So that the production of faucets flows better
Aquis Systems
challenges
Provide employees with information about quantities and quality in good time
solution
Extracting data from an SQL database for real-time information on output, error rates, and error types
benefits
- Quick implementation
- Higher employee motivation through transparency about their own work performance
- Transparent and automated data preparation and therefore a better basis for decision-making
Time to Value
A working day to create the first dashboard and integrate it into the system
As a leading OEM (original equipment manufacturer), Aquis Systems AG from Rebstein, Switzerland, develops and produces electronic solutions for public and commercial sanitation technology, from complete electronic fittings to water management systems. Components for hydraulic sensors/electronics, communication (APP to IoT) are also part of the range of services. Founded in 1995, the company employs a total of 300 people at three locations.
“After a few short conversations with Peakboard and watching the online videos provided, I was able to design the interface myself without the help of the Peakboard team, right down to the integration of our corporate identity. ”
A bloating Excel spreadsheet and severe time delays
On 15 islands, a maximum of three specialists manually install sensor-controlled faucets. Each island has a tester who tests the electrical and mechanical components, tightness, software and hardware of the end product and converts the results into a SQL database transferred. He then imports the data into an Excel spreadsheet to analyze it with the aim of optimizing processes and increasing quality. For example, the company gains information about the production error rate and, at the end of a day, about the output quantity.
“We don't want to know how much we have produced just after a shift, but during it so that we can react early,” says Denis Maljkovic, Head of Production and Industrialization at Aquis. “In addition, Excel-based morning shop floor management is too complex. Due to the volume of data, an update sometimes takes up to half an hour. The evaluation is then also time-consuming, as we first have to create the correct view. This is where we quickly reach the limits of our programming knowledge. ”
In some cases, the process takes several hours as the amount of data increases rapidly. It is impossible current information to communicate quantities and quality to employees in good time. Maljkovic must delegate or automate as his capacities have been exhausted.
Operational excellence platform
Maljkovic's team can do two mechanical troubles in the test process transparently Make: The previous method showed individual manufacturing elements as faulty that were actually not faulty.
Above all, however, the speed of data preparation and the quality of information are significantly increased.
“What used to take hours is now happening in real time and automatically”, summarizes Maljkovic.
This makes communication with other departments easier, including those that are only sporadically involved in shop floor management, such as internal sales or management. Overall, this is interest on Order status It has increased significantly since real-time information about production became available.
“We are now talking very efficiently about why there are which error rates for which types of errors — software, hardware or mechanics. The information is more clear. Before that, it all took place on paper. It was cumbersome to go deep there. Now we can clearly show what it's all about directly on the dashboard,” says Maljkovic.
The evaluations provide a common basis for all parties involved to efficiently identify targeted optimization measures and increase their acceptance.
Real time and historical data
In a first workshop lasting around four hours, a dashboard is created for a subsequent test in everyday operational life.
“We ran the first draft in real time to check whether the data was correct,” says Maljkovic. “The productive collaboration has significantly contributed to the fact that we were able to create a sophisticated dashboard very quickly. ”
This is followed by a second workshop, where Aquis and Peakboard use the findings from the test phase to finalize the details.
For all locations, the dashboards visualize the daily, weekly, monthly, annual and Real time output. In addition to the output, the dashboards show the current orders per island and their Level of achievement including good and bad tests. The company can see the status quo of all islands as a whole. In addition, it is also possible to analyse individual islands in depth in order to reflect on performance with the respective team and quality managers. Die Operational excellence platform From Peakboard accesses the SQL database directly to extract the previously defined data.
Data analysis at all locations
In the future, Aquis will visualize further information about its individual islands, for example through an Andon board that shows the availability of materials. Employees are currently manually triggering the signal of a defect, whereupon a warehouse operator delivers the goods. This can take several minutes. To reduce this margin, Aquis will first measure downtime due to lack of materials.
A further step is to represent the quality at the level of a specific component. Maljkovic:
“We now have a great many ideas for digitally recording our production, which we are gradually fleshing out and implementing. The initial experiences have allowed us to become creative. ”
Although the SQL database collects data from all locations, visualization is currently only available in Switzerland. As soon as all required information has been prepared there, Aquis also sets up Peakboard dashboards at its other locations.
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