Internet of Things and Data Visualization

This Fortune 500 North American manufacturer and distributor of wood products and building materials enjoys recognition as on of the world’s most respected companies. The company is a leader in its industry, which includes businesses operating with processes that are sometimes more than 100 years old.

Challenge

This client was operating a door manufacturing facility that relied completely on manual processes and functions. While there are benefits to this hands-on approach, there was no way for management to know when machines were idle in the factory, or if the factory is achieving manufacturing goals.

When the project started, output was falling short of production goals by as much as 40%.

The client needed insight into machine operations so it could better manage and predict output and optimize facility performance to better achieve production goals.

The Solution

Kopius* was engaged to design and develop a digital solution that would collect, organize, and visualize operations data for facility operators.

The solution was achieved by implementing IoT sensors on three manufacturing machines. We then used Microsoft Azure to pull data from the controller of a fourth machine.

Additionally, we designed and developed a web application with a Power BI Dashboard to pulled the data from Microsoft Azure. We conducted user interviews and research to validate the reports and visualizations that would be most meaningful to the facility management team.

Results

Gathering real-time data from these manufacturing machines allowed management to measure real-time product output. The visibility to production allowed increased output and higher revenue.

*Kopius performed this work under its previously known business name, Valence.