Optimize line efficiencies through real-time info

To keep up with this ever-changing scene, CPG companies have equipped their plants with highly automated packaging equipment boasting quick-change capabilities. But that’s only half the battle. Without access to real-time information from the plant floor, management has no sure way of knowing when downtime occurs and why, where waste exists and why, or how high-speed equipment can be optimized for maximum throughput.

Fortunately, there are technologies available that can reduce downtime problems and help optimize the packaging process. A brief overview of some of these technologies and the issues surrounding them is discussed in “Utilizing on-demand information to meet packaging challenges,” written by Charley Rastle and Lance Rodenfels, both solutions managers at Rockwell Automation.

“Using an existing control infrastructure for advanced data collection, packaging managers are able to extract real-time data directly from plant production lines,” write Rastle and Rodenfels. “Specialized manufacturing tracking and tracing software compiles the process data, turning it into custom reports that depict a line’s activities. This usable information helps managers identify immediate and long-term problems and turn them into solutions to ongoing improvement initiatives.”

This 1겨-word article is available by contacting Courtney Goetz at [email protected].