The Client
In Quebec City in the year 2000, Soylutions’ main goal was to produce Tetra Pak packaging for soy, oat, rice, and hemp beverage producers. Over the years, they have perfected their craft and become experts in the manufacturing and distribution of cereal- and soy-based beverages. In 2009, the company was acquired in part by Earth’s Own. Renowned for the popular SoFresh and SoNice brands, their beverages include almond, soy, oat, and cashew milk. In no time, it was the beginning of a promising new future.
Ever since 2017, the company’s plant has been operating at full capacity. They have moved away from rice and hemp to solely concentrate their efforts on soy and oat products. With the increased environmental consciousness of consumers, Tetra Pak packaging has grown tremendously in popularity, given its recyclability. Thus the demand for Tetra Pak has increased to a point where meeting these needs is becoming a challenge. Soylutions shifted from producing five days a week to seven days of production.
As the company is approaching its 25th year of operations, Soylutions’ future truly shines bright. Between broadening its product range, developing recipes in its internal lab, and further developing projects with Earth’s Own, the company is also leveraging their strategic position to increase current production capacity. Soylutions’ passion and devotion to the development and success of the organization steer their goals.
The Challenge
The company’s unmet need was clear: No production data was available. In 2017, a great partnership began between Soylutions and Worximity with the installation of three Tileconnect sensors on three production lines.
The implementation came with short- and long-term objectives. In the short term, as with many Worximity clients, the main goals were to identify downtimes, further increase efficiencies by removing manual tasks, and obtain reports for improved decision-making. In the long run, Soylutions hoped to install more sensors on more production lines and to use the obtained data as a tool to better manage daily operations.
Due to the ever-changing nature of technology, Worximity’s Smart Sensors represented an ideal solution to remain one step ahead of the competition and perform better in the industry. Carrying out such a technological transition comes with challenges. However, with the proper preparations, the process isn’t difficult. Mr. Therrien introduced Smart Factory technology without hitting any major obstacles. What’s his secret? Awareness, awareness, awareness.
"When you don’t see what you actually produce, you think you’re good."
The Solution
As plant manager, Mr. Thierren meets with his teams every three months, and he introduced the shift to Industry 4.0 in one of those meetings. In spite of his initial fear that this change would not be well received by floor employees, and because of his willingness to explain and discuss the transition, it was ultimately welcomed positively.
To facilitate the transition, Mr. Thierren took on the role of digital champion to bridge the gap between the reality faced by employees and Worximity. This established a fluid communication channel in case of any requests and/or issues with the technology. Mr. Therrien fulfills this role perfectly, promoting the greater use of Industry 4.0 devices and ensuring the well-being of operations at all times.
Early on, this technology was introduced as an empowering step instead of a menacing method of observation. Employees embraced it as a great tool to measure their efficiency and identify where they stand with regards to production objectives. Shortly after adoptingWorximitysolution, the organization saw significant productivity increases among floor employees.
The Results
Since its first stages, the implementation of the solution has generated conclusive results. With real-time monitoring, the Soylutions team shed some light on their true performance. As Mr. Therrien said, “When you don’t see what you actually produce, you think you’re good.”
After seeing this precise production data, the team was able to address inefficiencies in their methods and adjust accordingly to reach more optimal levels of production. The organization noticed a considerable increase in a short period of time—a productivity surge of 7 percent within the first month.
Beyond the numerical results, the data obtained through Worximitysoftwaresolutionhas allowed for the management team, supervisors, and floor employees to prevent problems or solve them soon after they occur, limiting downtime and production losses. The multiple benefits gained from this implementation have made the company truly optimistic about future projects involving real-time data monitoring.
