Root-cause registration

The first, and perhaps the most important step, with continuous improvement is collecting information and identifying all the disruptions and incidents. After all, first you need to know what is going wrong, before being able to improve. Correct input is essential for correct output.

Therefore it is important that the registration procedure is as simple as possible. It also increases the report willingness. It concerns registration of all events in production and QHSE incidents. Often people think of technical failures, such as damaged parts or machines with suboptimal line speed, however, most losses are due to poor internal logistics and communications. Imagine no supply or the wrong supply of materials, a sub-optimal set-up of the production process, or faulty instructions.

Registering events is done in a "failure tree". We have years of knowledge and experience in (production) processes and, together with the customer, we will comprehensively analyze them and create a suitable matrix.

Failure tree example — Matrix start example

ProMISe Matrix

The ProMISe Matrix is very flexible and dynamic. You can register anything you think is important. For production optimization you can insert the whole production process. If you are dealing with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) you can include Food Safety or Animal Well-Being high up in the Matrix. You want to report safety issues and incidents? Include all QHSE aspects. See the picture for an example of a Matrix set up. The Matrix is easily adjustable and grows with the needs of the company.

The registration

Registration of events can be done in different ways. Manually by using a computer, directly next to a machine, at your office, or any other place. For quick and easy registration you can also use the app. You want to have automated registrations? We can connect the PLC of the machines to ProMISe or use sensors to register signals like: machine running, speed of machine, etc.

Note the starting and end time of an event for downtime measurement, add some pictures for more clarification, add some comments for detailed information and select the root cause in the failure tree including the used solution. ProMISe remembers all solutions. When the same or comparable failure occurs (for example a broken bearing in a different location) ProMISe will suggest a solution that has beem used before for the same failure. It is also possible to register the time an operator needed in total after the failure has already been solved: "operator time".

Production has been able to resume already, but the operator may have had considerable difficulty/hassle because of it. The actual failure may have been short and insignificant but if the failure reoccurs frequently and the operator struggles each time, then there is reason to discuss that problem and solve it.

The App

The ProMISe App allows even quicker and easier registration of an event on a mobile phone, with the option to upload photos. A picture often says more than words. Internet connection is not even required. Quite useful for operators on site or when you need to quickly solve the failure and do not want to forget to register the downtime.

Machine connection

It is also possible to interface with the PLC of the machine or extract information from sensors for more precise, automated registrations. Alarms or failures are automatically registered in ProMISe including start time or end time. The unique tag codes correspond with a location/part in the failure tree. The operator only needs to verify the alarm or possibly adjust it.