CASE PROBLEM:

Integration of Factory Analytics at Nolte Manufacturing

• Information below on the companies was obtained and adapted from their respective websites; links listed in the profiles:
• Nolte Precise Manufacturing, http://www.nolteprecise.com/ located in Cincinnati, Ohio, provides custom precision machined and assembled components to original equipment manufacturers and offers a total supply chain solution, using CNC lathe, CNC mill, CNC Swiss, automatic screw machine, and assembly processes. Nolte evaluates the entire manufacturing process, finding and recommending efficiencies that result in a reduction in total cost of ownership for clients, including process and engineering reviews, inventory management, and assembly. It is Nolte's mission to become their client's ideal supplier through superior service and value that lowers the client’s total cost of ownership. Nolte has been providing contract manufacturing services for nearly 100 years. While it remains true to its founder Lou Nolte's value system, the business continues to evolve, adapt, and innovate to remain an industry leader.
• Sight Machine, https://sightmachine.com/company/ located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is used to make better, faster decisions about their manufacturing operations. Sight Machine's analytics platform, purpose-built for discrete and process manufacturing, uses artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced analytics to help address critical challenges in quality and productivity throughout the enterprise. The platform is powered by the industry’s only Plant Digital Twin, which enables real-time visibility and actionable insights for every machine, line, and plant throughout an enterprise. Founded in Michigan in 2011 and expanded to the Bay Area in 2012, Sight Machine fuses the spirit of Silicon Valley technology innovation with rock-solid Detroit manufacturing.
• You are a project manager for Nolte Precise Manufacturing, reporting to the VP of Finance, Greg Harrison. Production Manager, Norma Wilson and the VP of Sales, Mat Jackson, were recently discussing the fact that with the big aerospace parts contract the company landed in 2017, it might be time to use that capital to invest in the future of manufacturing systems, looking forward to becoming an eventual “smart factory”.
• So, with the approval of President Doug Coster, as well as Greg Harrison, Norma and Mat met with you and Manufacturing Process Engineer, Ray Bellman to lay out the initial concept of a first-phase trial of some smart-factory technology. The leader in the field for your size company is Sight Machine, and they have a Manufacturing Analytics system that is based on big data analytics that would provide a great entry-point into this technology.

See Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8hOqzBFkRk See Product Information: https://sightmachine.com/product/ema/

• Ray suggested that the best place to start would be on the computer-based machining equipment, including the CNC Milling, Swiss Machining and CNC Lathe Turning equipment. These machines would be the best to convert to IoT technologies needed for the Sight Machine analytics software. There are 34 machines in this manufacturing line that will participate in this first roll-out.

In addition to the integration of Sight Machine technology into the factory, Greg Harrison also wants you to develop an extract from that system and link it to the existing JobBoss manufacturing control system to develop financial analyses for him. Particularly, this would involve a custom-developed database that would allow for the following three special reports that would be unique to Nolte Manufacturing:

1. Product Cost Analysis
2. Employee Efficiency Analysis
3. Profit Analysis by Product

• Finally, you need to ensure that the shift supervisors and CNC machine operators are properly scheduled for Sight Machine training well in advance of the final implementation.

• The contract with Sight Machine has already been developed and signed, so that is not a part of this project schedule. However, it is known that the additional data needed for this new analytics process is well beyond the existing capacity of the Nolte servers running JobBoss. So, Sight Machine will also be assisting you with Cloud-based storage of this data using services that they will provide.

• So far, there is no specific time or cost constraint because the first required deliverable of your project is to come up with a project plan and estimate that can be approved, and a project overview presentation for the executive group and the Board of Directors. Greg believes that the company will have the money, but there may be some project adjustments once it is determined what the full cost might be. The project plan and budget have to be in to Greg by April 30th in order for the Board presentation and materials to be ready for the May 11th Meeting. If all goes well with this decision, the project will continue to completion, with the first implementation step starting on June 1, 2018 and beyond, following the approved project plan.

• You will be working directly with the following Sight Machine technology staff:  Chris Dobbrow, SVP, Sales  Kurt DeMaagd, PhD, VP, Analytics  Ryan Smith, PhD, VP, Engineering  Curtis Kellman, Client Implementation Technology Analyst

• Your Nolte Manufacturing project team right now consists of the following people: • Mary Gibson, Manufacturing Systems Analyst • Yi Wang, Programmer • Lamont Wilson, Senior Programmer • June Petersen, Database Administrator • Krishnanand Naik , Reports Systems Programmer/Analyst • Paul Johnson, Testing Specialist • Christina Kutty, Senior Testing Specialist

• Of course, in your plan you also need to include specific steps and processes for: • Regular Meetings with the team, stakeholders, and cross-impacted areas of the company. • Approval points as needed through the project sequence. • Points at which you will refine cost and staff assignments (you do not need to calculate costs or assign staff at this point in the project) • Points at which you will produce the various Project Plan documentation deliverables discussed in class. • Quality management approaches, including testing and provisions for re-work. • User training and other preparations for system implementation. • Final reports and other closing processes for the project.