RCO Engineering used FactoryWiz Monitoring to improve efficiency, productivity and profitability.
The TST Tooling Case study takes a look at how Machine Monitoring helps RCO Engineering monitor setups, idle time, programming and quality checks, thereby reducing machine downtime.
The RCO team could not account for large blocks of idle machine time. “We were noticing, on average, 1,200-1,400 hours a month of machine downtime,” Justin Castillo, RCO’s engineering manager, says.
RCO installed FactoryWiz in two separate departments: production component and tooling machining. The management team made it as simple as possible for the workers running the machines by installing tablets and touchscreen computers on the shop floor and gave each operator a login. (see machine mounted tablet video example)
Management noticed the effects almost immediately, as only one month after implementation, the company was already making critical gains in machine time hours and it answered questions about a machine’s idle time.
The RCO team was also using FactoryWiz to send reports directly to supervisors, who quickly worked to reduce the shop’s idle machine time. FactoryWiz also captures what is happening while a machine is idle without requiring an operator to be at the machine at the exact moment it stops.
In the end, since installing FactoryWiz over two years ago, RCO has reduced machine idle time from 1,200-1,400 hours a month to approximately 400 hours a month. These are significant savings, and with this improvement, it has motivated operators to start a friendly competition to see who can beat the latest record, and the numbers just keep improving.
The RCO team also uses FactoryWiz to send reports directly to supervisors, who quickly work to improve shop floor efficiency.
Publication: Mold Making Technology
Author: Anthony Watson
Date: 2020
Title: CNC Monitoring Software improves machine performance and utilization.
