Customer stories
Return on investment in MES
Previous situation:
- The customer was planning to expand production and was concerned that it would no longer be feasible in the existing “paper-based” form.
- The Spanish owner recommended the implementation of an MES; a simple MES was already in use in Spain.
- They had issues with labor reporting:
- Payroll slips were being lost.
- Employees would keep their payroll slips with work reports; once they reached their daily target, they hid the slips and submitted them the next day. In other words, they worked ahead for the next day, did nothing the following day, and submitted the slip from the previous day.
- Deficiencies in master data – multiple product types were being produced under a single production order.
- Deficiencies in reporting:
- They were unable to calculate OEE.
- They were unaware of production reserves.
Requirement:
- Digitalization of production management.
Solution:
- Full digitalization of production management – implementation of MES PHARIS:
- Process analysis
- Data collection from machines
- Automated labor reporting
- Visualization screens on the shop floor
- Automated production workflow management
- Adjustment of master data structure
- Reporting
Result:
- Increased production productivity
- Increased production efficiency
- The investment in MES PHARIS paid off within the first six months of operation.
Automatic selection of operations
Previous situation:
- Manual input of the performed operation on the machine
- Manual input of the performed operation on the production terminal
Requirement:
- Automatic selection of operations based on the operation currently performed by the machine
Solution:
- Extended machine communication – identification of the operation being performed
- Implementation of automatic operation selection on the terminal based on the machine’s current activity
Result:
- Increased quality due to elimination of operator errors
- Increased efficiency due to labor savings and improved quality
Nonconformities and recommendations from audit
Previous situation:
- Challenging fulfillment of auditor requirements (100% automotive production).
Requirement:
- Digitalization and optimization of selected processes to improve and streamline compliance with customer audits.
Solution:
- Process analysis, implementation, and optimization of selected processes within MES PHARIS
- Extension of workflow to include quality management – integration with the laboratory, creation of test sample requests, receiving inspection reports directly on the terminal
- Implementation of a first-piece approval process
- Introduction of automatic poka-yoke checks
- Operator training
- Familiarizing operators with changes in documentation
Result:
- Reduced personnel and workload related to fulfilling customer audit requirements
- Demonstrable improvement in quality
- Better evaluations in customer audits
Digitization of production documentation
Previous situation:
- Production documentation was not managed by a controlled documentation system.
- Technological procedures were available in paper form at individual workstations.
Requirement:
- Digitization of production documentation.
Solution:
- Implementation of production documentation within the MES PHARIS system.
- All change management processes related to production documentation, including notifications and acknowledgment of changes, are handled via the MES PHARIS production terminal.
- All production documentation is available in its current version on MES PHARIS production terminals.
- Unlike other MES PHARIS customers, printed versions of the technological procedures have been retained at individual workstations due to the extensive scope of these procedures (large binders), which operators often prefer to handle physically outside the terminal. Tablets would not help in this case; this is not a limitation of MES PHARIS, but a specific requirement of the customer.
Result:
- Improved production quality.
- Reduced human resource demands.
Elimination of manual transcription of production records
Previous situation:
- Recording of labor and scrap was done on paper; production data were manually transcribed into the SAP ERP system.
- Hourly production performance was calculated manually, and the results were manually entered into the system.
Requirement:
- Digitization of labor reporting and production reporting.
- Digitization of production evaluation and visualization.
Solution:
- Implementation of labor and OK/NOK piece reporting within the MES PHARIS system.
- Implementation of production status evaluation and visualization within MES PHARIS.
- Implementation of automatic export of labor reports and OK/NOK production data from MES PHARIS to SAP ERP.
Result:
- Labor and personnel savings – elimination of three full-time positions previously responsible for transcribing data from paper forms into SAP.
- More accurate evaluation and visualization of production status.
Digitization of visual management in a Japanese company
Previous situation:
- A Japanese company with a strong focus on visual management (many whiteboards).
- There was no online overview of work-in-progress. PPH (pieces per hour) was written manually every hour on whiteboards at all workstations.
Requirement:
- Automation of calculations and online visualization of all key production indicators (PPH, OEE, etc.).
Solution:
- Calculation of all key production indicators (PPH, OEE, etc.) within MES PHARIS.
- Replacement of whiteboards with MES PHARIS visualization screens.
- Visualization screens display online overviews of workstation performance, OEE, PPH, and other indicators based on customer-specific configurations.
- Enabling further development of visualization screens and MS Power BI reports based on MES PHARIS real-time data.
Result:
- Labor and resource savings by eliminating manual performance evaluation of workstations.
- Labor and resource savings by eliminating the need for regular manual updates of performance data on whiteboards.
- Accurate and reliable values (OEE and others).
- Real-time overview of work-in-progress.
- Implementation of MES PHARIS led to an increase in OEE.
Refinement and increase of OEE
Previous situation:
- Paper-based OEE tracking, manual OEE processing.
- Inaccurate OEE calculation.
Requirement:
- More accurate OEE measurement.
- Increase in OEE by approximately 5%.
Solution:
- Deployment of MES PHARIS across the entire production, covering more than 700 machines.
Result:
- After making OEE transparent, a significant drop was observed — it was necessary to explain to management the difference between the original and the new (i.e., real) value.
- OEE increased by 3%, which is a very good improvement considering the scale of more than 700 machines; this increase is measured from the real baseline after MES implementation.
Automatic downtime classification
Previous situation:
- High occurrence of downtimes.
- Inability to distinguish between different types of downtimes.
- Errors in manual downtime tracking.
- Micro-downtimes were not recorded.
Requirement:
- Optimization of downtime tracking and reporting.
Solution:
- Implementation of downtime monitoring in MES PHARIS.
- Activation of automatic downtime data collection from production equipment.
- Activation of automatic classification of downtime types from production equipment.
- Adjustment of the production management workflow – downtime notifications and escalations.
- Downtime analysis in MES PHARIS and in MS Power BI reports.
Result:
- Downtime reduction, increased machine utilization, and improved OEE indicators, due to:
- Real-time downtime notifications enabled faster response, significantly shortening downtime durations.
- Based on analysis of downtime types and their causes, preventive measures were introduced.
Traceability of packaging units
Previous situation:
- MES PHARIS was implemented.
- Packaging units were filled at all operations (workstations):
- At some workstations, multiple packaging units were combined into one.
- At others, one packaging unit was split into several (one common hopper for multiple machines, with each machine filling its own unit).
- Pieces from one packaging unit might not be processed into the same unit at the next workstation.
- In paper form, tracing the history of individual packaging units across all operations was extremely difficult.
Requirement:
- Digitization of packaging unit traceability across all workstations in MES PHARIS.
Solution:
- Implementation of functionality for tracking packaging units across multiple operations.
- All operations fill packaging units with information on the batch of input material consumed at each step.
- Automatic setting of cycle time based on the machine currently running the production.
Result:
- Improved quality by eliminating traceability errors of packaging units.
- Increased production efficiency through labor savings and enhanced quality.
Prevention of assembly errors
Previous situation:
- MES PHARIS was implemented.
- Once a week, a product was assembled using incorrect semi-finished components (visually similar but different), ending up in a packaging unit → a penalty of CZK 50,000 per packaging unit + transportation and inspection costs for other packaging units – total approx. CZK 80,000 per week, i.e. approx. CZK 4,000,000 per year.
Requirement:
- Prevention of production using incorrect semi-finished components.
- Minimization of costs associated with such production errors.
Solution:
- Implementation of semi-finished component control during product assembly:
- The operator scans the barcode of the semi-finished component during assembly.
- Automatic verification of the input component in MES PHARIS.
Result:
- Cost savings estimated at approximately CZK 4,000,000 per year.
Saving the company
Previous situation:
- The company was operating at a loss.
- Production was inefficient.
- The company had no TIER1 contracts.
- Management decided to address the difficult situation by investing in functional production management through MES.
Requirement:
- Complete digitalization of production management using MES.
- Implementation of IATF processes.
- Monitoring and increasing production efficiency.
Solution:
- Implementation of MES PHARIS:
- Process analysis.
- Machine data collection.
- Automatic labor reporting.
- Visualization screens on the shop floor.
- Automated production management workflows.
- Implementation of suitable IATF processes based on the process analysis.
- Reporting, productivity calculations, and production optimization.
Result:
- Following the implementation of MES PHARIS, in a very short time:
- Production efficiency increased.
- The company achieved positive financial results, which management clearly attributes to MES PHARIS.
- Supplier audit ratings improved – the company became a TIER1 supplier.
- The company won valuable contracts directly from ŠKODA Auto (as a TIER1 supplier thanks to MES PHARIS).
Integration of special machines
Previous situation:
- Loss of produced parts (e.g., small parts manufactured in the thousands per hour being flushed away with oil, etc.).
- Insufficient tracking of consumed material.
- Inability to analyze where losses were occurring.
- Inadequate traceability records.
- Distorted OEE data.
Requirement:
- Increase efficiency by reducing production losses – optimize production management and reporting.
- Implement traceability.
Solution:
- Complete digitalization of production management – implementation of MES PHARIS:
- Process analysis.
- Machine data collection, labor reporting.
- Visualization screens on the shop floor.
- Automated production management workflows.
- Implementation of selected functionalities related to IATF 16949 requirements.
- Reporting and accurate OEE calculations.
Result:
- Accurate OEE due to implementation of production registrations and machine integration.
- Improved production efficiency as a result of identifying and reducing losses of produced parts.
- Improved efficiency due to production process optimization – labor savings.
- Better performance in customer audits (fulfillment of IATF 16949 requirements by automotive auditors).
Batch traceability and input material control
Previous situation:
- MES PHARIS was implemented.
- No tracking of material batches at the point of entry into production.
- No verification of the correctness of input materials.
- Frequent issues with incorrect material usage.
Requirement:
- Increase efficiency by optimizing material tracking in MES PHARIS.
Solution:
- Extension of MES PHARIS implementation to include batch tracking at production entry.
- Deployment of advanced input material verification in MES PHARIS:
- Scanning the correct input at the correct time.
- Batch tracking and input material verification are triggered in a single step (via one code scan).
- Implementation of batch traceability from input materials to final products (individual parts, packaging units, batches).
Result:
- Reduced losses due to elimination of incorrect material usage.
- Improved quality of finished products.
- Better performance in customer audits.
Integration of MES PHARIS with the POHODA ERP system
Previous situation:
- Manual, paper-based production tracking.
- Manual entry of processed production data into the POHODA ERP system.
Requirement:
- Digitalization of production management.
- Automation of data exchange between production and the POHODA ERP system.
Solution:
- Full digitalization of production management – implementation of MES PHARIS:
- Process analysis.
- Data collection from machines, work reporting.
- Visualization screens in production.
- Automated production workflow.
- Integration with the POHODA ERP system (orders, work reports, etc.).
- Reporting.
Result:
- Improved transparency of current work-in-progress.
- Increased efficiency of production equipment.
- Cost savings related to production tracking.
- Cost savings through more efficient automated stock-in process from MES to POHODA.
- Ensured traceability of production via packaging units.
Operator and shift performance evaluation based on OEE
Previous situation:
- MES PHARIS was implemented.
- However, there was no ongoing evaluation of shift and team performance based on OEE.
Requirement:
- Ongoing evaluation of shift and team performance based on OEE.
Solution:
- Implementation of real-time OEE monitoring and reporting of OEE for MQB lines within MES PHARIS:
- Evaluation of shifts (not individual operators) based on performance.
- For OEE above 84%, a motivational bonus is awarded for each additional percent.
- Shift competitiveness emerged, with teams striving for top performance and supporting each other to avoid downtime.
Result:
- Significant increase in productivity.
