Overview

Quantifications for this project are based on enquiries made at several different food processing plants across North America. These are typical
in so much as the rates and figures used are fairly standard across similar facilities. Labour rates, throughput rates, costs per Kg etc are similar
between most companies producing the same types of product.

So, what is to quantify....

Reduced Labour

With the implementation of a system such as this, there are benefits which can be gained by reducing the amount of money spent on labour for
particular tasks which can be automated. Whilst reducing the amount of time it takes to perform these tasks, it is important to note that the money
will probably still be spent. It's not as if just by replacing a manual task with an automated one will mean that you don't get paid for your time there.
However, in the long run, and, looking at the larger business picture it will mean less man hours are required to fulfill the same tasks than before.

Inevitably, operators who were previously filling in forms for 3 hours a day and now capture the data electronically in only 2 hours will be able
to be undertake other tasks within the workplace. Identifying how much time this is is what I have tried to do here.

The following spreadsheet (available in the sidebar on the left) breaks down the form filling activity and associated activities so that we can see
how much time is spent on this and what the cost of that time is.

In the first table at the top, the No. Forms is indicative of the typical number of forms which are filled in on a daily basis within the Quality Assurance
department for food processing companies. Overall it may vary from plant to plant but this figure is based on enquiries made at 6 similar type plants
in Canada and the U.S.

I received analysis from 3 of those plants who had, as part of their continual improvement programmes, recorded how much time was spent on
each form per day. I averaged this figure across the forms.

I calculated that using the handheld device to replace a handwritten form in ten examples would save around 20% of the time it would normally take.

5 working days a week was assumed for this model. In reality, many plants produce six days in a week but there are usually a couple of short days
so I averaged this to 5.

An Average Hourly Labour Cost was provided by 2 plants.

For transpositional work, again, the continual improvement specialists provided these figures for me as well as my own enquiries and observations
made as I travel around the country visiting various different plants. With transpositional work, all of this time is saved, as there is no need for
any transpositional work once the initial data has been captured. Average hourly Labour Rate is higher in this area than in the data capture area.

For the auditing table, I used figures provided for me by 3 QA Managers. They broke down for me roughly how much time had been spent by
themselves or members of their team on auditing and reporting over a one month period. Most of this time is saved when using the Tracesoft system.

Cost Savings on Downtime Analysis [Back to top]

Analysing how long a machine is inoperative is crucial to understanding what is causing the downtime. This information can then be used to
focus on those areas to improve efficiency rates for production lines.

The analysis above shows a simplified typical breakdown of a few production lines and the throughput figures. There are thousands of
products which are produced by food processors so I picked a commonly produced item of which we have experience.

The Throughput Per Hour and Average Daily Hours assume that the machines are running at 100% efficiency.

Throughput Per Day is then calculated from the two previous figures.

The Average Cost Per Day is a figure which is typical of this kind of product. This figure includes the production cost,
overheads and labour. This then gives us a Cost Per Hour and a Cost Per Day.

The Typical Downtime % in the first table allows operators to enter a value which is representative of how much time as a percentage
of the total daily hours is taken up with non operational machines. The Typical Downtime Per Day (Mins) is then calculated from this.

We can then work out what the value of this loss is in the Downtime Loss Per Day ($) column.

Days Per Week represents how many days the plant usually operates in any given week.

We can then claculate the Downtime Loss Per Week and Downtime Loss Per Year.

The last three columns allow us to factor in the margin which was included in the Average Cost/Kg. This is expressed as a
percentage and a monetary value which leads us to the last figure, namely the Net Downtime Loss Per Year.

The second table allows us to suggest that if the system is used, and measures are taken on problem areas highlighted by the
system, what percentage of the original downtime could be saved.

The third table simply subtracts the second table's values from the first to arrive at the savings which can be made.