Burlington, Ontario -- (SBWire) -- 10/28/2010 -- “The cost of raw materials is essentially the same for all machined part manufacturers, and the cost of capital equipment is about the same,” said Sébastien Caron, Plant Manager for Héroux-Devtek Inc. “Even quality is becoming much the same. So our biggest differentiator is productivity.”
Héroux-Devtek manufactures aircraft landing gear, aerostructures, and industrial components in 10 locations across North America. Like most manufacturing headquarters, the Longueuil, Québec, head office is a paragon of computerized productivity. Centralized, Internet-driven networks control flows of information via enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, accounting systems, and communications systems that help run the company.
Until teaming up with Burlington, Ontario-based Memex Automation, it was a different story on the factory floor. Individual machine tools were highly automated, but as in many manufacturing operations they remained islands of unconnected information—like having a group of office PCs, each with a different software application, unconnected by a Local Area Network, and unable to communicate with each other.
The Memex Automation Mx2000 Machine Interface handheld device is connected to the machine control panel and to the Ax9150 UMI for OEE Machine Monitoring (physically located inside the panel). This Memex Automation structure allows signals to be picked up automatically from the machine, eliminating operator input as much as possible, but if the operator needs to enter information, the operator has that ability as well.
According to a recent issue of Aerospace Engineering and Manufacturing, “Tough-minded offshore competitors, currency swings, trade disputes, and customer balance sheet fluctuations created by anything from the financial crisis to Icelandic volcanic activity are just a few of the external factors that can determine success or failure for the North American manufacturing industry.”
The company decided to change that. In 2007, it initiated a companywide mandate to look at overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) devices that automatically track machine utilization. With a mechanical engineering and project management background, as well as experience working in several of Héroux-Devtek’s manufacturing sites, Caron was put in charge of the project.
“I knew that there were other Héroux-Devtek sites looking at OEE devices to track machine utilization,” he said. “Many of our plants were working towards individual implementations. Some sites were ahead, other sites had not started at all. We realized that it would be beneficial to have a common OEE platform for all sites. After talking to all our plant managers, we decided on a common approach. Dedicated individuals from each site worked in collaboration to successfully implement the Memex product, taking into account their specific operational environments.
About Memex Automation Inc.
Memex Automation Inc., http://www.memex.ca, a unit of Astrix Networks Inc., was created to leverage the research and development of Memex Electronics, which was founded in 1992. Memex continues its tradition of serving the discrete manufacturing sector, supplying component hardware, memory upgrades, and visionary shop floor communication technology. Memex Automation products are “Automating the Automation” allowing a manufacturer to increase productivity and decrease costs. Memex Automation focuses on delivering value with Real-Time Machine Monitoring and Control, which utilizes OEE+DNC solutions that boost efficiency by up to fifty percent with minimal capital investment. Memex Automation is based in Burlington, Ontario.
Memex, Inc.
http://www.memex.ca
John Rattray
jrattray@astrixnet.com
1-866-573-3895
Memex Automation Declares Inside the Factory Walls All That Matters Is Productivity