How Van Loon Group combines machine data and ERP data for better operational control

Faster insight into production, planning and dispatch by smartly connecting operational data. By linking machine data and ERP data at production-order and line level, the same real-time picture now serves management, the production floor and dispatch.

Context

Van Loon Group is a Dutch food producer with multiple production sites. Within this environment, production, planning and dispatch have to align closely every day in order to respond quickly to changes in the operation.

As the organisation grew, so did the need for more insight into production performance, order progress and operational processes across multiple sites. A lot of information was already available within existing systems, but insights often had to be assembled from different sources.

Van Loon Group saw an opportunity here to better connect machine data and operational data, and thereby steer the daily operation more quickly.

The ambition

Van Loon Group wanted to create more real-time insight into the progress of production, planning and dispatch.

The main objectives were:

• More insight into production performance during the production day.
• Connecting machine data to operational processes and production orders.
• Standardising reporting across multiple sites.
• Responding faster to deviations between plan and reality.
• Creating a scalable basis for further operational reporting and analyses.

By better connecting information from different systems, more insight emerges into what happens on the shop floor, and teams can respond faster to changes.

The approach

Instead of immediately developing new dashboards, the first step was to look at how existing data sources could be better connected.

Among others, the following systems were connected:

• PatchOEE for machine data such as run times, stops and output per production line.
• Reflex ERP for production orders, inventory and logistics data.
• Additional operational data sources for various operational reports.

The connection was set up at production-order and line level, so machine performance can be linked directly to operational processes on the shop floor. This created a reliable basis for various operational reports and Power BI overviews.

What this delivers

Real-time insight on the production floor

Besides management reports and operational overviews, the information is also used directly on the production floor. Via tablets at the line, operators have up-to-date information about production orders, line statuses and progress. This gives faster insight into the status of an order and lets deviations be spotted earlier. The same information used for reporting therefore also supports the daily operation on the shop floor.

Real-time insight into production orders

Because production orders are directly linked to operational data, there is better insight into the progress of orders during the production day. This makes it faster to see which orders are completed and which orders still need attention within the production process.

Direct insight into production performance

Because machine data is directly linked to production orders, differences between planned output, realised output and target values become immediately visible. This makes it possible to respond faster to deviations and developments on the production floor during the production day.

Up-to-date overview for dispatch

Within dispatch, it is visible in real time which orders are ready for shipment and which orders still need attention. This gives a faster overview of the progress of the dispatch process and lets teams respond better to changes during the day.

Reliable analysis of labour deployment

The existing hours analysis is integrated into the reporting environment and linked to actual machine performance. This creates more insight into the relationship between staffing, line utilisation and realised production.

More coherence between production and operational data

Because machine data, production orders and operational information are connected, more insight emerges into the relationship between planning, production and dispatch. This lets teams act faster on the basis of up-to-date information.

Result

By smartly connecting machine data and ERP data, Van Loon Group now has more real-time insight into the daily operation.

This delivers, among other things:

• One shared source of information for management, the production floor and dispatch.
• Uniform reporting across multiple sites.
• Deviations between plan and reality visible during the production day, instead of afterwards.
• A scalable basis on which new reports are built without extra connections.

From the same connections, additional reports are now also being developed for, among others, OTIF, forecast accuracy, production capacity and staff planning. As a result, the solution grows along with new information needs, without having to build new connections for every new report.