Production Line Automation, Efficiency

Three Ways to Boost Production Line OEE

Centralize control of marking and labeling devices to see rapid efficiency gains.

 

Achieving production line automation and driving gains in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is the north star for manufacturing and packaging operations. These incremental gains in efficiency, driven by automation, directly translate to a positive impact on the bottom line. 

One way to improve OEE is to centrally control all marking across one or more production lines but choosing the right technology platform can be difficult. Here are three considerations when selecting a technology platform. 

#1: End-to-end integration 

Technology is available today to integrate all printers and labelers on your production line even if they are from different equipment manufacturers and brands. End-to-end integration is critical if you want to achieve efficiency gains across the entire production line. If even one printer or labeler is out the loop, you’ll constantly be reverting to inefficient manual processes. 

With full integration, data can automatically flow from PLCs, ERPs, and other backend business systems ensuring accurate coding across all packaging. By then integrating auxiliary equipment (scanners, scales, vision systems), you can achieve automated product-to-pallet verification of production line flow. Critically, the platform should be based on a flexible architecture so it’s easy to integrate all necessary equipment.  

#2: Intuitive operation

Having a central point of control that is intuitive to use enables operators to change coding on the entire line from a single location eliminating one of the leading causes of scrap and rework in the production facility: human error.  

It’s important to note that minimizing human error goes beyond efficiency gains: in some cases, unintentional messaging mistakes can have serious implications.  In a product recall, for instance, companies could be subject to severe fines and even criminal charges if products or cartons are mislabeled. Automating data flow with central control removes these risks, allowing production staff to focus on meeting their goals. 

An easy-to-use platform also reduces the need for extensive training for different shifts and operators and makes it faster and easier to onboard new staff. 

#3: Future-proof  

As your production operation grows and you add additional lines, the platform should grow with you giving you the flexibility to scale your operations without losing efficiency.  

One such technology is the MPERIA controller from Matthews Marking Systems. This open platform easily scales to control dozens of printers and other devices across multiple lines with nearly unlimited message creation capabilities. And when business systems need to be integrated, MPERIA automates data flow from those systems – without the need to invest in any form of middleware. 

Having a centralized controller enabled Calvo Growers, for example, to substantially reduce the time required to manage production changes and updates, boosting overall efficiency of its production lines. Meanwhile, Ventura Pacific Company dramatically boosted OEE by centralizing control, integrating new and existing print and applying labeling equipment and linking to back-end databases. 

 

MPERiA controller being touched

 

Find the MPERIA controller best suited for your environment.

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