Scandi Standard were able to achieve operational excellence quickly and securely thanks to the implementation of the Blackbird solution.
How far away is your organization from operational excellence? As the progression towards Industry 4.0 accelerates, manufacturers are quickly realizing how crucial digitalization efforts will be in determining their survival in an ever-changing landscape. Early adopters who standardize digital processes and lean on data for continuous improvements will win the market.
At Blackbird, our passion is helping our customers achieve operational excellence, regardless of where they are in their digitalization journey. Whether you are just getting started or looking to supplement existing digitalization efforts, Blackbird will always strive to support you in taking the next step towards smarter, more efficient production.
We have identified the following 3-step process to help you get started in your journey towards operational excellence. Each comes with their own set of data insights and analytics designed to help you understand and improve your production.
Excellence level 1
Automating data collection and tracking live flow
The only way to improve production is by understanding it, and the only way to understand it is with data. So, the first step towards operational excellence is digitalizing and automating your data collection. KPIs such as production start time, end time, volume produced, number of stops, length of stops, cycle times, etc. are just some of the metrics you will need to help you optimize production.
Collecting data from legacy machines can be a hassle, but thanks to Blackbird’s plug-and-play functionality, you can pull live production data from any line in minutes! Just place a sensor on your line, connect your sensor to our IIoT box, plug the box in, and you’re done! Live production data, automatically collected and aggregated in a single dashboard. No need to interface with the onboard computer, purchase new equipment, or invest in a big IT project. Blackbird instantly makes your existing machines smarter, giving you an additional return on your legacy investment.
Scandi Standard, the leading producers of chicken-based food products in Scandinavia, installed the Blackbird system on over 150 of their production lines, across 5 different countries, in under 12 months. This was only made possible due to the combination of accelerated digitalization initiatives from the company’s management team and the ease-of-use offered by our plug and play devices.
Excellence level 2
Analyze, determine, and understand
Now that you have access to live production data, the next step is to analyze it. We recommend starting at the root of the problem, by analyzing downtime. Downtime analysis data such as when your line went down, how long it was down for, and what caused the downtime can help you understand what your biggest challenges are, and what to focus on first.
Now equipped with live production data insights, courtesy of Blackbird, Scandi Standard was finally ready to progress to the next level. With the help of their operators, they were able to log and categorize every single stop, aligning each with their correct stop cause in just 3 clicks. Extrapolating and comparing that data across multiple lines, they were now able to determine what needed addressing, allowing them to optimize their processes one-by-one.
“We could see live data at first and then after the operators started to put data in and register stop cause, we could benchmark between similar product lines and try to understand why some perform worse than others of the same type. We work a lot with downtime, and this is one of our top priorities each day, to constantly focus on the daily stops but also on the stops we see again and again.
In the first year, we improved our uptime by 3% and each year after we improved by up to 2%. We think this is a great result, considering that we produce around 3 million units per week”.
– Mikkel Rauff Winther Pedersen, Group Performance Management Manager at Scandi Standard
Excellence level 3
Set targets and track performance
Now that you know where and what to address, it’s time to set targets, such as overall production volume, or time targets specific to shifts or batches. Each batch has an expected run speed and set volume output. Just import your batch specific information into the Blackbird system and start automatically tracking batch results against set targets in real time!
Scandi Standard were able to significantly boost their OEE, improving production efficiency by 2.5% in their first year using the Blackbird solution, and an additional 1% each year since.
“The first couple of years we improved our changeovers in our packing lines with 40% using Blackbird, and this knowledge and standards we use to share and train in. Of course, we sometimes see that we fall behind our targets then the workshop is our key tool for getting back on track again, and we have the data to support us at all times.”
– Mikkel Rauff Winther Pedersen, Group Performance Management Manager at Scandi Standard
“Blackbird helped us get a deeper and more accurate understanding of our production. It helped us gain insights into more complex situations and problems. This is an absolute “game changer” for me, because when we can trust our data and rely on it, then the real work begins - instead of using hours and hours of trying to understand it.
Blackbird, its features, and our setup make sure that we use our time and workload on the things that generate value for our business”
– Mikkel Rauff Winther Pedersen, Group Performance Management Manager at Scandi Standard
If you would like to hear more about how we can help you fast-track your digitalization process, contact us here.