Articles by CBAssociates

Published, Newspapers and Technology, February 2001

Good Equipment+ Good Training = Good Results

AJ Mangini
Associate Consultant
Chuck Blevins & Associates

Faster than a speeding… more powerful than… able to leap… could be some ways to describe today's packaging equipment. With all the bells and whistles these inserting machines can run fast, zone to the nth degree, operate with minimal intervention and produce Sunday packages in excess of 10 pounds. Attach the latest software programs, and it will all but talk to you, and that may not be too far away.

Regardless of the inserter you have or are thinking about for the future, you can take this to the bank: your equipment is only as good as the skills of the people who control and maintain it. While equipment suppliers work arduously to make things easier, faster and surely "state-of-the-art", the training does not seem to keep pace.

No matter how great the machine, it will not produce the output expected if the operators and maintenance people have not had the necessary training. When appropriate training is lacking, it will not take long before a new or rebuilt inserter running at top speed produces disappointing net outputs.

The resulting pressures of production will, in fact, cause operators to abandon proper set-up procedures and maintenance staff to wait another week before lubricating and performing required maintenance. This leads to the entire process going down the tubes rather quickly and down time and maintenance costs increase.

The more it runs, the worse it gets, and so on until there is a major breakdown. The costs continue to rise, and over the long term become more substantial than the repair cost to bring the equipment back to factory standards. A large capital outlay can be realized in a relatively short time.

Good set-up, maintenance training and following procedures will prevent untimely wear and tear and insure appropriate cycle speeds and above average net output.

The term appropriate cycle speed could be called optimum cycle speed, as it is the speed at which the greatest net productivity is realized.

This does not suggest fostering slow production speeds. Rather it is a focus on determining the appropriate or optimum cycle speeds that will yield the best net output. Net outputs determine the amount of time it takes to complete a production run, not machine cycle speed.

An inserter running at the appropriate cycle speed of 14,500 cph while netting 11,500 copies per hour (cph) will finish before another machine running improperly at a high cycle speed of 18,000 cph while netting only 10,000 cph.

It is not new for someone to advocate running slower to finish faster. The difference is that a system is needed to determine what the appropriate cycle speed should be. Equipment manufacturers will warrant their equipment to cycle at "x" maximum speed and they are right. It is true that a 1:1 configuration will operate at maximum cycle speed with acceptable levels of miss and multiple copies.

However, the equipment will experience a reduction in net output, if maximum cycle speed is maintained, as additional insert heads are brought on-line. The more inserts, the more speed lost. That is stating the obvious and is in fact conventional wisdom and the reason machine cycle speed is reduced when the package gets bigger.

There is an "appropriate" running speed or "sweet spot" based on the number of inserts and the attributes of the inserts such as glossy, slicks, books, single sheets and etc.

The Inserting-Production Improvement Process - I-PIP© is a system developed to determine the appropriate or optimum cycle speed and the other operating variables that affect output and cost.

Understanding the attributes of individual inserts and applying this knowledge to predict the production run variables before set-up can bring new meaning to the words net output. Knowing before hand how the inserts will run can be used to determine the staff required, project production hours (both full and part time), set cycle speed, and determine expected net output.

The I-PIP© system establishes production perimeters and productivity goals, goals that are not subjective, but based on data.

If it were true that we all learn from our mistakes, then everyone in the country would be realizing higher net outputs, no equipment downtime and more jobs scheduled. The reality is that setting goals and schedules is a rather static system.

The key to breaking the static cycle and improving net output is to calculate the expected productivity and production perimeters before the inserts reach the packaging operator. The system arranges the inserts prior to set-up, but has the ability to modify the plan at the last minute. I-PIP© is an all-inclusive program that teaches and trains people to realize goals and eliminates bad habits while working with solid information and standard operating procedures.

Today the need is great for accurate and continuing training at packaging facilities to keep up with the never-ending battle for customer satisfaction. New equipment will help, but it is not the only answer. All the bells and whistles are no substitution for well-trained and enthusiastic people who have the right tools.

Aj Mangini is a consultant associated with Chuck Blevins & Associates who specializes in packaging and distribution improvement processes. Comments, questions and interest to ajmangini@aol.com or call 303.431.5909.

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