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ABOUT THE COMPANY

Sigma/Q is a leading manufacturer of quality packaging in North and Central America, serving various markets worldwide. The company’s focus is on reproduction and pre-press; flexible and corrugated packaging; folding carton; packaging labels; greeting cards; gift boxes; gift wrap; recyclable paper; plastic packaging; luxury bags; cases; displays; and prepaid cards.

BUSINESS GOAL

Sigma/Q’s primary goal was to improve its plant performance and reduce operational costs. The first step in achieving these goals was the automation of the data collection process to build a foundation for continuous improvement with accurate, reliable information.

THE CHALLENGE

Sigma/Q was faced with two main challenges: first, transitioning to an automated data collection process without significant downtime; and second, translating the automated data into measurable value.

THE SOLUTION

To achieve its goal Sigma/Q selected Shoplogix Plantnode, a powerful performance management solution designed to maximize manufacturing efficiency and deliver rapid bottom-line results. By automating its data collection and analysis processes, and introducing a real-time strategy, Shoplogix’s Plantnode enabled Sigma/Q to streamline the flow of information and optimize its manufacturing performance.

Plantnode provided Sigma/Q’s management team with real-time reporting and analysis capabilities, which gave them a window to look into their plant operations to support planning and strategic decision-making. At the plant level, Plantnode provided real-time visibility of equipment performance to each operator on the plant floor, with an LED-display located above the assets. With the LED screens providing continuous feedback, Sigma/Q’s operators were empowered to take immediate action on issues that increase machine performance, such as run-speed and uptime, at the moment they occurred rather than after the fact. The Plantnode solution also improved Sigma/Q’s reporting accuracy with the addition of a barcode scanner. “The scanner allowed us to automatically collect job and shift information and to assign downtime reasons quickly and accurately,” said Salvador Miranda, Special Projects Manager for Sigma/Q.

The company rolled out the Plantnode solution on an enterprise-wide scale across nine plants within its Latin American operations. Commenting on the implementation, Miranda said:  “With the Shoplogix manufacturing experts on hand, installation was complete in only half a day, with virtually no downtime. The product was highly intuitive and within a few hours our operators were trained and interfacing with the Plantnode solution without skipping a beat.”

Real Data, Real Decisions, Real Results

With the Shoplogix Plantnode solution, Sigma/Q achieved its goal of improved plant performance and reduced costs. Make-ready times were reduced by 36%, and run-speed was increased by an average of 23%.

Reporting Made Easy

Sigma/Q’s previous manual data collection process was labor- and time-intensive. In addition, the manual recording of machine data left the company vulnerable to inaccuracies. “With Plantnode’s advanced reporting functionality, our reports are completed in a matter of minutes. This reporting improvement has resulted in a 65% reduction in labor required for reporting,” said Miranda. In agreement with Miranda’s assessment, Juan Carlos Sol of Sigma/Q’s Special Project Unit said: “Eliminating our manual data took out the guess work. We no longer question the reliability of our machine data so we are able to make production decisions with confidence.”

Leveraging the Operator

As a progressive manufacturer, Siqma/Q also had incentive programs in place where operators received bonuses based on individual accomplishments. When Plantnode was installed the company was able to assign accountability and identify key contributors to reward them appropriately during performance reviews. As a result, operators aspired to achieve higher levels of operational excellence, promoting a culture of continuous improvement across the various plants. “Our operators are more proactive and better equipped to improve the output of their machines while supporting our productivity goals. At the same time, our management team is able to make better and more informed decisions based on real-time equipment information,” said Sol.

“Within the first few weeks of installing Plantnode we identified a significant amount of unused capacity on our dye-cutting machines. Knowing exactly where to focus our efforts, we increased our Overall Equipment Effectiveness by 40%. With this additional capacity, we deferred the purchase of additional equipment, saving us millions of dollars in capital investment,” said Sol.

CONCLUSION: THE QUICKEST PATH TO MANUFACTURING EFFICIENCY

Shoplogix has supported Sigma/Q’s goal of improved productivity and cost reduction, by delivering real-time visibility into its machine operations. “Management now makes production decisions based on real-time equipment data, and operators respond immediately to unplanned downtime,” Miranda said. “We are truly leveraging the skills and knowledge of operators with Plantnode. They play an integral role in achieving our performance improvement goals. Shoplogix has elevated us to a whole new level of productivity and we are closer to our vision of manufacturing excellence.”