Case study Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG - Fastec GmbH

Case study
Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG
The family-owned company Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG, founded in 1912, employs around 800 people, who
are involved in the production of around 250 tonnes of the square-shaped chocolate in the widest variety of
types at the company‘s factory in Waldenbuch. The RITTER SPORT label is available in almost all German grocery
stores as well as in 90 other countries around the world. Quality is a top priority throughout the entire company
and particularly in the production area, which is attested to by the IFS (International Food Standard) and
BRC (British Retail Consortium) certifications awarded.
Even though an
MDE / BDE solution
was already in
place at Alfred Ritter
GmbH‘s production
facilities, the need to record and
assess in great detail the reasons behind
downtimes at certain machines
became apparent. For this reason, a
system was sought that could be employed
alternately. It would therefore
have to be flexible and easy to
install and configure as well as being
uncomplicated to operate.
The productivity measuring device
easyOEE from FASTEC GmbH, who
have been successfully developing IT
solutions since 1995, was selected.
Impressive start
‟FASTEC was able to meet all our
requirements“, says Torsten Schlegel,
CIP Coordinator (CIP = continuous
improvement process) at Alfred
Ritter GmbH & Co. KG, adding: ‟In
our case for instance, the flexibility
of the solution and its independence
from the existing infrastructure were
important preconditions.
*OEE = Overall Equipment Effectiveness
With easyOEE Portable GSM*,
found exactly the right system to
allow us to evaluate and optimise
different machines.“
easyOEE Portable with GSM as an
extra function offer the advantage
that its doesn‘t require any network
connections where the machines
and plants are located. Instead, the
information captured is sent to a
web server via mobile communications
technology and can then be retrieved
from the workstation PC over
the internet (provided the user has
the right password). Alternatively,
the data can be accessed (again,
using a password) through the network
or offline using a USB interface.
Since easyOEE portable GSM was
supplied preconfigured to Ritter
Sport, a smooth, prompt start-up
was guaranteed. The necessary
digital signals of the machines to
be monitored were captured within
minutes via the light barrier (which
is included in the scope of delivery).
*GSM = Global System for Mobile Communications (a standard for mobile communications networks)
Fast, measurable benefit
Immediately after connection to the
first machine, the system delivered
the desired OEE*-relevant indicators
on a continuous basis, including
availability, performance, quality,
downtimes / cycle times, quantities,
which can be retrieved from any PC
connected to the internet.
easyOEE Portable GSM with light barrier
From his workstation, Mr. Schlegel
can now access all data immediately
through his web browser while also
being able to make changes to the
configuration directly. With easyOEE,
he has all available indicators on the
current order at his fingertips, inclu-

A measuring device for all machines in any location
Mobile data transfer to a web server
ding quantity produced and rejects
as well as a detailed statement of all
downtimes. All OEE-relevant indicators
can be displayed immediately in
easy-to-read diagram format.
Using these evaluations, the reasons
behind downtimes for example can
be examined according to the frequency
of their occurrence over a
defined period of time. This allowed
CIP measures to be developed in
order to increase the productivity of
the machine in a sustainable manner.
The success of these optimisation
measures was then made quantifiable
by way of results controls and
can now be monitored regularly.
Simple handling during
operations
Because easyOEE is designed to be
ergonomical and easy to use, it was
accepted very quickly by the staff at
Ritter Sport.
For instance, a detailed breakdown
of the reasons behind downtimes
can be easily and intuitively captured
within four or five seconds
by the machine operator using a
touchscreen facility, either by way of
predefined reasons or by free text
entry.
For defined machine problems, an
alarm is sent immediately by e-mail
or SMS to the CIP Coordinator
Torsten Schlegel so that machine
downtimes can be rectified quickly
and, above all, for the long term.
Once a machine has been optimised,
easyOEE can be connected within
minutes to the next machine. At
the same time, the configuration
information and database for each
machine can be saved locally, which
means it can be retrieved at any
time when needed.
Overview:
z Sector: Food
z Productivity measuring device
easyOEE Portable with
optional GSM
z 5.7“ touch panel PC
z Data can be accessed wirelessly,
via USB interface or through the
network
z Downtimes are recorded to the
nearest second
„Although
FASTEC offers
its customers
the
option of onsite
start-up,
we decided
to do this
ourselves. Even at the test phase, we
were impressed by the concept. The
operating instructions supplied with
the product as well as the manual
on technical start-up are very well
structured and leave no questions
unanswered. Within a short period
of time, we had easyOEE up and running
and were able to use the system
effectively.
Torsten Schlegel, CIP Coordinator at
Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG
FASTEC GmbH � Technologiepark 19 � D-33100 Paderborn � Tel.: +49 5251 1647-0 � Fax: +49 5251 1647-99 � E-Mail: info@fastec.de
www.fastec.de � www.easyOEE.de � Subject to changes � Picture copyrights: FASTEC, photocase.com � © FASTEC GmbH 06.2011