when every pot of crème fraîche counts
In the agri-food sector, the CortX Alchemy solution made it possible to identify the root cause of a malfunction affecting production.
For more than six years, the manufacturer had been facing recurring issues on its high-capacity production line producing 17,000 pots per hour, without being able to determine their origin.
Thanks to CortX Alchemy, the production line has become more productive and stable.
issue:
The production line, capable of producing up to 17,000 pots of crème fraîche per hour, had been experiencing incidents for over six years. Despite the efforts of the maintenance and reliability teams, no lasting solution had been found.
Fives CortX’s intervention was carried out in two phases.
Project stages
Step 1 : « Machine Condition Monitoring »
During this first phase, the implementation of the “ Machine Condition Monitoring” use case allowed the teams to accurately analyse and visualise the evolution of waiting times on the production line during pot filling.
Illustratively, the values shown in the table opposite indicate that the production line experiences significant waiting times when it is saturated. At the end of each cycle, the machine remains in a blocked state (red circles) due to a lack of downstream availability. This situation was affecting the overall production efficiency.
The “ Machine Condition Monitoring ” enable the detection and analysis of production downtime in order to identify the causes of lost productivity. This use case is essential as part of an operational excellence initiative. It enables the evaluation of machine efficiency, the identification of the main sources of losses, and the definition of targeted action plans, thereby facilitating informed decision-making.
Step 2 : «Machine Time Monitoring»
In a second phase, the “Machine Time Monitoring” use case enabled a detailed micro-analysis of the observed delays. Contextualising and analysing specific machine data refined the diagnosis by tracking critical parameters such as the operating time of the dosing units, marking stations, thermo-sealing, and pot placement. By putting this information into context, it was possible to precisely identify the elements that were slowing down the ramp-up.
Following this micro-analysis, the client adjusted the machine programme, optimising the critical parameters without resorting to lengthy and costly investigations. The production rate then increased to 18,000 pots of crème fraîche per hour, representing a productivity gain of approximately 7%.
A new phase to further optimise
A few months later, a new observation emerged: the production line was still showing signs of deviations.
The “Machine Time Monitoring” use case revealed that the performance gain only applied to a specific type of cycle, leaving additional optimisation potential. The end-of-line stacker was identified as the main bottleneck: whenever the production rate increased, it caused the line to stop.
The « Machine Time Monitoring » also highlighted other malfunctions:
- Variations in the thickness of the cream during production. This analysis led to the replacement of a cylinder, now better suited to denser textures, resulting in a reduction of losses equivalent to 650 pots per hour.
- Analysis of the pot marking cycle revealed, as shown in the table above, a programming issue that was causing delays in the cycle. Thanks to this diagnosis, the client’s experts were able to adjust the programme, optimising cycle management and speeding up the printing of expiry dates.
The “Machine Time Monitoring” use case enables the optimisation of equipment speed and efficiency by monitoring key production metrics in real time. Cycle time, operating time, and movement time — precise analysis of machine cycles allows the identification of the critical path, ensuring optimal management of the phases that influence overall performance.
Results & CUSTOMER BENEFITS
Adjustments to several workstations, modifications to marking parameters, cylinder replacements, and interventions on dosing have significantly optimised the manufacturing process.
Thanks to CortX Alchemy, the production line has become more stable, with a 4% reduction in performance fluctuations over one year. By collecting, analysing, and contextualising machine data, the solution has helped secure production reliability, leading to increased productivity.