Performance feedback and real-time data collection

Real-time data collection has become more important as companies have increased the focus on driving continuous improvement into their organisations.

If the organisation wants to improve then it needs to be aware of the areas where the organisation is not performing. If it wants to be able to get the biggest impact for the effort then it needs to be able to pluck the 'low hanging fruit'. In order to correctly identify this low hanging fruit it needs an accurate source of performance data that can be clearly presented so that adverse variances or trends are readily noticed. Success in this area has been a problem for many companies and is one of the reasons that opportunities for improvement are frequently missed.

"In earlier years SCADA systems were very efficient at indicating real-time data but were less competent with historical data. This has changed with the addition of data historians which include the ability to store historical data in a database and support structured retrieval."

In earlier periods there tended to be a reliance on manually collected data, which was then entered into a database or spreadsheet. Experience has shown that manually collected data tends to be both inaccurate and take too long before it is available in a format that is of use for giving process feedback. It can be satisfactory if it is accurate enough for monitoring performance but tends to be less useful for fostering improvement.

Large volume plants and those with an interest in short cycle feedback use the data that is available from their SCADA systems.

Basic SCADA systems give huge amounts of data, but it is not always in a form that is of use to process improvement teams. More feature rich SCADA systems do offer reporting that is user friendly for the operational teams, but there are still a significant number of companies who find that it is more cost effective to buy a specialised solution that has been developed specifically for driving process improvements on the factory floor rather than upgrading the SCADA systems to the feature rich versions.

"In earlier periods there tended to be a reliance on manually collected data, which was then entered into a database or spreadsheet. Experience has shown that manually collected data tends to be both inaccurate and take too long before it is available in a format that is of use for giving process feedback."

Automated data collection solutions have other advantages over manual systems apart from accuracy and speed. When the results are displayed there is less risk that the factory teams will think that the numbers are wrong or have been fudged to prove a point. As such, if the results show that there is an issue then they will focus on solving the issue rather than playing the myriad games that otherwise can occur. Performance feedback for factory floor teams driving process improvements should ideally satisfy the following;

• Be accepted by and meaningful to the team;
• Indicate how key performance areas are performing;
• Be simple, understandable, logical, and repeatable;
• Show a trend rather than an individual result;
• Be unambiguously defined;
• Be sensitive to changes in the process.

If the collection is not automated then we would also need to consider that it also facilitates:

• Economical data collection;
• Timely data presentation.

If an automated solution is required then there are three major options available. The company can use what is available from the SCADA system, can add a package that interfaces with the SCADA system or get a basic package developed that interfaces data from the SCADA system and inserts it into one of their Office suite products.

The SCADA system
Using whatever data is available from the current SCADA system is an easy option as it requires no additional funding. It will be a one size fits all solution that may well not give all the right information or present it in the best format for factory floor process improvement teams to be able to drive continuous improvement.

In earlier years SCADA systems were very efficient at indicating real-time data but were less competent with historical data. This has changed with the addition of data historians which include the ability to store historical data in a database and support structured retrieval. Unfortunately, they are not always as flexible as a database that has been designed specifically around giving performance improvement feedback. However, it may well be satisfactory for some organisations, particularly as they start the move towards Continuous Improvement, but can be limiting as the change process matures.

Specialist performance feedback software solution
These usually interface with the SCADA system via an OPC server, or communicate directly with the PLCs. The costs can vary from the quite expensive for the imported internationally branded products to cost effective for systems locally developed for Australian companies.

These systems can be more flexible than standard solutions and provide information that is more readily usable to foster the drive for process improvement. It is important to confirm that the product is using current metrics to measure performance and that it is readily customisable for line/shift/product configurations. If the system is flexible enough to generate reports which can replace either completely or in part reports that are currently produced manually then it can assist with the cost justification.

Automatically populate Office suite products
With current technologies it is relatively easy to access data from SCADA systems and import it directly into spreadsheets and databases that are accessed at intervals by the organisation.

This can be a very cost-effective way to automate performance feedback, but it is recommended to use developers with experience in this field to minimise the risks of issues associated with updating data in a document or database that is currently being accessed. This methodology is unlikely to be as flexible or user friendly as a specialist performance feedback software solution but can result in actual cost savings compared to manually updated performance feedback methods.

Process feedback and statistical process control
The real-time collection of data really opens up the potential for economic use of statistical techniques to increase the understanding of the process, reduce variation and its associated wastes and hence improve customer satisfaction and profitability.

The potential for improved profitability is significant, with one example being a packaging line that is required to pack a specified amount of product. All product that is packed in excess of the specified amount is giveaway and the reduction of this loss can be the most direct route to improved profitability. If the company is using real-time SPC techniques it is relatively easy to set up warnings to machine operators that indicate the current rate of product giveaway and also use the process variation to indicate if an adjustment of fill size is warranted. When this is allied to feedback to the operators on the cost of the product giveaway in the last hour or since the start of the shift it can significantly help to minimise the loss of product giveaway. The improvement philosophy of Six Sigma relies on the rigorous use of statistical analysis to assist with the improvement process. The use of statistical techniques is currently greatly underutilised by the Australian manufacturing industry but this is expected to change as more companies start working with real-time feedback and the Six Sigma philosophy, hence understanding the real benefits available.

Results obtained from real-time performance feedback
The costs and effort of successfully implementing real-time performance feedback can be significant, yet they pale into insignificance when the results achievable are measured. Some results from recent years are, for example, a multinational confectionary manufacturer that reduced downtime by 31 per cent in three months with minimal capital spend; a supplier of food and nutrient services increased throughput by 101 per cent in a 30-week period on a canning line; a multinational food manufacturer improved the throughput on its major volume bottling line by 21 per cent in a five-month period; a global player in the packaging market reduced the number of stops during production runs by 49 per cent; and another international packaging company reduced changover times by 50 per cent, which resulted in them being able to reduce stock and hence working capital by over a million dollars.

It might well be worth a review of the effectiveness of the performance feedback systems currently in use in light of the benefits being found by companies that are using real-time performance feedback as an aid to driving process improvements.

Ian Hendy

For further information contact Proventus Consulting Pty Ltd
49 Hancock Drive, Cherrybrook 2126