ThyssenKrupp Hopkinsville LLC produces chassis components in Hopkinsville, Ky., for national and international vehicle manufacturers. In February, the site became the first installation of RSProduction Portal technology from Rockwell Software, a unit of Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation. The facility implementation is for 15 to 20 technical, business and information managers. Data from more than 120 robotically controlled work cells are displayed.
The technology, which is married to Rockwell’s RSBizWare, allows users to design their own custom reporting views and create collaboration portlets to share data across the organization, says ThyssenKrupp’s Information Technology Manager Darren Allison. Displayed by the customized dashboard are defects per units for Six Sigma projects, as well as OEE, cycle time, down-time duration and reasons per machine-fault duration. At least two instant returns have been seen, he says. One is more accurate data, because “it’s flowing directly from machines. There’s less ability for numbers for be manipulated.” Having those accurate data allows confident performance of Six Sigma methodologies. “We prove there is a difference between one item and another. This is actual data showing the real problem or the root cause to a problem in one area.” Allison notes that typical Six Sigma projects that once took six months to complete now take two.
The other immediate return is that time required for data entry has been eliminated, and data flow is now automated from the technology directly to ThyssenKrupp’s SAP enterprise resource planning system. Other improvements also include more uptime, increased production and machine availability and fewer rejects.
Actions initiate through the dashboard by daily reports to management via e-mail, says Allison. “We also send alerts via e-mail to individuals based on set criteria of thresholds. For example, if a machine’s cycle-time is to hold between 42 and 47 seconds, and the machine exceeds this cycle, an alert is sent to management."
