The BWI Group, a leading automotive parts supplier, needed a solution to optimize its production processes. By implementing Peakboard, a low-code solution that also enables visual management, BWI Group was able to significantly improve efficiency in monitoring and controlling its production lines.
The challenge: Complex management of production lines
The BWI Group is a global supplier of automotive parts, specializing in brake and suspension products for various vehicle manufacturers. With multiple production facilities worldwide, each comprising numerous production lines, accurate monitoring and control are essential to ensure efficiency and high-quality standards. One of their facilities in Greenfield, Indiana faced a double challenge:
Real-time data access: Previously, they had to wait up to 24 hours to analyze and discuss production numbers from the previous day. The legacy business intelligence platform they used had updating rates of up to 8 minutes in the cloud and up to 15 minutes locally. This platform couldn’t be expanded to include other essential metrics such as shift duration and breaks, and required costly licenses.
To efficiently manage production lines, BWI’s teams needed real-time access to relevant data, which should be easily accessible for quick identification and resolution of production issues, reducing downtime and ensuring smooth production processes.
Clear Data Visualization: With a vast amount of data generated from multiple production lines, clear visualizations were crucial for BWI Group to be easily understood by their teams. Proper data visualization would allow employees to quickly grasp the status of production lines, identify areas for improvement, and make well-informed decisions.
To address these challenges, BWI sought a low-code solution that could implement visual management and real-time data visualization, as well as easy integration with existing production management systems.
The solution: Customizable dashboards from Peakboard
The BWI Group opted for the low-code solution Peakboard. Peakboard, as a unified hardware and software solution, enables easy, efficient, and individually customized real-time data transfer from various sources. Primarily used in production and intralogistics areas, Peakboard combines the user-friendliness, flexibility, and display options of digital signage with the complexity of technical process data and key performance indicators.
The customizable Peakboard dashboards allowed the automotive supplier to create individualized visualizations of their production data and display the most relevant information for their teams.
As a test, they initially used a single Peakboard Box, which within minutes could load and display data from multiple machine controls transmitted to an OPC UA server, without requiring external consulting services. Dafür wurde kein externer Beratungsservice benötigt. With Peakboard Designer, various visualizations can be created and tested without programming, ensuring flexibility and adaptability at minimal cost.
The dashboards update every 10 seconds, providing the teams with real-time access to current information. Key metrics such as OEE, hourly production rates, scrap rates, and shift data are displayed in real-time.
Crucial parameters are readily available for shift managers and all employees, enabling swift adjustments in production.
This feature was essential for the BWI Group, as it allowed them to quickly identify and resolve production issues, reduce downtime, and improve overall efficiency.
The result: Streamlined management of production processes
By implementing Peakboard, the low-code solution with visual management, BWI Group was able to simplify its management of production processes and gain insights into production that were not possible with the legacy intelligence platform. The customizable dashboards provide a clear overview of the production lines, making it easier for teams to monitor and control the system. The achieved benefits include:
Improved Efficiency: With real-time access to relevant production data, the BWI Group’s teams can quickly identify and resolve production issues, reducing downtime and improving overall efficiency.
Enhanced Decision-making: The clear visualizations provided by the Peakboard dashboards enable employees to better understand the status of production lines and make well-informed decisions, leading to a more efficient production process.
Increased Quality Control: The real-time monitoring of production lines enabled by the Peakboard solution allows the BWI Group to maintain high-quality standards by quickly identifying and resolving potential issues before they escalate.
Stronger Employee Engagement: The user-friendly dashboards promote employee participation in the production process by allowing them to easily track the performance of their production lines and actively contribute to identifying and solving problems. Achieving production goals, for example, may result in an earlier end of the workday, increasing employee satisfaction.
Due to the recognizable improvements in production at this facility, additional Peakboard Boxes are being deployed by BWI in areas such as logistics, warehousing, and trucking.
Here’s where you can find more information at Peakboard
