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Provideam
Unit 8
Cashel Business Centre
Cashel Road
Dublin 12, Ireland
+353 1 4924560
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Problem
Millipore Corporation is a world leader in the area of technologies to support life science research. In its Irish facility it manufactures filter products. Manufacturing processes in Ireland include Injection Moulding, Membrane Production, Product Assembly and Packing. Millipore were concerned that their processes were suffering significantly from inefficiency and chose Provideam to identify and rectify this as part of their adoption of Lean Manufacturing techniques.
Solution
Provideam was first trialled on 10 assembly machines, with varying control systems. Next, filter cutting machines were added to the Provideam system. To complicate matters, these were each controlled by a proprietary industrial PC which was not accessible to Millipore Cork. However, with some technical help from our end, this was not a problem.
We also created customised reports over a number of time periods, which could be emailed as soon as the shift or time period was completed.
Provideam was next applied to the highly complex environment of the Moulding Area, which required the use of our advanced ProvDAQ data entry stations. This too was successful.
Finally, Provideam was installed in each successive manufacturing area as Lean Manufacturing was introduced to that area. Each area presented its own challenges, of course.
Results
The project has been a complete success. The real-time data which Provideam provides allows Millipore Cork to react immediately if productivity starts to drop off. In manual reporting systems it can be hours if not days before anyone realises there has been a problem.
Data is not just accurate, it's objective, with inefficient, unreliable manual data entry no longer a factor. It’s also consistent, ensuring that the focus remains on increasing productivity, rather than arguing about the data – important when dealing with multi-disciplinary teams. Users can identify new areas for improvement while simultaneously locking in productivity gains already achieved.
Today, Provideam is used daily by all areas across Millipore, including Production, Maintenance, Planning, and Process Engineering.
“The Provideam Solution has enabled us to increase productivity by between 20 and 30% at the Millipore Cork Facility over the last 5 years. In addition, the constant monitoring provided by Provideam has ensured that these increases are maintained.”
John Quirke, Process Excellence Manager for Millipore UK and Ireland.
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