions they found the cost, complexity, and specialized skills required to integrate sensors and workflows were barriers to deploying the smart factory they envisioned.
For example, when a conventional saw blade cutting door or window frames becomes dull, it might go unnoticed by operators for multiple cycles. The saw malfunction can result in defective products that look "good" to the human eye but are actually defective and can also affect quality of subsequent welds. Welds require tight temperature control which can also cause defects potentially resulting in the disposal of thousands of dollars worth of inventory. Or worse, it gets shipped to a customer and later replaced under warranty.
In addition, growing organizations need to understand equipment utilization for capacity planning to know which machines need to be purchased or upgraded to ensure high OEE, maximize uptime and drive profitability.
The Solution
By adopting Flowfinity, the manufacturer retrofit their existing saws and other machinery with industrial-grade controllers provided by Flowfinity to create a connected "smart factory" using their existing equipment. IoT sensors connected to Flowfinity software provide a continuous data stream for real-time machine monitoring that can be both automated and human operated.
Their production equipment and environment are monitored 24/7 at a high frequency, and the resulting data logs are then analyzed to help better schedule maintenance. Flowfinity hardware is fully compatible with the Actions no-code platform, so workflow applications have been configured to ensure saw blades are sharp and temperatures stay within optimal range to maximize output quality.
Flowfinity M1 controllers can also respond automatically to slow or shut off equipment if something goes wrong while instantly notifying staff. For example, if a blade has cycled through its lifetime and needs to be replaced or a welding temperature profile is out of optimum range. In addition, a tower light is used to show the changing status, providing a visual indication when urgent attention is needed on the shop floor.
Now, they waste fewer materials because they know their blades are sharp and welds are made precisely, so they're not producing defective frames that need to be destroyed. This prevents waste, expense, and the environmental impacts of discarding excess materials, while more efficient production also leads to lower energy use.
What's more, they have detailed utilization statistics about each machine to see which are running at or near capacity so they can effectively plan for future growth and expansion while scheduling jobs to maximize efficiency with their existing equipment.
Flowfinity based solutions can reduce the complexity and risk of smart factory IoT deployments with natively compatible hardware and software platform components. You can design and configure fully integrated solutions to help operators, technicians, and managers get the insights they need right when they need them.
Going beyond the factory floor they also used Flowfinity's Actions no-code platform to create highly intuitive custom applications for dispatching installers, recording on-site measurements for job costing and reporting all on one unified platform. Now their entire operation from manufacturing to inventory, shipping and installation is all managed effectively on one platform for greater operational efficiency and improved user experience.
The Results
Prolonged asset life through proactive maintenance
Sensors monitor the performance of machinery used in cutting, assembling, and finishing windows and doors. Maintenance teams analyze the data to perform repairs before breakdowns occur, reducing unplanned downtime and extending asset lifespan. Alerts are sent if anomalies occur, and the M1 controller can automatically trigger adjustments to machinery by connecting digital processes to equipment in the physical world. Workflows can be integrated with existing Computerized Maintenance Management Systems.
Improved quality due to 24/7 monitoring and control
Real-time monitoring ensures that production parameters remain within optimal ranges, preventing defects and improving product quality. Production data is continuously streamed to an interactive visualization dashboard for real-time insight into operations in the connected factory. Customer satisfaction improved because there were fewer issues stemming from improper measurements or minor defects when the product reached the installers and fewer related warranty claims from end consumers.
Cost savings from reduced material waste
Increased precision from the continuous collection and analysis of machine data reduces the likelihood of off-cuts or bad welds that result in scrap material, leading to more efficient use of resources and less environmental impact. Inflation is hitting all industries; however, rising raw materials and energy costs are squeezing manufacturers especially hard. By reducing waste in the production process, they keep costs down and pass savings on to customers while having more capital to reinvest in facility expansion.
Better equipment utilization and capacity planning ability
Existing machinery is connected to create a unified smart factory, which is centrally monitored to track metrics such as run times, idle times, and downtime. These metrics help identify bottlenecks and how much each machine is being utilized to optimize OEE and understand where there is a need to expand capacity and make informed decisions about upgrades or reallocation of resources. Improved accuracy in capacity planning helps ensure the manufacturer can meet demand without overextending resources.
Conclusion
Automating data collection for continuous monitoring and control is the key to competitive advantage. Yet, manufacturers need help to adopt smart solutions due to the complexity and cost of customizing and integrating the technology, putting deployment out of reach.
Flowfinity Smart Factory Solutions empower manufacturers to leverage natively compatible IoT controllers to connect operational data to human and machine-driven workflows to achieve 24/7 monitoring and control within existing facilities and equipment.
- Prevent unplanned downtime and extend equipment lifecycles
- Improve output quality for improved customer satisfaction
- Reduce expensive material waste and excess energy use
- Optimize capacity planning for asset utilization and growth
- Deploy on one central platform to connect your facilities, people, and processes
Flowfinity is the only no-code platform that offers IoT monitoring, process automation, and data visualization tools in one fully integrated system from endpoint to server. We're here to help you discover the potential of Smart Factory Solutions to transform your operations.
