Page 33 - MetalForming March 2016

ensures that we keep the proper min- max levels of boxes, skids and interleaf paper at each press, so that our opera- tors don’t have to leave the press and head out into the warehouse in search of packaging materials.”
Wiegel is Watching, Via Waterfall Alerts
Plant-wide, everyone now knows how the company is doing in regard to OEE and changeover times. Wiegel’s managers send out daily, weekly and monthly updates that track OEE and changeover times for every press and tool. Reports track tasks that make up the complete changeover process, from last part off to first part off, including die removal, die setup, setup of scrap bins, coil feeds, conveyors and related equipment, and first-piece inspection and approval. Knowing that the data are available and shared, Wiegel says, drives home the notion that management requires plant-floor ownership of process improvement, and personal responsibility for the company’s efficiency.
Add to that the fact that employees now know that Wiegel is watching closely. He set up a waterfall alert sys- tem that, as the saying goes, has the buck stopping at his desk. For every production and changeover task, the company has assigned a reasonable time window for it to be accomplished.
If, for example, an operator indi- cates in ShopFloorConnect that his press is down because he is waiting for coil stock, an e-mail goes out to all of the material handlers identifying them of the need. After 5 min. (“I expect material to arrive at the press within 5 min. of the call,” Wiegel says), an e-mail goes out to alert the production man- ager. A 10-min. delay triggers an e-mail alert to the plant manager. And, after 20 min. Wiegel receives an e-mail alert, which sends him out to the shop floor.
Tracking Tool Performance, Too
In addition to attacking OEE and changeover times, WTW also uses ShopFloorConnect to track the per- formance of individual tools. It tracks
the number of hits between mainte- nance cycles and compares the data to a standard developed for each tool, to not only ensure that it’s getting the predicted life from each tool but also to help prompt maintenance scheduling.
“When new tools enter production,” says Wiegel, “we can go into ShopFloor- Connect and set the limits based on how we predict they’ll perform. Then, once the tool has run for a while, we can
adjust those expectations accordingly.” Managers also have access to quick color-coded status reports for each tool—the tool status turns yellow on the display when it’s approaching its hit limit and red when the tool needs to be pulled for maintenance. “Or, a red indi- cator might just warn our production people to pay extra-close attention to the performance of that tool,” says Wiegel. MF
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