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(+)+(+) S.M.I.L.E(sm)
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(+)+(+) Setup Minimization Improves Line Efficiency
(+)+(+)
(+)+(+) The Quick Changeover e-letter
(+)+(+)
(+)+(+) Published monthly by Changeover.com
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(+)+(+) Written by John R Henry, CPP
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### JULY 2004
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Last week I spoke at the PMMI's PackOps 2004 conference. My topic was
"Fast, Nimble Packaging Lines - Is One Touch or Touchless Changeover
Possible?" I've put the presentation online at
www.changeover.com/packops.ppt I hope it is useful, comments are welcome.

Speaking of comments, I would like some input on the newsletter.
Specifically, I would be interested in hearing from you about A) Usefulness
of the newsletter, B) General comments about the format, C) Suggested
future topics D) Any other feedback you might think appropriate. Send
comments to john@...

SOME THOUGHTS ON...
THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE (shoe) BOX

When I was a kid, buying sneakers (or what we now call "athletic shoes")
was simple. You had a choice of 2-3 brands and 2 styles, high- or low-tops,
in each. Cost? Around $10-15 the pair. Now we have dozens of national brand
manufacturers and each has perhaps hundreds of styles, each designed for a
specific use or sport. They are no longer cheap, either. It is not hard, as
I found when my son was playing basketball in high school, to spend
$100-150 on a pair of shoes.
So I guess it should come as no surprise that Adidas has developed a
running shoe with a servo motor, gear train, computer, controls, battery
and sensors built into the sole. While this sounds like the work of some
mad scientist or a spoof from a humor magazine, it is a real product. The
sensors detect the hardness of the running surface, stride etc, the
computer determines the optimum firmness of the sole for the conditions and
the servo motor then adjusts the shoe. The technology is amazing enough.
What I find truly astonishing is that they are able to pack all this
technology into the shoes without increasing the weight significantly AND
they are able to sell the shoes for $250.00.

You can find more information in the June issue of Wired Magazine.
http//www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.06/start.html?pg=5 If you are not
reading Wired every month, you should be. It is a technology magazine but
features new technologies and new applications of existing technologies in
a wide variety of fields. All of it presented for the layperson in a very
readable format.

So why am I writing about servo driven sneakers this month? Well it struck
me as a good example of a problem I see far too often. That is, as new
technologies come along, they are simply used to replace the old
technologies. That in itself is not a problem. In packaging machinery, over
the past 3-4 years, I have noticed an explosion of servo motor use. They
are being used to replace cams and air cylinders. In stead of a variety of
machine functions being driven by a single motor through transmissions,
gears and linkages, they are being driven by individual servos. This
represents an improvement for many reasons. Adjustment for changeover or
modification for new products becomes much simpler. They can be done via
software rather than needing hard changes. Wear and play is less. Friction
and the need for lubrication is greatly reduced. The number of components
used in a machine go down which should have a positive impact on costs.

Those of you who are building machines, keep doing what you are doing,
simplifying with servos.

But...

Using new technology to improve old functions is not enough. The real key
is find new functions that could not be performed previously. Inkjet
desktop printers have been in wide use for years. They have proven to be
reliable, easy to use and economical. Why not take that same concept and
apply it elsewhere. Researchers at UC Berkely are refilling cartridges with
cell cultures and printing living organs. Several companies make systems
for decorating cakes with inkjet printers. In manufacturing, a German
engineer asked himself why the technology could not be used to print on
labels, cartons, lumber and the like. The result can be seen at
www.nutechsys.com

Many of you use Palm Pilots, Ipaqs and other PDA's and handheld computers
to keep track of names, calendars, to-do lists and the like. Some may use
them in more sophisticated ways such as sending and receiving e-mail or
getting info from websites. Have you ever asked if they could be more
integrated into managing a manufacturing operation? I recently read that
Wal-Mart is introducing PDA's to all their checkout supervisors. They will
be wirelessly connected to each cash register. When a cashier needs more
change, needs the register emptied, needs a comfort break or the like, they
will enter a code on their register. This will not only page the supervisor
but will also tell them what is needed. This will replace the current
system where the supervisor is summoned and then must make a second trip
after finding out what wanted. Could a system like this be used on a
manufacturing line to call a mechanic or technician when the line goes
down? The technology is not earthshaking. The uses to which it can be put is.

Another idea would be to scan machine manuals and load them on a central
server. Each mechanic could have a wireless Ipaq and instant access to any
information they might need.
How about using RFID on the packaging line? Perhaps bottles could be
identified and then each machine on the line read the bottle to determine
what products to put in it and what info to put on the label? That was
actually done more than 6 years ago.

The key is not the technology but how it is applied.

Albert Einstein famously said "Imagination is more important than
knowledge." I can only agree. We can always find the knowledge. If we want
to implement PDA's to provide decentralized information, we can find
programmers. If we want to put servos in sneakers, we can find engineers.
What is hard to find is the imagination to come up with new, sometimes
outlandish, applications that are at the root of all progress.

TIP OF THE MONTH...
ACCUSTUDY

Speaking of PDA's, I recently purchased a program called AccuStudy from a
Interval Systems. http://www.intervalsystems.com

Many of you have probably done line/machine time studies using a clipboard,
pencil and stopwatch. You then took the data collected and spent a fair
amount of time beating it into a useable format and generating reports to
show what was going on. I have and always found it a royal pain in the
neck. For a recent study I was contracted to do, I figured there had to be
a better way and that led me to AccuStudy. Basically, it provides a series
of clickable and configurable icons. To record and time an event, you
simply click on the icon. When the event finishes, click again to capture
end time. At the end of the study, use the report module to generate a
variety of standard reports or export the data to Excel and design your own
report. Best of all, the collection module runs on an Ipaq handheld PC
which makes collection a piece of cake.

I really can't do it justice here but go to their site and look at the
demo. I know it will be an essential item in my toolbox from now on.


Best,

John R Henry CPP

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