Russell Roof Tiles Achieves ~20% Increase in OEE with Intouch

Russell Roof Tiles is a UK-based company that manufactures roofing products from concrete and uPVC. The company was looking for a system to improve its efficiency and optimise production, so turned to Intouch, soon seeing significant benefits and improvements in OEE.

Russell Roof Tiles is a UK-based manufacturer specialising in concrete and UPVC roofing tiles. With over 60 years of experience, they have built a reputation for their innovative, high-quality, durable, and aesthetically appealing products.

Committed to sustainability and customer satisfaction, Russell Roof Tiles offers a comprehensive range of roofing solutions for residential, commercial, and industrial projects.

Background

Russell Roof Tiles was seeking a solution to increase their operational efficiency together with technology that would enable them to improve their business decisions regarding machine utilisation, tooling and shift patterns. Prior to implementing Intouch, they faced challenges in accurately managing excess capacity issues in some areas of production. They also recognised a data gap in procurement processes in order to streamline purchasing for efficient production. They were also looking for a greater degree of data and visibility to improve strategic decision-making.

Russell Roof Tiles were looking for a system to help them improve their efficiency and optimise their production processes. They were keen to leverage real-time data and advanced analytics in order to make informed, data-driven decisions, enhance resource utilisation, and achieve significant improvements in Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) in a short period of time.

A need for accurate data to identify excess capacity

Daniel Hancox, Business Support Manager at Russell Roof Tiles, sought a solution to address specific challenges in their operations. They needed accurate and real-time data to support purchasing decisions and strategic planning related to machines, tooling, and shift patterns. The goal was to identify and utilise excess capacity, improve efficiency, and effectively allocate resources.

Daniel said, “We use the schedule regularly with the live machine status. This gives us quick access to the key figures we need and allows us to quickly see the impact of potential job changes on our production plan, as well as where we might fall behind or have spare capacity to improve.”

OEE Improvements across the board

• Since implementation, Russell Roof Tiles have improved their site’s OEE from ~70% to over 90% for 9 out of 12 machines consistently.
• Intouch enabled them to delay a significant and costly repair/maintenance job by five months through workload pre-planning based on a properly mapped-out capacity plan with real-time data.

A user-friendly interface

Daniel and his team selected Intouch as their MES solution due to its wide range of features that could be tailored to their specific needs, this included cloud hosting, maintenance support, and an extremely user-friendly interface. They recognised the system’s ability to provide real-time data visualisation on shop floor visuals, making it a perfect fit for their needs. Seeing the system in action at a partner facility further solidified their decision.

Daniel said, “The monthly fee, cloud hosting and maintenance support were attractive to us. Also, the system interface, its appearance, usability and the way it displays shop floor visuals were exactly what we were looking for.”

Ability to track planned downtime

By implementing Intouch, Russell Roof Tiles gained valuable insights into its production processes. The system allowed them to map out machines, track planned downtime, and view their workload and shift patterns. With this visibility, they could identify areas for improvement, optimise maintenance efforts, and focus on critical spare parts management. The system’s features, such as updating retrospective downtime with comments and providing monthly reports on OEE performance, proved to be particularly useful.

“Being able to update retrospective downtime and reason codes with comments is particularly helpful when analysing issues at month end or at team meetings. It also helps us focus our maintenance time and critical spare parts components more efficiently.”

Results

Since the installation of Intouch, Russell Roof Tiles has achieved remarkable results. They were able to delay a costly repair/maintenance job by five months through proper workload re-planning based on accurate capacity data.

Additionally, they improved OEE from ~70% to over 90% consistently for 9 out of their 12 machines. The solution enabled them to make data-driven decisions, enhance operational efficiency, and achieve their production goals.

“The monthly reports for OEE performance are great, as well as the dashboards that display live data, which we can use to provide targeted improvements to shop floor teams’”

Daniel also commended Intouch for its customer service: “Intouch were brilliant and very accommodating during our free trial phase. Since implementation, we have been in communication with their support team for assistance with user-related & data capture questions, and their team is extremely knowledgeable and friendly, as well as fast to respond, so we were able to keep using the system to its full potential.”

In conclusion, Russell Roof Tiles successfully utilised Intouch to overcome their operational challenges, optimise resource utilisation, and achieve significant improvements in OEE. The implementation of this MES solution empowered them to make informed decisions, improve workflows, and effectively manage their production processes.

Ready to increase your productivity? Try before you buy, with Intouch’s 60-Day Free Trial. Reach out to the Intouch team today via the company website, email at info@intouchmonitoring.com or call 01604 537 100 for more information.

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