Downtime & Profitability​

How production shop floor data reveals downtime details and paves the way for increased profitability

Uncovering Hidden Profitability in Your Print Shop Floor Data 

In the fast-paced printing world, every minute of downtime bleeds revenue. Yet without clear visibility into the root causes of idle equipment, remedies tend to waste resources randomly attacking symptoms. Print businesses can diagnose downtime drivers by tapping previously siloed shop floor data and applying targeted analytics to boost productivity and profits by 30% and more.

Fragmented Data, Limited Visibility

Modern printing presses and finishing systems produce massive streams of real-time operational data—sensor logs, error alerts, utilization rates, and production counts. But with statistics scattered across various machines and facility systems, consolidation into a unified view proves difficult. Planning decisions risk becoming guesses rather than data-driven.  

Production Analytics Consolidate Data

New analytics solutions now collect and intelligently synthesize otherwise disconnected data sources into unified operational dashboards. At a glance, managers gain tangible visibility into performance across all equipment in multiple locations. Instant alerts spotlight specific idle devices, whether an unexpectedly paused digital press running at 65% capacity or an abruptly halted finishing module operating at 55% rate.

Cumulative system uptime metrics reveal trends over time, while drill-downs compare downtime rates by product type, facility, or machine. This granularity focuses on targeting the highest impact areas when addressing utilization issues. However, raw downtime percentages alone still fail to indicate the root causes. Without understanding the forces driving downtime, remedies tend to waste resources randomly attacking symptoms.

Exposing Key Drivers of Downtime 

Advanced analytics reveal the most prevalent factors contributing to suboptimal plant throughput. Historical reports uncover which devices and modules demonstrate weaknesses prone to faults so managers can prioritize upgrades or maintenance. The software also tracks real-time consumable data to anticipate ideal reorder points, minimizing costly stockouts.

Analytics further pinpoint thin staff coverage periods correlated to bottlenecks whenever specialized operators go on break. Optimized labor scheduling and automated workload balancing keep jobs flowing across redundant devices running at 70-80% capacity. Sales pipeline analytics also give early warning of lagging job submissions so intake can adjust to smooth production capacity.  

Implement Targeted Solutions

Armed with granular diagnostics distinguishing between root causes, managers now implement proven tactics to drive up efficiency by 25% or more:

• Automated Job Tracking reveals insights into profitability against job complexity  
• Material Usage – Media and Inkhelps accurate job costing
• Understanding of downtime by machine, material, operator training level to increase Uptime
• Labor Productivity management enables higher resource utilization 

Continuous Monitoring & Improvement

Ongoing production analytics provide continual feedback on the effectiveness of each initiative, prompting further refinements toward maximum utilization. Even modest productivity gains yield expanding profit upside from increased machine running time. Granular data transforms downtime from an intractable dilemma to a manageable opportunity. Print operations already hold the key internally to unlock hidden profits.