Etude de Cas "Imperial Bondware"





Paper cup manufacturer slashes SPC report time 

Challenge: Replace old SPC software system to generate faster summary reports on cup-making machine specs for paper container manufacturer.
Strategy: Install three-tier software that provides fast and flexible real-time data collection and plant monitoring.
Results: Summary charts are viewed in real time instead of four hours.

Imperial Bondware Corp., of Kenton, Ohio, converts paperboard into millions of paper cups for hot and cold drinks. The cups range in size from 3-ounce bathroom cups to 64-ounce convenience store "mega-gulp" cups. The company also produces different types of paperboard food containers for clients such as Dairy Queen and Kentucky Fried Chicken. The large 170-ounce popcorn tubs served at movie theaters are also made at this facility.

When the plant manager at Imperial Bondware wanted to know how many of its 62 cup-making machines were running within spec, it would take four hours just to output summary reports. Even then, the only report to come out reasonably intact during the four-hour outputting process was the Cpk report-the measurement of process capability over a center point.

After countless frustrating reports, the company acknowledged that its statistical process control (SPC) software was performing inadequately.  To top it off, the vendor that had supplied the software was no longer in business, so upgrading was not an option.		  

Imperial Bondware wanted to find out, at the touch of a button, how many machines were, for example, out of specification or in control. The company also wanted the answers to these questions:

  • What machines are the most problematic and in what area?

  • How "out-of-control" are the machines?

  • What is the most common problem on a machine? What is the most costly?

  • Where does the company need to concentrate its resources?

To more profitably manufacture the extensive variety of food and beverage containers, Imperial Bondware began searching for new SPC software in August 1996. Fast and flexible report generation was a requirement for the company, as were real-time data collection and plant-wide monitoring. The company learned that since its previous SPC software purchase, many vendors were now offering impressive SPC software as standard fare. It decided to add a tough requirement to its shopping list—a personable vendor support structure. After a three month search, the company chose Zontec Inc., of Cincinnati, Ohio. Detailed sessions with various experts at Zontec showed their entire organization was responsive to Imperial Bondware's needs.

Building a paper cup or container begins when bleached paperboard is cut into sizes determined by the finished product. After being printed in up to six colors, the paperboard is transported to one of 62 converting machines.


Three critical dimensions are measured after a cup is crafted:

  • rim diameter

  • rim thickness

  • cup height

A cup's rim must consistently disengage from a vending machine's rim gripper, enabling the cup to bump and slide through a short chute into the cup holder. A sleepy warehouse worker arriving for work at 6:00 a.m. has no tolerance for spending his only coins on a cup that gets hung up in a machine. When within spec, finished cups have proper rim thickness and diameters to ensure consistently reliable releases from the stack. These specifications along with those of the complete product line, are met by using automated laser gauges. Laser gauges are sophisticated quality assurance tools that far exceed the accuracy of outdated circumference bands. An added benefit is that the SPC software works with the automated laser gauges and incorporates the convenience and time savings of automatic data entry.

Synergy, Zontec's SPC software for Windows, lets the company manage what is happening on each of its 62 machines. Consequently, more cups are manufactured more consistently within spec, and fewer customer complaints exist. Previously frustrated coffee drinkers now enjoy watching their cup drop into place before the coffee dispenses, not after.

Zontec encourages networked SPC software, so that when opening a Window, each of the machines can be seen in real time. With a couple of mouse clicks, every machine's status can be viewed via a simple stop-and-go light concept. Green indicates within spec, yellow means potential non-spec, and red is out of spec. Clicking on any of the color status buttons reveals more, such as the control chart complete with the date and time of each sample. Other details that appear include ID numbers, corrective actions, and so on, for any job. In extracting data by lot number, operator ID, time/date, or certain combinations of critical identifiers, the "query" function is used. The result is nearly instantaneous analysis.

It is a configuration ideal for Imperial Bondware. In it, each machine is a job that consists of three files (the three critical dimensions stated earlier: rim diameter, rim thickness and cup height. This means that the 62 machines are actually 62 jobs, networked, real time, and viewed alone or in combination or on a single screen.

The plant operates efficiently with the Zontec Synergy EQM system. The three-tier EQM package-featuring operator level, engineer level and manager level-is effective because of the economy and logic of the three tiers. As mentioned earlier, at the first tier, measurement data automatically enter the Synergy software via the laser gauge setup. During installation, Zontec was able to link its software to one of the company's laser gauges using its program customization services.

 
At the second tier, the plant quality manager may modify, create, and delete jobs within the software's database. Within the third tier, the plant manager can click a mouse to see how in control or out of control each machine is. It is now possible to study the report in real time, a process that consumed four hours every month. Now, four-hour charts are available instantly. By merely clicking a mouse, the company can generate reports weekly, monthly, and in other terms such as global capability, rejects, moving average, range, and more.

Machines such as this Paper Machinery Corp. unit help Imperial Bondware turn out millions of paper cups annually.
Reprinted with the permission of the Institute of Ind

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