well for manufacturing, but the reports and process simply were designed to work at another plant. Finding the right information was a challenge, at times, and the system provided data overkill. Te pipe company wanted to fine tune the plant management system to provide its leaders and plant workers with only the data that makes up the health indicators of plant operations. Te system also needed to capture undocumented information such as personnel’s thoughts and ideas. Atlantic States set about program-
ming its own system to create new charts and dashboards used on the plant floor and in managers’ offices to provide a visual representation of the data in Enterprise. Atlantic States relied on personnel with previous experience in knowledge management and developing digital dashboards, who began providing rapid applica- tion design sessions during weekly plant meetings. Shortly following the sessions, new digital dashboards were rolled out that provided the real-time health indicators the company needed. Tese included the following:
Open Work Orders by Reason Code Keeping work orders in control
helps reduce machine downtime, keeps production running, reduces part cost and reduces safety risks. Managers can click on their depart- ment (e.g., safety) and view at a glance where they stand with their work orders. Te chart also helps monitor forecast costs of parts and labor. By doing so, Atlantic States can better prioritize work schedules.
Actual Cost by Ton
Te actual cost by ton is a ban- ner that provides real-time expenses against budget. Like using a check- book, departments can look at their financial budget goals and what’s available for the month. Atlantic States uses cost by ton because iron is a commodity, and the company can compare the cost to make a pipe to the tonnage produced.
Sales and Shipped Tons Tis dashboard tells Atlantic States,
by customer, what has been sold and
Atlantic States has been producing cast iron pipe since 1856.
what has been shipped. It allows the company to gauge sales and, at a glance, determine the presence of bottlenecks in shipping or plant production areas.
Top 10 Scrap Types by Percentage Scrap is waste, and waste costs
money. Iron scrap can add up to mil- lions of dollars lost to the bottom line. Te casting department and plant management look at this chart to see which casting machines are perform- ing poorly and determine if training or machine maintenance is required. Te casting team uses it to know where and what to focus on improving.
Production Equipment Performance
Tis is a real-time chart that
reports what each machine is produc- ing and which machines are up and running. It helps sales and shipping determine which orders are being filled or which orders can be filled, as well as whether machine output is within goal. “Tis chart has given us the ability
to process live,” said Dan Fittro, plant manager. “We can and, now, do moni- tor our chemistries and raw material additions, making changes well before the product is made, to get the best ductile iron pipe possible.”
Atlantic States has reduced its costs
of cokes and anodes by 10% to 15% with this live tracking system.
Net Tons and Scrap by Day
Department managers and staff use this data to zero in on where they stand in producing good pipe vs. bad pipe. It allows them to gauge which days of production were good. Identifying the bad days helps with troubleshooting the machinery or with staff assignments.
Direct Charge Spent Today Te “Direct Charge Spent Today”
reports to everyone what Atlantic States has spent for the day. It’s like counting calories when you’re dieting. When reducing a budget, the first step is to reduce spending. Te company may determine to set the budget at spending no more than $15,000 per day. Tis knowledge management chart helps with that.
Daily Scrap vs. Good Pipe Real Time
At a quick glance, anyone can see
the performance from the melting and casting machines, or what Atlantic States calls its “hot end.” Two kiosk areas display plant vital signs for plant workers. Key managers
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