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QPM™ A Plant
Floor Productivity
Measurement Solution
Industry is under increased pressure to reduce costs and improve productivity
and quality particularly in the automotive industry. As manufacturing
operations become more efficient, the need to refine internal processes and
procedures is a necessary part of maintaining a competitive edge.
Improvements to manufacturing processes and implementation of corrective
action plans when focused in the right areas can result in a significant
output improvement and cost savings. To do this, the data from which
decisions are based must be current, accurate, and reliable.
Collecting and processing data from machines and work cells is challenging.
Manual data collection methods are time consuming, costly, have inherent
inaccuracies, and do not necessarily result in an accurate picture of what is
really going on. Alternatively, automated data collection and productivity
measurement eliminates these inefficiencies and ensures an accurate and
continuous method to analyze plant floor productivity both historically,
and in real time.
QPM™ is a plant floor data collection and productivity measurement
system developed by OES for manufacturing. Machine data is automatically
collected in real time and compiled into performance reports relating to quality,
production, and machine maintenance. This data is presented in a number of
user-friendly report formats, from overall plant-wide performance for a
selected time period, to an individual machine for a shift. Real time data
collection means that problems can be analyzed and solutions proactively
developed based on data that is accurate and current.
QPM information reporting system features:
• Real-time monitoring of machines (operational status and alarm
conditions, with configurable performance targets and setpoints,
shift productivity)
• Historical reporting of productivity (machine utilization &
performance, downtime by cause, alarm pareto, production counts,
quality defects, etc.)
• Plant floor productivity message boards (shift productivity
displayed at each machine)
Real-time reporting: Machines are expected to be utilized efficiently
and within certain operational boundaries. Monitoring the machines in
real time can effectively control this. For example if a machine were
down for setup or maintenance that exceeded certain time constraints,
then it would be advantageous for support personnel to be made aware
of this condition immediately in order to respond quickly. In addition,
this information would enable management to review and quantify these
events historically.
If not carefully monitored, high-speed machines can generate a significant
amount of scrap over a short period of time. QPM ensures that scrap rates
are continuously monitored and controlled within operational limits at
each machine.
Historical analysis of machine productivity provides a method to
effectively review equipment utilization. For example, the accumulated
downtime on a machine, or group of machines over a selected period of
time can quickly confirm how well machines are utilized, and offer the
capability to further investigate the equipment performance by
"drilling down" to reveal the downtime causes. Once downtime
causes are clearly understood, a plan can be implemented and
measured to evaluate the effectiveness of the corrective action plan.
Certain machines could have excessive downtime due to a high frequency
of maintenance, which may support decisions to upgrade or replace
ineffective equipment that continues to adversely affect the bottom line.
Other machines may be down for excessive time due to a "waiting for
material" situation, which may lead to a process change to reduce this
downtime cause. High scrap rates on a particular machine or group of
machines may be the result of a maintenance problem or a need for
operator training.
QPM will quickly reveal all of these conditions, removing guesswork
regarding where losses in productivity are occurring.
An effective preventive maintenance program will support more
reliable machine performance. In many cases, preventive maintenance
should be tied to machine cycles rather than time schedules. QPM will
support preventive maintenance procedures by identifying machines that
have excessive unscheduled maintenance, and those machines that are
scheduled for maintenance based on machine cycles.
Sharing of productivity information with plant floor operations
personnel is essential to improve performance and communicate goals.
A fully implemented QPM system includes message boards that display
machine productivity, enabling operators to measure their performance
both individually and collectively. This has proven to be a positive
motivational tool leading to increased productivity.
QPM is an information system designed to eliminate isolation barriers
by enabling corporate management to "connect" with distant plant
operations to review productivity on a plant by plant basis. Corporate
and plant management need accurate and reliable information to make
informed decisions based on what is happening on the plant floor.
QPM enables both plant and corporate management groups to access a
common data-base for review of plant floor productivity.
QPM is a complete system comprising state-of-the-art hardware and
software that connects directly with the machines on the plant floor
through a number of available interface options including serial, ethernet,
and/or wireless links. Plant floor hardware options include productivity
message boards, or intelligent modules mounted at each machine or work
cell which interface with the host PC. The hardware is designed for
installation onto a wide range of machines, work cells, and processes
including wire-processing machines, welders and bench press systems,
rotaries, mould injection systems, etc.
Case study results from QPM evaluations substantiate a return on
investment of within six months based on accumulated savings and
cost avoidance in the following areas:
• Reduced machine downtime
• Efficiency improvements
• Implementation of predictive maintenance plan
• Reduction in costs relating to manual reporting
For more information about QPM please contact: OES Inc,
4056 Blakie Road, London, Ontario, CANADA N6L 1P7.
Telephone: (519) 652-5833 or Fax: (519) 652-3795.
E-mail: oes@oes-inc.com
OES Inc, 6070 Gateway Boulevard East,
Suite 211, El Paso, Texas 79905.
Telephone: (915) 771-7226 or Fax (915) 771-7541.
E-mail: oesa@whc.net
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