An iPad for each production line to register quality, track & trace and machine reconfiguration data. With all data in one place, Dam-bi can now develop useful trend analyses.
About Dam-bi
Dam-bi Produktion AB is a mid-sized company in the south of Sweden (Mörarp, close by Helsingborg) with about 36 employees and a turnover of 81 million SEK (9,2 million EUR) per year (2013). Their main business is private label production of feminine hygiene products, for house brands of large retailer chains in Sweden and Europe.
Dam-bi realizes missing link to achieve track-and-trace
The house brands often compete with premium brands in their own store and therefore impose high quality requirements on the Dam-bi product. Because the different types of the same brand are mixed in a large transport box for sending off to the retail outlet, the tracing back of each delivered box is very hard. Therefore, over the years, a number of IT, production and packaging systems were installed. But still, a manual system of handwritten forms had to be used to achieve track and trace.
Mikael Ewald (CEO) says: “This manual control system worked functionally well as we could do a track and trace. But it was very inefficient and taking too much human resources for repetitive data entry work. Also, the handover of the forms between manufacturing shifts was not always seamless and lead to a varying degree of fill in ratios of information.”
Dam-bi wishes paperless, simple and easy to use app
So, when Optimizers contacted Dam-bi to speak about the possibilities for an enterprise app to support specific business processes in the company, Mikael knew exactly what he wanted to do. He says: “I wanted to get rid of the paper forms next to the production lines and have my people enter production and quality data through a simple and easy mobile app. This to assure all necessary information for each production batch was logged, including the correct ground materials as they are actually used in the batch.“ The latter meant that an app connector with the Jeeves Garp production system (ERP system) was required to assure that even last moment changes in product configurations were made available to the app. “Nevertheless, Optimizers understood our complex processes, and converted them into a simple app for our production people”.
iSynergy app for production quality
This became the iSynergy app for Production Quality connecting product ground materials information stored in Garp to the iSynergy app on the work floor. This means the app shows the production people exactly which ground materials to pick and install onto the machines for the next production batch.
“One of the biggest advantages of using iSynergy has been the flexibility in defining user data entry forms for each single process flow, for example Production control and Quality control”, says Mikael.
Dam-bi has started to use the app, with a new designated form. Now they were able to eliminate the risk of registering erroneous ground material on the Production Control sheet due to last moment changes in the product configuration. This was made possible with the iSynergy – Garp connector.
Main advantages of iSynergy
- Collect all figures
- Economical solution
- Runs on an iPad
- Flexible, customizable user forms within standard app platform
- Workflow driven – multidisciplinary approach (cross departmental)
- Multilanguage
- Supports scan devices
- Easy to integrate/mold into existing business software infrastructure
iSynergy Quality report Dam-bi
“Another big advantage”, Mikael continues, “is that iSynergy is flexible meeting our specific needs, and fits into our existing IT infrastructure but still being affordable so we could afford to invest in it with a solid ROI”.
“Now we have all relevant information in a database, meaning we can develop more useful trend analyses.”
iSynergy work flow processes at Dam-bi
- Production report
- Quality report (quality of specific production batch)
- Change production machines report (preparation production line and test-run)
- Lab report (extensive test of particular product)
