Downtime Reduction Case Study
Downtime reduction is the focus for a multitude of companies in as many industries. One of the goals of Worximity is to help our customers to understand where downtime comes from, and to try to help companies reduce it. Amalgamated Dairies Limited is one of many success stories using Worximity. Their success story is the perfect example of a company changing their manufacturing future by reducing downtime.
Amalgamated Dairies Limited (ADL) thought that the company could be far more productive, producing more with the same resources. They began looking for ways to reduce downtime and increase production, but found it difficult to collect the data necessary for figuring out where problems were in production. Worximity offered a solution to ADL, with TileConnect sensors giving them the ability to track downtime and production speed. The company wanted a quick, simple installation and intuitive software that required as little time as possible for the company to begin using. This automated technology made it easy to collect real-time data throughout the company, and also allowed live access to the data as it was collected.
Installing the sensors ended up being crucial to the company reducing downtime. This new live data both increased operator awareness of where and when problems were occurring, and allowed management to communicate with operators about where production could be improved. Operators could now immediately know when downtime events occurred, fixing the problems far more quickly as they knew not only when they occurred but also where. In fact, our case study of the company found that the average downtime length was reduced by 15% after the new system was installed. Management could also gain from this data collection, as they could find problem areas within the company where production was slow. Whether this meant communicating with employees about how to operate production lines better or simply updating machinery, the data was now there for the management to act on.
Downtime Reduction Results & Statistics
Using these downtime reduction tactics and the data collected, ADL saw a 7% increase in uptime and an $1800 per month reduction of downtime cost, proving their usefulness to companies trying to fight downtime. Production and employee productivity increased, leading to $0.15 per unit savings in labor cost, and up to a 23% decrease in labor cost per unit. Increased productivity even lead to a 17% decrease in total production hours. Increased productivity and efficiency meant less overtime was needed, saving the company both time and money.
Over all, as discussed in a previous blog post about downtime reduction, arguably the most important way to reduce downtime starts by having good data. Automated data collection provided by Worximity changed this company’s performance and production drastically by allowing them to collect the data they needed to make necessary changes to their company. Once the data collection was simplified, downtime events were immediately diagnosed and attended to, reducing the length of downtime events. The data also enabled ADL to optimize their production and do more with the same resources. Understanding their downtime causes and weaknesses in production has helped ADL stay ahead of their problems and make their business the most productive it can be.
To get further details about this reduction in downtime, get the case study below.