US-based folding carton converter Malnove was already leveraging the advantages of EFI Radius®, an MIS system for folding carton enterprises. After 70 years in business, Malnove has secured a strong portfolio of high-profile customers in the food-based sector and has expanded operations to three states. Last year, Malnove decided to continue its modernization and centralize its data-collection capacity. The management team at Malnove was seeking full plant visibility on the entire operation. To reach its goal, the company chose EFI Auto-Count® 4D (AC4D) shop floor data collection technology.
Ace Santiago (pictured right, below), IT Systems Analyst at Malnove and the lead team member for implementing the system, commented, “Auto-Count 4D fit the bill for us. Our management wanted real-time data for all machines on the floor, including the presses. We wanted more detailed reports for associates and managers that are easier to read and decipher so that our teams can research any issue that might arise.”
AC4D, a shop-floor production intelligence platform, automatically collects real-time production data, including counts, press status, speed, and other critical information from running equipment. Integrating directly into the Radius MIS/ERP system, AC4D provides critical data that allows managers to improve production processes, decrease waste and downtime, increase output and optimize estimating and production.
Malnove management was also seeking better performance dashboards and plant-view visibility that sheeter operators would have access to, in order to track their productivity.
“We did our research and really liked how user-friendly AC4D is to learn and operate, and how easily we could train our operators to use it,” says Santiago. “Visually, AC4D is a clean system that makes it more intuitive to use.”
Improved data collection is already underway in the two Malnove plants that have installed AC4D. Malnove currently captures data including the number of sheets that pass through the presses and the number of cartons that run through the system. With this solution, AC4D can accurately calculate and report on production times. The implementation of AC4D has resulted in better understanding of down periods and a more nuanced view of productivity, with its ability to calculate average equipment speeds across the plant.
“Managers are happy,” Santiago says. “Since implementation, we’ve seen many improvements. We have visibility of real-time production, which has been greatly improved. We like the real-time aspect of how the software delivers information to us.”
He continues, “We know the downtimes on the machines; we understand why and how long they’re down for. We are scheduling jobs more efficiently. When we do experience downtime, we can drill down to investigate why so many repairs are needed, for example, and figure out how to fix the situation.”
Efficiency is improving and throughput is increasing. “We can improve production throughputs because we have the knowledge,” explains Santiago. “The ability to track waste is key for us as well.”
Prior to installing AC4D, operators had no idea what they had accomplished at the end of their shifts. “The advanced shop floor data collection system shows them how productive they’ve been,” said Santiago.
With the software running at Malnove’s Utah plant, the company is looking forward to a fuller implementation. Currently, 70% of the work at Malnove’s Jacksonville, Florida, plant runs through AC4D, which they expect to increase to 100% in the future. In early 2021, Malnove began implementing the software at its third plant in Omaha, Nebraska.
Santiago reports the installations have gone smoothly, given the pandemic requirements for remote training and installation. EFI support teams trained him on the software for a month before training started for teams through the installation process.
“EFI usually sends representatives and technicians, but this time everything was done remotely, and with minimal contact. Doing it this way was nerve-wracking and we really didn’t think it would go smoothly, but we were able to fire up an entire plant in two weeks,” Santiago says.
“This has been amazing. The support we received from EFI to make that happen was excellent. The experience was so positive, with no disconnect. Our answers were always answered quickly and efficiently,” he concludes.
