The Sandvik brand Dormer Pramet, a global cutting-tool manufacturer, is working with IBM, one of the world’s leading data analysis companies, on several key projects.

“These include using large amounts of data to map the value chain throughout every department of our production unit in Sumperk, in the Czech Republic, and incorporating computer software to identify defects in tools during the early stages of manufacture,” says Radim Bullawa, Industry Engineering Manager, at Dormer Pramet.

In the first project, advanced algorithms and statistical methods were used to track, over the past two years, every indexable product order, determining how the item moved through the production unit and creating a network model of the entire factory.

Interacting machines

This model described how the machines interacted with each other and showed how any process disruption, such as unscheduled machine downtime, can spread through the entire system. “It identified critical points in the process where small issues can cause major inefficiencies later,” says Radim Bullawa. “All were ranked by severity to help focus on where improvements were needed to optimize performance and achieve the greatest impact.”

All these digital elements and projects aim to enhance our existing high standards of manufacturing.

In the second phase of the project, they looked at the definition of the metrics that quantified issues such as quality, maintenance downtime and compliance with the production plan. These metrics were again analyzed to identify further areas of operational change and suggest specific improvements.