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Schlumberger Owings Mills Improves Processes, Efficiencies with STATISTICA Enterprise-wide SPC System (SEWSS)
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
- Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
- Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
Applicable Functions
- Process Manufacturing
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Machine Condition Monitoring
- Predictive Maintenance
- Process Control & Optimization
Services
- System Integration
- Training
The Challenge
In 2001, Schlumberger Owings Mills Advanced Card Center Management faced the challenge of reducing costs from a product line experiencing a reduction in average selling price. Management decided to use Lean Sigma, a methodology for improvements through waste reduction and variation removal, to address this need.
About The Customer
Schlumberger Owings Mills Advanced Card Center is a manufacturing center for smart cards and magnetic stripe cards in the United States. A smart card is a plastic card, the same size as a banking card, with a silicon chip embedded in it. A microprocessor smart card’s chip contains a miniature computer that can perform calculations and store data in its memory. The card is 'smart' because it is 'active', in that it can receive information, process it and then 'make a decision.'
The Solution
The implementation of an SPC Program was performed in three major steps: altering the layout of the production process, organizational changes, and empowering employees with information and SPC tools. The first step was to change the layout of the plant to incorporate Manufacturing Cells, Inventory Kanbans, and 5S. The next step was to establish high-performance Teams, including Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and Setup Reduction, and a problem-solving process. These teams wanted more information from the process. STATISTICA Enterprise-wide SPC System (SEWSS) is a software tool used to provide process information and facilitate the approach to chronic problems. SEWSS is used for data collection from each manufacturing cell, real-time Quality Control charting, and ad hoc analyses for needs such as Design of Experiments (DOE). With SEWSS, teams are easily trained in 1-2 hours to create and interpret control charts for quality control and supporting continuous improvement efforts of their manufacturing cell. Data summaries and analyses are easily and automatically aggregated into HTML reports for problem-solving presentations to the Steering Committee and Customers (both Internal and External). To improve insights into the status of key processes, Schlumberger Owings Mills uses SEWSS to automate the generation of key reports in HTML for daily review by the management team every morning.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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