How our software improved OEE performance at Puratos Canada - Factry

“Being the Director of Operations for Puratos Canada, I am responsible for a lot, ranging from Operations, Production and Engineering to Maintenance, Quality and Safety. Every single day is different. I love the constant flow of opportunities and challenges. I adore working with people. I enjoy getting my hands dirty, but also being in the office and diving deep into data and numbers. "

Before Factry Historian

“Before Puratos was introduced to Factry Historian, we used classic chart reports, which was quite challenging. People would change charts on a weekly basis. Or a pen would run out without us knowing right away, resulting in a loss of data. Going back in time was even harder, because you had to look at lots of different markers. The data were there, but accessing the data sets was anything but user-friendly.”

Factry Historian improves our overall OEE performance and drives cost reduction, while also drastically reducing complexity.

After Factry Historian

“The Factry Historian software has proven to be a great asset to our facility in Canada. The software helps us in two ways. The first way is validation. Let us say we receive a quality complaint. Factry Historian delivers proof of what exactly happened at a specific moment in time and how long the problem lasted for. It allows me to investigate things in a much more detailed manner than I was ever able to before.”

“Secondly, Factry Historian has taken us to the next level in terms of capturing data and using it in real-time. We can, for instance, permanently monitor machine temperatures. Throughout our facility, up to twelve Historian KPI screens are now set up, offering anyone on the floor a live overview of the productivity of the plant by means of different types of dashboards. I myself have one in my office.”

Higher overall effectiveness

“At the end of the day, it is all about efficiency and about how smoothly production lines are running. The Factry Historian solution provides us with the information we need to improve our overall OEE performance. It also drives cost reduction, while drastically reducing complexity. From a quality compliance point of view, it helps us to do things better, faster and more accurately.”

“The Historian comes at a reasonable price, and adds enormous value to our business. Factry Historian shifted our paradigm from chart recorders to databases that allow us to capture and store data, and eliminates a stack of paperwork. It has really propelled us into a brand-new age.”

Excellent user feedback

“The user feedback we are getting is excellent. The more I use it, the more I even like it. It is truly user-friendly. Creating a new dashboard from scratch takes some time, yet within a matter of minutes, you can teach a new team member to use an existing dashboard. The team really relies on it right now, so it is important for us to move forward with Factry Historian. We notice an increasing number of people are using it.”

From a quality compliance point of view, Factry Historian helps us to do things better, faster and more accurately.

Smooth implementation

“The implementation of the software was fast; the process went without a hitch and only required a handful of people. Actually, the hardest part was on our end, as we needed to provide the signals to the Historian. However, using contemporary machinery, that is neither hard nor expensive. Once the signals were available through our automation, it would simply plug and play. Easy.”

On-site training & service

“To get the basic set-up going, we did not need a lot of specialised training. Today, just a few months after the implementation, we already have a good understanding of how to capture data, how to generate basic charts, and how to look at specific time frames to learn what happened. And should we need it, Factry is always there to support us with additional on-site trainings.”

“Whenever there is an issue, my personal contact at Factry is remarkably responsive. Sometimes I even forget he is not based in North America because he responds so quickly. Most importantly, he is on top of things. I honestly have only good things to say about our current partnership with Factry.”

What about the future?

“One of our future operational goals is predictive maintenance, i.e. signs and warnings that can tell us maybe we should change filters, or if a potential issue is coming up. This is one of our main challenges for the next few years, and it would not be possible to take them on without Factry Historian.”