Solving the digital manufacturing disconnect:
A case study
September 19, 2023 | Case StudyScaling digital transformation across factory networks can be fraught with challenges. However, one food-manufacturing company took a pragmatic, network-based approach that successfully helped it scale the right digital solutions across more than 40 plants—quickly. In just 12 months, the business was able to transform 20 factories, increasing efficiencies on production lines and improving the bottom line.
Digital manufacturing is a challenge. Digital manufacturing at scale is a much bigger challenge.
Coordinating digital and analytics transformations across all locations is a perennial problem for manufacturers. Too often, it leads to pilot paralysis: many successful tests which fail to scale and deliver investment returns.
There’s also a significant lack of communication, which means different locations can’t benefit from shared best practices.
All of which means significantly increased cost since you’re reinventing the wheel over and over again and failing to tap into an economy of scale.
How can you capture impact at scale across a network of fragmented sites?
Fragmentation is at the heart of the problem. Individual factory site managers are often incentivized to focus inwards to improve site-specific production targets and solve local problems. Given the variations in IT infrastructure, factory maturity, and workplace cultures, it is often difficult to scale these approaches universally across all sites in the network.
But this company was able to take a value-driven approach that started with codifying the common needs and problems across several factories. From there, they developed a catalog of solutions that could tackle these common problems, scaling successful pilots across the entire network. Where no pilots existed, they partnered with providers to develop customized solutions. To ensure these solutions were implemented effectively, the company developed strong governance, rigorous impact tracking, and a large capability-building program.
Many things can go wrong in a factory.
Because this manufacturer uses fresh ingredients, the losses sustained when a process is interrupted can be considerable. This includes machine breakdowns or maintenance and repairs. Unplanned interruptions can also result in a lot of energy wastage.
To pinpoint waste, teams needed data.
Teams connected sensors to hundreds of pumps, tanks, and valves to develop a fact-based view of material flows and identify the source of leakages. While expertise was critical to solving the problem, data ensured they were looking in the right place.
6,000+ sensors installed to cover full material flow through the factory
Line throughput: +10% uplift
Software also helped to optimize the manufacturing environment.
Using new software, teams were able to know precisely what temperature needed to be maintained and when. This resulted in immediate energy savings.
By codifying best practices, teams could standardize the way each tool was implemented.
Documenting technical tricks and change management approaches meant that each solution could be scaled quickly and efficiently—anywhere in the factory network. As soon as a solution was identified as working well, the local expert was encouraged to share that knowledge globally, supported by the business case, cost, impact, and how to track results. What technology was preferred? Most importantly, how would this change “a day in the life” for each operator that touched the process?
A day in the life: Creating impact on the line
For example, the data showed that one of the biggest losses came from micro stops and speed losses.
Constant switching between products prevented teams from finding the optimum settings for speed and quality.
Meaning they needed to “start from scratch” every time a change over happened, and struggled to find optimal production parameters.
A new system was designed to collect historical machine data and identify recommended parameters. It was augmented with tablets, enabling staff to film or take a picture of an issue and send it directly to maintenance teams.
Ensuring optimum speed and quality on every product line, every time.
It’s great that we are not reinventing the wheel for every production batch anymore. And we have clearly seen the increase in performance.
This expertise is then shared out to the broader set of factories
Knowledge is shared across the network in order to bring everyone up to speed and enjoy the economy of implementing at scale.
in less than 12 months
Piloting new solutions
When a solution to meet factory needs is not available on the market, one plant takes the lead developing the minimum viable product (MVP) for the group, involving representatives from each site in the design. Once impact is confirmed, the solution joins the catalog for a standard roll-out across the network.
Execution is key
To capture impact at scale, you need an ambitious target that inspires teams to change entrenched ways of working. Once the right levers are identified and solutions designed, the impact comes from strong execution and leadership: rigorous impact tracking, systematic change management, and at-scale capability building, all backed by strong governance.