Nampak Tissue Pretoria has achieved accurate performance management information and improved the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) of its plant through the implementation of the ON KEY APMS, an asset performance management system that combines traditional computerised maintenance management with automated performance measurement.
The APMS was designed and implemented by the asset performance management specialist PRAGMA.
The manufacturing plant, which produces toilet paper, kitchen towels and facial tissues for the consumer market, introduced the ON KEY solution across its seven production lines to automate the capture of production-related information and to achieve the delivery of online reporting on availability, performance rate, quality rate, OEE and overall plant performance (OPP).
The need to automate data collection was emphasised by the inaccuracy of performance measurement on the production lines and the time it was taking to compile and deliver meaningful performance reports. The process was slow and cumbersome. All production information was manually captured in A2 production logbooks before being processed in an Excel spreadsheet. Monthly management reports would then be extracted and displayed in Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel.
"The reporting process was not only unreliable, with entries manually printed on a logsheet, but also time-consuming, with three days each month dedicated to compiling management reports," says the Nampak Tissue Project Manager.
The three-month project focused on two core activities: the introduction of hardware using human machine interfaces (HMIs) and the implementation of software through the ON KEY system. HMIs were installed and configured on each line for the electronic logging of downtime and the capture of detailed information per shift, such as downtime reasons, operator and batch details. HMI operating procedures for each production line were laminated for durability and displayed next to each HMI. Reasons for downtime are displayed using colourful visual icons specific to each production line for the operators` ease of use.
The ON KEY APMS software was installed onto the server at the plant and access configured for all relevant users. The seven production lines were configured in the software and a set of management reports developed. "Training on the software and the HMIs was performed predominantly on a one-on-one basis, which proved very effective," says Gert Diedericks, PRAGMA consultant on the project.
"The introduction of the ON KEY APMS at Nampak Tissue Pretoria has enhanced management`s access to data for critical decision-making," say the Nampak Project Manager.
"As an automated management tool ON KEY has enabled the plant to run more efficiently and effectively. We have done away with the log sheets, the human machine interface (HMI) collects data and relevant users simply dial into the server to access pertinent real-time performance management information on the status and performance of any line at any time."
From an asset effectiveness perspective, the average OEE at the plant has improved by between 5% and 7% since the end of 2001, while the monthly reporting process has been shortened from three days to two minutes.
"This achieves improved flexibility, enables management to make decisions faster, and makes production substantially more efficient. The process has had a direct benefit on the workforce, who are more motivated and have taken full ownership of the new system," says the Nampak Project Manager.
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