Cost Savings Summary
To illustrate NFT’s value proposition, let’s look at a large Discrete Manufacturer who implemented real-time process controls. Ultimately, the company recognized a return on investment through reduced procurement costs, reduced re-work labor costs, and elimination of unplanned downtime.
- 9% reduction in current annual purchasing costs
- 5% savings in labor and lost product
- 4% reduction of annual operational costs
Client Challenges
NFT's client, a large manufacturer of discrete components, was spending too much time tracking down raw material inventory information and paying premiums for last-minute delivery of materials to meet production demands. The manufacturer also suffered from low profits because of costs to rework product that didn’t meet quality requirements.
NFT Automation Solution
New Frontier Technologies (NFT) proposed a unique solution using off-the-shelf automation hardware and custom-configured software. The centerpiece of this design is a "Productivity" station that serves as a hub for data collection and distribution. This programmable device connects to plant-floor PLC's to retrieve real-time process control data, and displays production information on large video boards installed in the plant's busy operating areas. Employees and management constantly see important production details: production
rate, anticipated order completions, specific order information, current critical alarms, and more. Displayed data is designed to help plant personnel better manage daily activities.
The NFT system integrates key plant floor information with important business information from the company's ERP application. The system also supports connectivity to other third-party software products.
NFT's solution delivers custom reports that feature:
- Real-time inventory positions
- Current production rates
- Calculated order completions
- Predictive equipment failure status
Client Outcomes
NFT's solution provided company ownership with valuable information that was previously trapped inside plant floor process automation equipment. This uncovered operational data was correlated with relevant business data, and the power of NFT's analytics enabled management to more clearly understand and more tightly control the business. The manufacturer all but eliminated last-minute premiums using NFT's "reorder" application, which monitors inventory and generates raw material reorder notification alarms when a pre-established level is reached. Reorder functionality yielded a savings of nearly 9% of their current annual purchasing costs.
The software application solved other issues, too. Applying analytics to real-time information exposed work process issues that, when addressed, reduced rework and increased finished goods output. The result was a 5% savings in labor and lost product. Reducing unplanned downtime was another benefit. The NFT solution monitors process feedback information, stores that information, and analyzes the data to identify patterns and key signatures that predict when a process is more likely to fail. A Maintenance Software Module that plugs into the NFT software application allowed operations personnel to schedule maintenance on plant equipment - minimizing, and often eliminating, unplanned shutdowns and provided a 4% savings of annual operational costs. Ultimately, the company recognized a return on investment through reduced procurement costs, reduced re-work labor costs, and elimination of unplanned downtime.
New Frontier Technologies is an end-to-end industrial systems integrator, offering turnkey technology solutions to the Discrete Manufacturing industry. If you'd like more information about how NFT can develop solutions for your discrete manufacturing plant that uncover and integrate real-time operational data with business information to improve profits, please get in touch with us!