Giesser sharpens blade production with process data.

“First, we visualized a complete overview of our production orders with all work steps on one dashboard,” Mutschler explains. “The basic idea was that we wanted to show the reports for each work step: For every production step, we feed back into the ERP system. When the punching process is completed, the employee at the punching machine reports back the quantity produced. This quantity is the starting point for the next operation and tells whether a smaller quantity needs to be completed or whether the quantity is sufficient. In the past we have always had major differences here. Because the number that was reported back was only in the ERP system, i.e. it virtually disappeared in a black box, the employee had no insight into whether he had entered his number correctly. With Peakboard he now has this transparency and we can be sure that the numbers are correct.

In the meantime, around 60 employees in production and two employees in the master office use a total of five different Peakboard Boxes. The shipping department uses a backorder dashboard to find out which backorders are available for which calendar weeks. Detailed information on which customer orders are affected is available at the click of a mouse. The Peakboard Box in the stamping shop visualizes key figures for the work steps such as stamping and hardening. Another Peakboard Box is located in the grinding and polishing shop.

“Every dashboard has several functions,” adds Mutschler. “By using function keys on a keyboard, we can call up several screens. For example, we have stored the shift and vacation schedules for the foreman’s office as a PDF document on the Peakboard Box with the general overview. Or: If a machine fails, the employees can manually set the dashboard to red, and at the same time an e-mail is sent to the employee responsible for the respective machine.”

The response of the employees was very positive. The production employees found it appreciative to be integrated into the process through Peakboard instead of working isolated from information about the current production status.

“Of course, with the newly gained transparency there is also more pressure, because now you can see if you are not meeting your target values” says Mutschler. “However, the employees perceive this pressure mainly in a positive light – as an incentive to achieve their production targets and to see how well they are performing”.

The main benefit of using Peakboard lies in the newly gained transparency across all production steps. Thus, production efficiency has been improved through faster and more precise processes. The elimination of paper-based order management and shift planning has also significantly reduced paper consumption.