CPT International 4/2019

DIGITALIZATION
“If we know we’re running at 85 % in terms of tonnes per hour, we can investigate why straight
away. It might be that we’re not producing molds quick enough. Again, we can ask why
and perhaps discover that it’s because we need extra staff to keep up. The point is, if you
don’t know, you can’t improve. With the solution and monitoring parameters we’ve agreed
with Norican, we can.”
Real time productivity –
the real priority
The two priorities that emerged from
this consultation stage were tracking
machine performance against specified
standards and checking productivity in
real time by monitoring metrics like poured
tonnes per hour, molds not poured
and bottlenecks (stop/wait times). “Ultimately,
you can’t sell what you don’t
make,” commented Andrew Wren, MAT
Foundry Group’s Head of Engineering
Projects. “That’s why these monitoring
objectives were top of our list.
Making what’s possible, practical
All new Norican machinery is Industry
4.0 ready but Norican worked with
Shaun and Andrew to upgrade MAT
Foundry Group’s existing equipment
and retrofit the necessary data capture
and IoT technology so it could be part
of the global picture. In fact, a key
benefit of Norican’s solution is this ability
to upgrade legacy foundry plant so
it can feed valuable data to the Monitizer
system.
The Norican solution is also designed
to flex around a customer’s needs and
display information in a way that is
going to be most useful for the recipient.
For MAT, this was a big attraction.
“Our CEO doesn’t need to see specific
sensor data, pressure readings or any
such granular detail,” continued Shaun.
“He does need to be able to log on and
see, on one dashboard, a simple set of
“Our production managers may need more
detail but only for their specific site, while
on our shop floor, our team are likely to get
more benefit from simple green/red colourcoded
screens linked to live data so they can
quickly spot and fix small technical issues
that might otherwise grow into big productivity
problems.
indicators from both sites which show if
we are meeting daily targets – and if
not, why not.
Broader benefits: predictive
maintenance, monitoring
emissions
Still linked to productivity but a step
beyond the initial monitoring capability,
another ‘cupcake’ is also being
developed to support MAT’s predictive
maintenance strategy for shot blasting
at both sites. With the new digital solution,
in addition to making performance
indicators such as blasting times,
batch count and loading/unloading
times visible, it will now be possible to
pull and display data relating to vibration
levels – a key factor in blast wheel
wear. By setting alerts against vibration
thresholds, MAT Foundry Group will be
able to see when servicing or replacements
are required and avoid unnecessary,
unplanned downtime.
In addition to monitoring common
KPIs across both pilot sites, the digital
project also supports objectives specific
to each foundry. “Basically the door has
been opened to wider areas of business
improvement that we hadn’t necessarily
foreseen,” said Andrew.
“Currently, we have to have a person
walk the dust collectors every day
to check differential pressure readings
which indicate the effectiveness of our
filters” added Shaun. “If we get a
blockage, it’s not only a potential issue
in terms of emissions, it’s a risk factor
for our internal environment and staff.
With the new Norican solution, we can
pull data from our dust collectors into
the mix and get a live picture of filter
performance. We can demonstrate to
local authorities we are constantly, and
responsibly, on top of things.”
Optimizing worldwide processes
with meaningful data
Beyond the initial two-site pilot phase of
the project, MAT Foundry Group has big
ambitions for where Norican’s Monitizer
solution can take them. Andrew says:
“We’ve actually tried to look at data
monitoring as an operational improvement
measure before but attempts have
fallen flat because we just couldn’t find
the right mechanism or get buy-in from
the team. With this project, that’s
changed. Our ambition, once we review
this pilot phase, is to connect all the
foundries in our group. That holds exciting
potential as you can begin to benchmark
beyond foundry walls. If seemingly
identical lines are producing different
results in two sites, why is that? With our
new framework, we can find out and
make sure best practice systems and processes
are then shared across our global
network. We are still in our infancy as a
unified group. Tools such as this can help
speed up our maturing process quickly
and profitably. Long term success means
grasping opportunities to boost productivity
with both hands. With Norican,
that’s what we are doing”, he concludes.
www.noricangroup.com
www.matfoundrygroup.com
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