L’usine Metso de Mâcon a beau exister depuis le milieu du XIXe siècle, elle tourne toujours à plein régime, et constitue l’un des fleurons du groupe finlandais Metso (17 000 salariés, présent sur les 5 continents).
Siège social de l’entreprise en France, tête de pont commerciale pour l’Europe du sud et l’Afrique du Nord, le site emploie 360 personnes (dont 120 à la production), et met sur le marché chaque année 350 broyeurs et 100 cribles : des petites séries de (très) grosses machines (25 à 50 tonnes) que les exploitants de mines et de carrières utilisent pour concasser, trier, et traiter les matériaux qu’ils en extraient.

« Made in Mâcon », ces machines sont en service partout dans le monde : seuls 7% des volumes sont expédiés vers la France, 50% en Europe “étendue” (incluant la Russie ou la Turquie).

Les ingrédients de ce succès ?

Un positionnement “premium”, “aussi bien dans la qualité de nos produits que dans la fiabilité et la réactivité de nos services, explique Cyril Varraux, qui dirige l’usine de Mâcon depuis 3 ans.

Nous avons la chance d’hériter d’une réputation soigneusement préservée depuis 125 ans : ce qui nous importe c’est de continuer à nous démarquer dans l’apport de solutions à nos clients.

Cyril Varraux, Directeur d’usine

Les AIC : la clé pour “synchroniser” toutes les parties prenantes

À son arrivée à la tête de l’usine, en 2019, Cyril Varraux a tout de suite souhaité instaurer des réunions d’animation à intervalle court (AIC, ou short-interval management en anglais). Un point court qui emmène chaque matin le management de l’usine sur le terrain, de secteur en secteur, pour faire le point sur les enjeux et les difficultés potentielles du jour.

Saines, constructives, responsabilisantes : les nombreux bienfaits des AIC

Pourquoi avoir mis d’office l’accent sur les AIC ? C’est la philosophie même de ces réunions qui intéressait Cyril Varraux :

Lorsqu’on travaille de façon traditionnelle, les réunions sont consacrées à ce qui s’est passé la veille, de ce que l’on aurait pu ou dû faire. Dans une AIC, on se focalise sur les problèmes actuels, et sur la manière dont on s’engage à les résoudre : les chefs d’équipes obtiennent la réponse, ou un engagement de réponse, à leur problème du moment en direct.

Cyril Varraux, Directeur d’usine

En plus d’être constructives (et plus saines…), les AIC permettent de créer une vraie culture de la transparence, de l’échange d’information, et mettent toutes les équipes sur la même longueur d’onde. « L’objectif, c’est bien ça : créer les conditions d’une coopération optimale, poursuit Cyril Varraux. Entre tous les acteurs de la chaîne de production, bien sûr, mais aussi en amont et en aval : la vente, les approvisionnements, les expéditions… doivent voir la partie usine comme une aide, et plus quelqu’un contre qui on se bat pour obtenir des informations et des délais… »

Du papier à une information temps réel entre secteurs

Pour bien fonctionner, ces AIC s’organisent dans un espace dédié, où l’on peut avoir sous les yeux tous les indicateurs nécessaires à la prise rapide de décision. Chez Metso, on a d’abord procédé avec des panneaux “papier” et tableaux Velleda. Mais très rapidement, le besoin de changer s’est fait sentir.

La principale problématique ? Dans le partage d’information entre deux zones de l’usine. Pour mettre à jour ses panneaux d’AIC, chaque équipe se référait au planning hebdomadaire intégré dans l’ERP de l’usine.

Le souci, c’est qu’en cas d’aléas survenu à l’usinage, par exemple, l’assemblage n’en était pas informé, et suivait donc son planning sans pouvoir anticiper qu’ils allaient manquer de pièces.

Cyril Varraux, Directeur d’usine

Pour prendre les bonnes décisions en fonction de l’information du moment, il fallait que le planning de chacun soit partagé, et à jour en temps réel. Donc digitalisé.

Pingflow : la bonne solution dans un contexte industriel

A ce stade, le besoin de Cyril Varraux lui semblait assez clair : une solution de business intelligence (BI) allait lui permettre de collecter les données liées à la production de l’usine, et les mettre en forme pour prendre les bonnes décisions.

Le souci ? “Des solutions de BI, il y en existe beaucoup. Mais la plupart du temps, elles sont pensées pour le bureau, utilisables par quelqu’un qui passe sa journée devant un ordinateur : des solutions utilisables dans un contexte d’atelier, par contre, ça ne court pas les rues…”

Cyril Varraux, Directeur d’usine

Lorsqu’il découvre Pingflow, sa conviction est faite : voilà ce que Cyril Varraux cherchait.

Notre solution de management visuel digital :

• est simple à paramétrer et à administrer par Cyril Varraux et ses équipes. “En termes de métiers, nous savons précisément ce que nous voulons, mais nous avons peu de compétences en informatique : avec Pingflow et son éditeur de wallboards Pingview, ça n’est jamais bloquant”
• permet de générer des interfaces dont l’ergonomie “est vraiment conçue pour des utilisateurs qui opèrent sur des machines”
• est d’office pensée pour le monde industriel, avec de belles références en la matière, “comme Schneider, qui est l’entreprise qui a popularisé les AIC en France”

In fine, ce qui a achevé de me séduire, c’est que Pingflow est une startup, flexible et à notre écoute, et qui s’est montrée très proactive pour nous aider à mettre en forme nos idées. Un trop gros acteur, éditeur de logiciel ou ESN, ça nous aurait plutôt fait fuir…

Cyril Varraux, Directeur d’usine

La mise en place des AIC chez Metso : un travail collaboratif

Le choix du bon partenaire et de la bonne solution était d’autant plus crucial avait un plan bien précis en tête : ne surtout pas imposer ces futurs écrans d’AIC digitale, mais bien les co-concevoir avec leurs futurs utilisateurs. Et amener les équipes à imaginer elles-mêmes les améliorations à apporter à l’organisation.

Des opérateurs acteurs du changement

Il ne faut jamais perdre de vue le contexte : en usine, nous ne sommes pas forcément à l’aise avec les outils informatiques, on s’en méfie même un peu… Impossible pour moi d’arriver avec un beau panneau d’animation et de l’imposer aux collaborateurs, ça ne prendrait pas !

Cyril Varraux, Directeur d’usine

A l’inverse, le directeur de l’usine a choisi d’avancer en méthode Kaizen, à petits pas : d’abord le décalque exact des panneaux d’AIC “papier”, puis des ajouts ou des clarifications d’informations à la demande des opérateurs. D’abord sur un atelier, puis 2… jusqu’à avoir déployé les panneaux sur les 7 zones de l’usine à la mi-2022.

Lever les craintes, démontrer les bénéfices

Pour impliquer les opérateurs, il a fallu leur démontrer que le nouvel outil mis en place avec Pingflow ne serait pas une contrainte, mais au contraire une aide, conçue pour répondre à leurs problématiques.

Pour y parvenir, l’animation d’un projet de ce type est essentielle. Chez Metso, Cyril Varraux s’est astreint à respecter quelques grands principes :

• Pas de pression : faire en sorte que les opérateurs se sentent autorisés à demander une évolution sur les panneaux, mais ne pas “forcer” la participation ;
• Pas de frustration : lorsqu’un besoin est exprimé, il faut y répondre vite. Les équipes constatent ainsi que leur participation est toujours suivie d’effets ; 
• Pas de temps mort : au moins une fois par semaine, en sortie d’AIC, les équipes organisaient une session de réflexion sur les améliorations à apporter aux panneaux. Le meilleur moyen de faire le lien entre l’outil et les problèmes qu’il doit résoudre !

Bilan de cette méthode employée chez Metso ? “Après quelque temps, les gens venaient spontanément nous voir en nous disant : ‘j’ai besoin de telle information pour mes prochaines AIC, peux-tu trouver une façon de me la mettre à disposition’. Là, on savait que c’était gagné”. 

Mais si sur le papier cela semble fort simple, dans les faits le succès de ce projet aura reposé sur 2 pré-requis clés, selon Cyril Varraux :

• avoir déjà mis en place des AIC version papier avant de digitaliser. “Les panneaux d’animation ne sont que des outils, ce qui compte c’est l’organisation”
• disposer d’un outil simple à prendre en main. “Je ne suis pas informaticien, mais le drag & drop et l’aide en ligne de Pingview m’ont permis d’arriver à faire ce que je voulais facilement : c’était important pour implémenter rapidement les demandes de mes équipes”

Un outil qui favorise l’amélioration continue

La flexibilité de la solution Pingview, c’est ce qui permet de concevoir très facilement 1, 2, 3… des dizaines de versions des panneaux d’AIC chez Metso. Mais c’est surtout intéressant dans la mesure où ces versions permettent de toujours mieux :

• savoir où en est l’usine (et chaque atelier) de ses objectifs de production
• aider chacun à optimiser la qualité de son propre travail, mais en lien avec ce qui se passe avant, après, en parallèle…

C’est donc toute la qualité de la chaîne de production qui est impactée : améliorer en continu la qualité de l’information utilisée lors des AIC, c’est s’améliorer en continu tout court !

Un projet qui fait tâche d’huile

En parallèle des panneaux d’AIC déployés dans l’usine, Metso a souhaité développer un second type d’écran pour faire le lien entre :

• l’amont de la production, c’est-à-dire l’administration des ventes, qui centralise les “commandes” internes des commerciaux,
• l’aval, avec les expéditions.

Les bénéfices attendus de ce nouveau système, connecté à celui en vigueur dans l’usine ? 

• une meilleure visibilité sur les volumes à produire, et donc les approvisionnements à déclencher,
• un planning plus sécurisé, avec la possibilité de vérifier qu’entre la commande et la livraison, l’usine est dans les temps,
• en bout de chaîne, une meilleure traçabilité des machines lors des expéditions.

Pour ce second projet, Metso a opté pour un pilotage plus classique, avec un cahier des charges à suivre pour les équipes de Pingflow, et la livraison d’écrans clé en main.

Depuis le printemps 2022, les AIC chez Metso sont stabilisées (sans être figées, puisque l’idée est précisément de pouvoir intégrer les informations demandées par les équipes). Et depuis la mi-2022, l’ensemble de la chaîne de production est couverte. Pour quels bénéfices concrets ?

Un projet qui évolue avec l’application mobile andon

Dans le secteur industriel, l’efficacité opérationnelle repose sur une communication rapide et une gestion efficace des incidents. Metso, leader mondial de l’industrie minière et de l’ingénierie, a relevé ce défi grâce à l’application Andon. Découvrez comment cette solution de digitalisation industrielle a permis à Metso d’améliorer sa réactivité et sa transparence opérationnelle.

Pourquoi Metso a choisi l’application Andon pour la gestion des incidents ?

Metso voulait réduire le temps de réponse des équipes de maintenance et améliorer la transparence des informations en temps réel. L’application Andon a permis de relever ces défis en centralisant les informations, en fluidifiant la communication et en optimisant la gestion des priorités.

Réactivité accrue grâce aux notifications instantanées

Avec l’application Andon, les équipes de production signalent un incident en scannant un QR code placé sur le poste concerné. Cela déclenche une notification en temps réel aux équipes de maintenance, garantissant une prise en charge rapide.

Avant, il fallait chercher le chef d’équipe pour déclarer une panne. Maintenant, tout est instantané et visible sur l’application, évitant les retards et les malentendus.

Cyril Varraux, Directeur d’usine

Transparence et traçabilité : un changement de paradigme

L’application Andon centralise toutes les informations liées aux incidents sur une plateforme unique. Chaque étape du processus est documentée avec des commentaires en temps réel, permettant à tous les acteurs (opérateurs, techniciens, chefs d’équipe) de suivre l’évolution des interventions. Cette transparence totale réduit les malentendus et les informations perdues. Elle renforce aussi la confiance et la collaboration entre les équipes de production et de maintenance.

Suivi des incidents et historique des actions

Grâce à la traçabilité complète, Metso consulte l’historique des commentaires et suit l’évolution de chaque incident en temps réel. Les équipes de nuit et les services connexes restent ainsi informés, garantissant une continuité optimale des opérations.

Priorisation et gestion des urgences en production

L’application Andon permet de prioriser les incidents selon leur criticité. En cas de panne multiple, les équipes remontent en priorité les plus critiques pour éviter les arrêts de production.

Si une machine critique tombe en panne, on peut la prioriser instantanément. Cela nous permet d’éviter les interruptions de production.

Cyril Varraux, Directeur d’usine

Gestion des appels différés

En cas d’intervention non urgente ou d’attente de pièce, l’application permet de différer un appel tout en informant les équipes de l’état de l’incident. Cela évite les doubles interventions et améliore l’organisation des équipes de maintenance.

🎬Visionnez le retour de Metso sur l’application mobile Andon de Pingflow (12 min.)

➡️Des réunions plus efficaces

S’agissant d’animations à intervalle court, c’est logique : leur digitalisation rend ces réunions plus efficaces. Avec des informations à jour, centralisées et partagées, les décisions se prennent sans zone d’ombre, et avec les bons “entrants”.

Mais les effets positifs du projet ne se limitent pas à ce premier constat. “Travailler sur le contenu de nos panneaux nous a permis de figer la routine des AIC, expose Cyril Varraux. C’est le design même du tableau qui cadre la réunion : un point sur les indicateurs HSE (hygiène, sécurité et environnement), l’état des présences et absences des opérateurs et de la charge de l’atelier, les avances/retards et problèmes du jour… : cela correspond à l’ordre des écrans du panneau”. Un déroulé auquel va s’ajouter prochainement un passage sur la qualité et les non-conformités : fini les ordres du jour flous, en quelques minutes les points essentiels sont abordés et traités.

➡️Plus de couacs dans la communication

Deuxième enseignement positif du projet : les écrans ont mis fin aux interminables échanges d’informations informelles (le plus souvent dans un email sur lequel on a bien du mal à remettre la main lorsqu’on en a besoin…).
“Cet email, c’est désormais un indicateur dans le tableau, qu’on va retrouver très simplement… et qu’on n’a même plus besoin d’aller demander”, se félicite Cyril Varraux.
La production est désormais en transparence totale envers les autres services de Metso et même vis à vis de l’extérieur. Là où l’on pouvait donner une réponse en 48h environ à un client sur l’état d’avancement de sa machine, la réponse est devenue immédiate, et fiable.

➡️Un climat plus serein

Gain moins palpable, mais néanmoins bien réel : le bien-être au travail, qu’à Mâcon on suit et mesure avec attention, s’améliore d’enquête en enquête.
Délicat de l’attribuer aux seules AIC ? Cyril Varraux est pourtant persuadé qu’ils y contribuent, en venant minimiser les conflits nés d’incompréhensions.

➡️Une productivité en hausse

Enfin, même si le système conçu avec Pingflow n’est pas directement conçu pour piloter la production (comme c’est l’objectif avec d’autres clients comme les Chantiers de l’Atlantique ou TIAG Industries), la digitalisation des AIC a bel et bien un impact sur la réactivité et la productivité de l’usine.

Via les panneaux d’AIC, Metso Mâcon peut suivre une sorte de workflow de production : 

• en allant “puiser” dans une base de données qui fait correspondre les machines et les composants entrant dans leur fabrication,
• les équipes ont modélisé la série d’opérations et de pièces nécessaires à chaque étape,
• et il ne reste plus ensuite qu’à chaque opérateur à signaler quand il a commencé, et terminé sa tâche.

Ce workflow nous permet très concrètement d’agir sur un indicateur extrêmement important : le temps de traversée, soit le délai entre la prise de commande et la livraison, décrypte Cyril Varraux. À Mâcon, il est en moyenne de 45 jours… mais sur certains produits bien précis il peut être ramené à 48h !

Comment ? Grâce à un gros travail d’analyse sur les “invariants” des machines (qui peuvent donc être produits en série), et une différentiation retardée au dernier moment selon les besoins clients.

C’était un service qu’on était déjà capables d’offrir avant à nos clients, mais Pingflow nous facilite considérablement la tâche : tous les matins, nous savons précisément combien de machines pré-assemblées sont disponibles, et donc pouvons dire aux clients si une production en 48h est possible, à quelles conditions…

Des avancées déjà dans les tuyaux

Encouragés par ce premier bilan, les équipes de Metso à Mâcon planchent déjà sur la suite :

• à très court terme, un meilleur partage des indicateurs HSE via un grand écran dédié à l’entrée de l’usine,
• à moyen terme, le développement d’un connecteur direct à l’ERP, pour que toutes les informations extérieures à la production mais qui l’impactent directement (commandes, approvisionnements, facturation…) soient visibles et disponibles sans re-saisie comme c’est le cas actuellement.

On le voit : chez Metso, l’amélioration continue n’est pas un vain mot !

Until now, many of these processes are still conducted in a traditional paper format. And this format shows its limits, especially with the health context and the increase in remote work. The following question then arises: how to digitize these processes, without losing the human contact necessary for good management?

What is gemba walk on shopfloor ?

The field tour is like what is commonly called the “Gemba Walk”. Traditionally, team leaders take advantage of field trips to greet their employees, hear from them, but also take stock of current assignments, problems encountered and action plans deployed. However, the exercise as it is conducted today does not necessarily meet the expectations of the teams or management. Managers don’t have time to deal with issues, messages don’t always get through well, and it takes too long to dwell on critical issues.

However, it is crucial for the smooth running of production in order to control through various means (visuals, verbal exchanges, sensor readings, etc.) elements related to the activity. Often, the people in charge of the field trips complete the paper control sheets by hand: safety, quality, deadline, motivation, communication … The data resulting from these controls are then re-entered in the business software, which increases the risk of error, wastes managers’ time and impairs responsiveness..

Digital for efficient process

The covid crisis is having an accelerating effect on the digital transformation of industry. Traditional processes must then follow the trend to meet the demands of employees and their customers.

Digital brings many benefits to field trips and animation rituals that paper does not:

• Historization: thanks to digital solutions, it is possible to have access to the history of actions, failures, production hazards, various stakeholders … and thus be able to analyze repetitive causes and deploy substantive corrective actions.
• Data synchronization: digital technology allows information to be quickly updated, without wasting re-entry time and thanks to the connection with other business solutions. Thus, decisions and action plans can be continuously adjusted for ever greater accuracy.
• Responsiveness: alerts and notifications (visual, audio, email, SMS) can be defined to prevent anomalies or incidents in an efficient and targeted manner
• Collaboration: thanks to data synchronization, the various stakeholders in a project have access to the same information and can thus exchange more easily, even remotely, thanks to easier access to the data.
• Communication: digital makes it easier to communicate, to give access to data to all those who need it, even when on the move. A real advantage also for transmitting information from one team to another.

Whether for field trips or for SIM rituals, digital offers the flexibility, visibility and modernization of the workshop expected by employees and essential to promote the company to customers and suppliers.

What solution to digitize  Gemba Walk and SIM?

As explained above, digital is a performance and responsiveness lever for field teams. However, which solution should be used for performance facilitation rituals and field trips?

The ideal solution can be described as follows: visual customization of screens (whether for rituals or gemba walk), connectivity with the company’s information system, the possibility of using the solution on mobile terminals, very simple ergonomics to suit different audiences, more or less mature digitally, fine management of rights according to users, monitoring and management of action plans, etc.

At PingFlow, we are ready to assist you! The digital visual management solution adapts to your field needs thanks to the customization and co-construction with your teams of your workshop management in version 4.0. You get an overview of the different indicators and can get more details by clicking on each one. It is also possible to report incidents and define the associated action plans directly on the screen, from a mobile, tablet or computer. You can manage multiple levels of information to identify the source of problems and make the right decisions.

PingView interconnects with your data to avoid re-entering information. Finally, it is possible to share the wallboards remotely for more collaboration by sharing a simple web link.

Enough to easily disseminate information while maintaining control! Digital makes it possible to revitalize team rituals and field trips, while placing employees at the center of the process. Information sharing is made easier and collaboration strengthened. All this with an easy-to-use solution and personalized support.

Low Code/No Code : What is it about ?

No Code and Low Code are software programming modes… with no programming (No Code), or very little (Low Code). More specifically, tools that allow you to develop a computer application without having to write its code.

No Code solutions go through an Integrated Development Environment (IDE):

• visual,
• working by drag and drop elements of IT components,
• that we will then be able to link together, with possible conditions, to design a kind of “scenario” for the operation of the application.

The name is therefore actually a bit misleading: No Code platforms like Low Code obviously contain (a lot) of code: but their users do not need to access it to develop their tools.

Low Code, No Code : what differences ?

In a No Code application, everything takes place within the limits of the components provided by the designers, the users do not access the source code, and cannot introduce additional possibilities. These solutions are therefore more dedicated to very simple or extremely targeted applications.

Pingview, our wallboard design solution, is an example of a No Code application, which works on this model because it is possible to build a library of components sufficiently complete to allow our users to independently manage the creation of their interfaces. , and their distribution on their display park.

A Low Code environment makes it possible to modify the source code, and therefore offers more possibilities of expression. More complex applications can be designed there, but with the help of an expert developer, where No Code systems can be directly handled by “business” users (we also speak of citizen developers, as opposed to developers professionals).

Low Code/No Code : Why are they trendy ?

Because there is a shortage of IT skills.

This is not a scoop: the IT professions in general have been under great tension for a long time and still for a while: by 2030, there will be 115,000 new IT engineering positions to be filled in France (+ 26% compared to 2019), and even 190,000 including retirements.

Developer skills are rare… therefore expensive, with increasingly pronounced bottlenecks in application development projects.

And as at the same time, digitalization projects have not really slowed down:

• 61% of IT professionals see an increase in their development costs,
• 57% need more staff to complete projects,
• 44% observe that development times have increased.

In this context, No Code projects provide part of the solution: for those who have experienced it, a similar phenomenon took place some fifteen years ago with the creation of functional blocks of automation in industry. automobile. Allowing expert developers to free themselves from automation programming by delegating it to business teams.

Low Code/No Code is cheaper (and faster)

• 53% less expensive [1]: this is the saving observed on average thanks to Low Code development by IT professionals. A gain achieved thanks to simplified collaboration between teams, but also greater speed of execution:
• 95% of developments are faster with low code,
• more than half (58%) are even 40%, 60% or even 100% faster.

Le Low Code/No Code, c’est moins cher (et plus rapide)

53% moins cher : c’est l’économie observée en moyenne grâce au développement Low Code par les professionnels de l’IT. Un gain réalisé grâce une collaboration simplifiée entre les équipes, mais aussi une plus grande vitesse d’exécution :

• 95% des développements sont plus rapides avec le Low code, 
• plus de la moitié (58%) sont même 40%, 60% voire 100% plus rapides

With No Code, companies are touching the “Holy Grail” of digital transformation: agility.

95% of development projects are faster in No Code

53% savings observed on No code developments

With Low Code/No Code, “business” users are in control

If “real” computer scientists do not disdain their use, 2 out of 3 developers of No Code development platforms are end users. With projects very oriented on their “business” issues: data processing and visualization (38% of uses) productivity:

• automated data collection (36%)
• process automation (35%)
• IoT monitoring (34%)

Low code and No Code therefore fill an increasingly glaring lack in organizations: the automation of time-consuming tasks. And the need is huge: only 10% of these processes are fully automated, 30% are not at all.

The factory of the future, a digitized environment thanks to Low Code/No Code

Quels sont les cas d’usages du No Code en milieu industriel ? 

AIC : des supports d’animation à jour en temps réel pour vos rituels quotidiens

What are the use cases of No Code in an industrial environment?

• collect the data needed to build your safety, quality, cost, lead time indicators, etc. directly in the dedicated applications,
• automate their “reprocessing” in a database or spreadsheet to present them in the form of simple KPIs,
• format them in your wallboard interface in the most meaningful graphical rendering (graph, table, color codes, etc.),
• finally broadcast them on your screens: in the meeting spaces, the factory areas concerned, a web page that can be consulted on a computer from the offices, etc.

In this context, the choice of a No (or Low) Code solution allows:

• set up data collection and reprocessing once and for all: the KPIs for the daily update are therefore constantly up-to-date and no longer have to be prepared in advance,
• to challenge and review your animation screens (add an Environment “section” to your SQCDP screens, review the presentation of a production KPI, etc.) as often as desired, without external intervention.

OKR : shared challenges platform 

Always with a view to leading and aligning the teams, but with a longer term vision, the OKR (Objective and Key Results) aim to give the “the” of the axes of progress of the company (or the business unit):

• through very “macro” objectives (for example: “reduce our average delivery time by X%”),
• which are often supplemented by more specific KPIs at the business level: in our example, KPIs for sales administration (Z% of orders launched in production within 48 hours), logistics (reducing by Y% the average presence of the batches on the shipping docks), production (target average production cycle: H hours).

Thanks to a No Code wallboard design solution, you will be able to very simply:

• create screens summarizing your OKRs and distribute them across all your teams
• add to them screens of business KPIs updated in real time to allow everyone to visualize the progress of their team towards the achievement of objectives.

Incident management and problem solving: digitize to gain speed

In an industrial environment, responsiveness is key. This responsiveness involves:

• the implementation of processes to follow in the event of a production incident (call to a supervisor, “escalation” to the manager, intervention of security teams, etc.), a well-oiled
• communication: messages that reach the right people, operators who are assured that their alert has been transmitted, then taken into account, and processed.

Here again, a No Code alerting system has many advantages for production teams looking to design and maintain an incident management application:

• they keep control of updating the components of the alert system (contact details of people to contact, updating of escalation processes, etc.)
• they can interface the information system that “steers” production, incident reporting devices, machine sensors, etc. beyond the factory stricto sensu,
• they can organize the escalation of crisis information to the “ancillary” departments: alerting the sales administration, logistics, management, etc. …
• and beyond incident management, enable the implementation of a digital problem-solving process (with, for example, action plans and views kanban)

The solution with Pingview and Table is clearly a digitalization accelerator to quickly respond to various needs of industrial sites. With existing solutions like Excel, we would not have been able to respond so quickly to requests from entities that were urgent. In addition, it avoids all the data processing problems that we had with Excel and the training times to be planned. The strong points: the speed of implementation of needs, the structuring of the data (freezing the data, with the same format and the right categories), for easy aggregation and exploitation, particularly with international teams, rapid user adoption without the need for training or technical skills. Once the business need is clear, the solution is very intuitive to create the base and therefore the project in the solution. Importing Excel or a file also allows for a faster start to avoid re-entering information. A 5 to 10 minute explanation is then enough to make users autonomous in visualization and administration. It’s ultra fast!

Cathy Tondu Digital product manager

The advantage of the Table solution is that it is extremely accessible, without the need for IT or database knowledge. It is intuitive, modular and very quick to implement. We can easily recreate a table, forms, etc., with the possibility of creating as many forms as we want. For users (operators / field team on site), the QR code from the wallboard is extremely practical for displaying a form and facilitating entry, particularly for gemba walks. We now have other use cases in mind (OK start, quality control with photos, etc.).

François Huyge Production Manager, Billy Berclau site

No code : yes… no rules: no !

Low Code/No Code: indisputable advantages

Here again, a No Code alerting system has many advantages for production teams looking to design and maintain an incident management application:

• they keep control of updating the components of the alert system (contact details of people to contact, updating of escalation processes, etc.)
• they can interface the information system that “steers” production, incident reporting devices, machine sensors, etc. beyond the factory stricto sensu,
• they can organize the escalation of crisis information to the “ancillary” departments: alerting the sales administration, logistics, management, etc. …
• and beyond incident management, enable the implementation of a digital problem-solving process (with, for example, action plans and views kanban)

… but risks to be measured

Downside: 

• entrusting the development to non-professionals can present risks (in terms of data security, or if the application “touches” critical applications),
• designing your applications in a No Code environment in the Cloud or in SaaS means carefully examining the contractual provisions on data security, exit conditions, etc.

Completely freeing oneself from IT “experts” is therefore not always the best solution. At Pingflow, we consider that to allow you to have a flexible and powerful No Code tool, you must:

• ask your CIO to supervise: the use and rights of use of your No Code platform, the clauses of the contract with your solution provider, etc.
• require real support from your Low Code/No Code platform: functional, training,, UX/UI design…

In any case, this is what we offer to all our customers.

Sources :

The State of Low Code 2021, Mendix

The State of Low-Code/No-Code, 2021, Creatio

READ ALSO > No-Code Platforms & Why You Need Them in 2023 de Baserow

In fact, without providing clear information and indicators, the autonomy of involved teams in a lean approach will remain a dead letter. And if this information is not updated in real time, or not accessible to the entire team, it’s the agility needed for lean that takes a hit.

In other words, not only is visual management the cornerstone of any lean project, but this visual management gains enormously in digitizing itself: digital allows you to collect and reconcile often heterogeneous and scattered data, to automate their updating, and display them on the most suitable media (such as our wallboards). It remains to be seen how to implement this digital visual management.

In advance: test visual management via a POC

You don’t revolutionize your team’s management methods and supports with a magic wand. On a subject where the human factor is by definition primordial, and where benefits and impacts are difficult to anticipate, it is better to move forward in “project” mode. Then get things back on track, keep what works and get rid of false good ideas.

This is precisely what a POC (Proof of Concept) allows. Flexible and limited in time, a POC is indeed intended to test “in vivo” an idea on a small scope. Then learn from it before generalizing the experience, reviewing it… or abandoning it without damage.

In the context of a visual management project, clearly defining your POC will require choices on:

• its objectives: what information, process, parts of the team’s work will be sought to make them flow better
• its expected results: how to measure POC’s success (or failure)
• its timing: in general, 3 to 4 months will be enough to learn lessons

For more information, we invite you to read our article about the digital POC. What’s next? It will take place in 6 steps.

Step 1 : build your team

This is a crucial but delicate step. By nature, a lean approach involves breaking silos between services, thus integrating as many stakeholders as possible. On the other hand, a multiplicity of viewpoints will allow you to ensure the relevance of visual management that will emerge from your POC.

But the temptation to include as many interlocutors as possible will be a hindrance to the successful progress of the project. Building a small but representative “task force” of people involved in the project is therefore the key. At a minimum, we can consider that your team will have to include:

• a project leader
• a representative of the business line directly concerned
• a representative of IT
• an internal communication professional

Nothing prevents the organization of intermediate points with a slightly wider public, to collect their feedback. Finally, having a “sponsor” on the management committee or executive committee will also be a plus when it comes to deploying visual management on a larger scale…

Step 2 : identify the challenges of your visual management

C’est avec cette équipe projet, et de façon collaborative, que vous allez ensuite affiner vos objectifs. Que cherchez-vous à It’s with this project team, and collaboratively, that you will then refine your objectives. What are you trying to achieve with visual management?

• Display the right information to employees?
• Push the KPIs analysis further and trigger activity alerts?
• Manage processes and workflow to achieve operational excellence?

Simply informative or completely interactive: there are indeed different degrees in visual management. It is up to you and your employees to determine how far your ambitions go – under the POC and beyond.

This second step is even more structuring than the first one. Because depending on the objectives pursued, the type of data and the form in which they are presented will vary considerably. In the same industrial context, a warning system such as Andon or process control such as Kamishibai represent completely different approaches. And there are many other possibilities…

Step 3 : identify your KPIs (and sort them!)

This is of course the key moment of your POC: without data, no key performance indicator (KPI), and therefore no visual management. The first step will therefore be to determine which indicators are essential, interesting and optional for the future of the project. Depending on targeted audience, monitored activity, and frequency of data updates, you will already have a good idea of this first sort.

Because that’s what sort is all about: beyond 5 indicators per screen, the screen will become unreadable. Even if digital technology makes it possible to design deeper visual management systems (with second screens, zooms, links, etc), simplicity is always the best policy.

Next operations? Define at the same time:

• files, databases and other applications where the data necessary for the construction of your indicators is stocked
• the available flows, or the connections you will need to establish to get them back: API, Web-services…

Scope is extremely broad (the presence of a member of IT team in your POC takes on its full meaning…): the needs of our clients range from office equipment (Office, Google site) to project management applications (Trello, Slack) and ERP (SAP), via helpdesks or database managers software (Mysql, Oracle).

If you want to know more about the choice of KPIs, and the organization of visual management, take a look at our video of Caisse d’Epargne Hauts-de-France’s return of experience:

Step 4 : design your visual management screen

Qui dit management visuel dit mise en forme. Et qui dit digital dit forcément écran. Le design de l’écran qui va constituer le Visual management means shaping. And digital necessarily means screen. Design of the screen that will constitute the “media” of your management plays a crucial role in the success of your POC. And it is especially at this time that inviting a “Mr. (or Mrs) Communication” into your working group will prove very useful.

Objectives of this step during which it will be to make your visual management system as attractive as it is effective:

• Avoid over-information
• Provide visual information animation conditions
• Think about ergonomics and interactions if you choose a touch screen for example

From the choice of visual formats (histograms or pie charts, simple numbers or even traffic lights) to the choice of font, action buttons, colors… It’s a real designer job waiting for you on this step. Work that you must carry out with the desired type of screen in mind: touch-sensitive or not? Arranged in portrait, landscape or swiveling?

Step 5 : choose the right display points

Misplaced, the most beautiful screen in the world won’t do you much good… Beyond its design and the information it provides, the choice of its location will be truly strategic.

How to choose it right? First, based on the targeted audience: its places of passage, work, break… Is it a single-site team or scattered? Then according to the rhythm of the activity you want to “monitor” thanks to visual management: is one screen enough? Some? Much more than that?

In some cases, a single screen in a “control room” type Obeya will amply be enough. In others, it will be necessary to invest several common areas or office floors, etc. A final point to take into account: the size of the screen(s) chosen, so that it is both visible and can be easily used by your teams.

Step 6 : take stock… and iterate to generalize visual management

Has your POC come to an end? This is just the beginning… After a few weeks of use, it will be time to take stock of this project. And this in several dimensions:

• What works (and works less well) in the visual management set up: what information is missing, is too much, is poorly presented…
• What worked (or didn’t) during the project. At what steps can we save time or did we go too fast? What skills did you lack in your task force?
• What is generalizable (or not). Can this POC serve as a basis for another project in the company, or even in your department? What have you learned What needs to be improved, kept, abandoned… ?

SIM (Short Interval Animation) are also referred to more generically as “performance management meetings”. Because that’s exactly what it is organized in shifts (shift work in 2×8, 3×8, 4x,8…) or not, the day generally begins with a team meeting, aimed at :

• take stock of “current affairs” : the level of production the day before, any incidents, action plans in progress, etc.
• share goals for the day to come, such as the number of units to be produced and shipped based on orders, 
• assign tasks for each one

 It is therefore not a “simple” point of information. On the contrary : these rituals constitute an essential support for the continous improvement of teams and processes. 

SIM (Short Interval Management) As its name suggests, an SIM  is a quick meeting (from 5 minutes to 1 hour), recurring (daily or by shift in a production unit, weekly as part of a management project), which aims at decision making and problem solving. To be effective, an SIM is therefore based on a series of clear indicators, making it possible to quickly pinpoint any problems and make informed decisions on a QRQC (Quick Response Quality Control), SQPD (Security Quality Price Delays) or even SQCD (Safety Quality Costs Deadlines). 

KPIs that matters 
What indicators should be included in a team brief on a production unit ?

In a logic of SQCD management (Safety, Quality, Costs, Deadlines), to which we add more and more often the P for People, here are some ideas of indicators to follow and share during your team rituals. 

People : Employee planning, training to follow (and followed), versatility

Security :  Accident rate/ Number by severity, consecutive accident-free days, avaibility of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)

Quality : Rate of compliant or defective products, rate of non-compliance per machine, rate of compliant and defective products per work shift

Cost : Synthetic rate of return (TRS), productivity rate & lead/lag, productivity rate per shift, unused production capacity, number of breakdowns, downtime hours and costs

Deadline : Average delivery times, average order processing times, average production time per product, reliability of planning and wear

The contribution of digital visual management

Visual management is based on the ability to reformulate the “raw” data of performance indicators into graphic elements (histogram, curve, gauge, etc..). 

The advantage ? 

• A more immediate understanding of the indicator
• A simplified perspective (for example via green-yellow-red color codes)

Digital visual management also makes it possible to display these indicators on a dynamic display panel, constantly updated, and “nourished” directly : by data extracted from your management software (ERP, MES, database, Google or Microsoft suites…) observations made during gemba walks.

You will therefore obtain both a saving in time (once designed, the panel updates automatically) and a precision gain (no error related to data entry by an operator): an animation panel visual digital allows you to make the most of this precious time that is the team animation ritual. 

Gemba Walk 

Gemba (the real place in Japanese, where things happen, that is to say at the shop floor): another concept popularized by Toyota, and which consists for managers to make tours in production units, to observe and ask questions to technicians for operational improvement.

How to take advantage of digital visual management in your organization ?

Our showroom, in partnership with EliteOrga, consulting and training company allows you to concretely visualize how to digitize your team animations, production monitoring, supply chain.  Make lean, digital transformation and performance work together !

Production lines active more than 90% of the time, a constantly decreasing takt time, fewer overtime hours… and an increasingly peaceful atmosphere: at Chantiers de l’Atlantique, the results of the efforts undertaken in terms of operational excellence are spectacular.

The explanation? A continuous improvement approach that has made it possible to anticipate problems and resolve them (much) more quickly, throughout the production chain.

The Chantiers de l’Atlantique, cradle of the giants of the seas

Normandy, France, Queen Mary 2, Harmony of the Seas… These famous giants of the sea were assembled in Saint-Nazaire, in the workshops of the Chantiers de l’Atlantique. Since 1862, the company has become a benchmark in the construction of ocean liners, but also of military vessels and, more recently, offshore wind turbines. These are all markets in which demand is very strong, and where production is therefore constantly under pressure.

The cabin production unit: 5 takt and cadenced lines

About ten kilometers from the main site, a smaller unit (26,000 square meters and 350 operators, all the same…) specializes in the prefabrication of cabins, which are then loaded and finished on board cruise ships.

In this workshop, 5 production lines, operated and running at pace, allow the assembly of various cabin models (crew, standard, family, for people with reduced mobility, etc.) and their sanitary blocks, at an average rate of 2,000 to 2,500 cabins per ship. Each liner occupies this production unit for a period of 4 to 6 months.

On the lines, lean objective!

“The first observation we can make,” explains Aurélien Caillaud, “is that our lines have no work in progress: we are permanently in a pull flow mode. As a result, the slightest problem at one of the 20 stations on each line will cause a stoppage, and block the 70 operators who work there.”

To resolve an incident as soon as it occurs, Chantiers de l’Atlantique has set up teams:

• « flyers » (on the production side), operators that team leaders or line managers will send to reinforce workstations under pressure,
• rapid replenishers on the logistics side, responsible for supplying spare parts to workstations that request them.

But this organization alone is not enough. For several years, Aurélien Caillaud, lean engineer at Chantiers de l’Atlantique, and his predecessor François Robic before him, have therefore called on Pingflow to implement tools that allow the effective adoption of methods from lean management (Andon and Yo-I-Don) to manage and optimize cabin assembly lines. The objectives?

• Obtain a precise, real-time overview of the status of each production line:
• Identify workstations under pressure as early as possible and provide the most efficient, timely solution;
• Synchronize workstations and schedule lines so that everyone starts and finishes their tasks at the same time;
• Finally, streamline intra-team communication, as well as communication between production and logistics.

A project carried out in two phases: first on the production lines, then on logistics supply.

2019-2020: heading towards the production andon

The initial observation: numerous and costly line shutdowns

In the context of pull production, there are always hazards: before starting its collaboration with Pingflow, the cabin workshop suffered an average of one hour of downtime per day.

Added to these incidents was the problem of line changes (a new type of cabin was entering production). Between two batches, the line shutdown and restart time was also one hour. Added together, these delays could have a significant impact on the production rate, and therefore the delivery of the liner at the end of the line.

Pingflow’s response: digital andon alert from operator stations

Pingflow’s response: digital andon alert from operator stations

With the help of Pingflow, each workstation has been equipped with a tablet which allows the operator to bring up information such as:

• the end of his work,
• a blocking incident,
• or a non-blocking incident.

These incidents are immediately transmitted by SMS and email to team leaders, and displayed on large monitors located at strategic locations throughout the workshop to disseminate real-time information on the status of activity. The interventions and reinforcements needed to resolve the incident and restart production arrive more quickly, and all line activity is monitored more closely.

In the back office, the entire system is connected to the ERP in order to provide the forecast production “film” for the day and to a web interface which allows:

• Upstream, configure work schedules, user profiles, and contact information;
• Downstream, visualize incidents in the form of logs and graphs and create a history for quality analysis.

Spectacular first results

Deployed in 2019, this first andon “brick” allowed the cabin workshop to record more than convincing results:

• Downtime reduced by a factor of three… and more: from one hour per day, the workshop went down to 20, then 10 minutes per day;
• Ever more efficient lines: from 80% of working time, the production unit went up to 90-95%;
• A significant reduction in overtime (often necessary to « complete » the week’s production), of around 10%.

Bet won? Except that Chantiers de l’Atlantique didn’t intend to stop there…

2021: a step further with logistics andon

Because after streamlining the resolution of production incidents, the teams realized that 80% of the remaining line shutdowns were linked to non-compliant parts: damaged sanitary block elements, degraded parts, etc.

Historically, an operator faced with a defective part had to fill out a non-conformity form by hand and send it to the rapid replenishment teams so that they could retrieve the spare part from stock, transport it to the workstation in question, and close this “ticket”. A cumbersome, time-consuming process… and therefore eminently optimizable!

Especially since it generated significant tensions between the production and logistics teams, “who passed the buck during this type of incident,” observes Aurélien Caillaud. One of the unquantifiable but very real benefits of implementing the production andon with Pingflow was precisely a clear gain in serenity in the workshop: operators now know that the incident they reported has been properly identified and is being resolved. We wanted our replenishment teams, who are by nature subject to urgency and stress, to also benefit from more peaceful working conditions.”

A new process co-designed with the teams concerned

To resolve this problem, Aurélien Caillaud first listened to the “field” and gathered the teams’ irritants…

• … production: forms too long to fill out, replenishers unreachable, replenishment too slow, causing line interruptions;
• … logistics: forms incorrectly completed or illegible, too much time spent on the phone, impossible to organize and concentrate on one’s route;
• … quality: non-conformity reports untraceable and unusable.

Not easy, especially in the context of these workshops:

• Very large (26,000 m²), therefore with long delivery times
• with numerous references (3,000 per cabin), therefore complex replenishments
• increasingly frequent, with a takt time divided by 1.5 over the last 5 years (it has gone from 30 to 19-20 minutes on average)

From 100% paper to 100% digital: a 100% efficient logistics system

It is thanks to this field listening phase that Aurélien Caillaud was able to deploy with Pingflow an andon logistics system adapted to the needs of his internal “customers” in the three production, logistics and quality divisions, which he demonstrates to you himself.

Find Aurélien Caillaud’s full testimony on the collaboration between Pingflow and Chantiers de l’Atlantique in our webinar replay

Speed, productivity, serenity: green indicators!

By digitizing this entire alert process, and eliminating the paperwork and irritants in the replenishment process, Chantiers de l’Atlantique has once again observed enormous productivity gains:

• On the speed of operations, with a replenishment time reduced by more than half: from 33 minutes previously, we are now down to 12-13 minutes on average;
• On securing takt time: these express replenishment times leave a margin on the current cycle, which is already significantly reduced;
• On the efficiency of the lines overall: from 700 minutes of downtime per month, the workshop has reduced it to 200-250 minutes;
• On quality monitoring, teams now have a real dashboard allowing them to identify and measure deviations by supplier, by part, etc., and therefore take appropriate measures;
• On the peace of mind of logistics operators, now much more in control of their time and their routes.

In the pipeline: innovations that spread throughout the production chain

Committed to a process of continuous improvement, Chantiers de l’Atlantique will now capitalize on the steps taken during the first two phases of the project, to push the management of the activity even further, with:

• Andon picking, to optimize logistics beyond emergency replenishments, particularly for the train that supplies lines from inventory.
• Real-time information on production status for logistics, to restore visibility to the latter.

Key success factors of the Chantiers de l’Atlantique project

The remarkable results observed by the cabin assembly unit are neither miraculous nor the result of chance. But above all, they are the result of a well-managed project based on three key factors:

1. Progress prioritized by « batches »: rather than a comprehensive « mega-project » (which might never have seen the light of day), Chantiers de l’Atlantique proceeded in stages. First, the most urgent problem (production line shutdowns), then, after this initial success, priority number 2 (replenishment), and finally, a more widespread implementation.
2. A learning curve was respected: the teams took the time to observe the initial results and list areas for improvement before iterating.
3. Field-level listening was a cardinal virtue: the user is king, and all tools and interfaces were designed to respond as simply as possible to the needs expressed.

Since its founding in 1991, Tiag Industries has established itself as one of the European leaders in the production of medium-volume technical plastic parts. For clients located all over the world (40% of its turnover is generated from exports), and in all sectors: office and hospital furniture, packaging, construction, agricultural and construction machinery, and armaments, all of these clients have one thing in common: high standards in terms of quality and responsiveness.

To address this, this family-run SME (120 employees), whose three production units are in Corrèze, has embarked on the gradual deployment of a 4.0 factory, using Pingflow’s visual management solutions. The objectives of this project?

Competitiveness, flexibility, autonomy: the challenges of 4.0 at TIAG

• Simplify and make production monitoring more efficient;
• Minimize (or even eliminate) the risk of human error and thus increase production quality;
• All this while giving back autonomy to teams (operators, supervisors, shipping, administration, etc.) to allow them to focus on the truly important tasks.

Production monitoring: the need for real-time information

Within the production units, monitoring was previously done « the old-fashioned way, on sheets of carbon paper, » says Christophe Laurent, the plant manager. Simple… but not very effective!

« This system prevented us from having a precise view of the production rate at any given moment: to know where we were, we had to go to the machines, » laments Christophe Laurent. The configuration, tiring for the team leaders who had to travel miles throughout the plant to monitor production progress, was also stressful for everyone: « Searching for information creates uncertainty, it puts production at risk and fatigues employees, thus increasing the risk of error, » notes Alexandre Moraine, the company’s CEO.

Operational excellence: move faster, minimize non-conformities

Increasing the quality of operations was indeed the second expected benefit of digitalizing the factory. Among the indicators to improve:

• The scrap rate (non-compliant parts),
• The downtime of machines that must be reconfigured between two production runs,
• The time taken to resolve incidents
• The time taken for forklift operators to « pick up » parts produced

Taken together, all these optimizations should improve TIAG’s productivity: « It’s about gaining competitiveness compared to competitors in Eastern Europe in particular, » explains Alexandre Moraine. « It’s absolutely essential when you’ve chosen, as we have, to go 100% made in France. »

Digitalization of production at TIAG Industries: progress step by step

In its 3 production units, TIAG implements several distinct industrial processes:

• Injection,
• Extrusion Blow Molding
• Rotomolding
• Assembly and Finishing

Different machines, different teams, and different processes: it was neither possible nor desirable to digitize all units at once. From 2020 to 2023, thanks to the ongoing support of Pingflow’s teams, a gradual rollout took place.

2020-2021: a POC to experiment… and reassure

If Pingflow places the POC (proof of concept, i.e. a test in real conditions, but on a small scale) at the heart of its support approach, it’s for a good reason. And even several:

• Technically, and in terms of business, each industrial context is different: to be efficient, a digital visual management solution must be perfectly adapted to the machine and its control requirements.
• In terms of information systems, a solution like Pingflow connects to an existing system (often an ERP), with which a « dialogue » must be established.
• The resulting change is not just technical… far from it! A digital transformation is, above all, a human transformation: obtaining buy-in (and valuable feedback) on the implementation of this new tool is a key benefit for this POC phase.

For this first stage, efforts focused on the operator console, a sort of tablet allowing men to declare and “monitor” their activity at their workstation.

Console connected to production to provide operators with operating information and send alerts (quality, logistics)

HMI on console for monitoring machine and andon activity at the operator station

The challenge, emphasizes Christophe Laurent, was to demonstrate to team leaders and operators how Pingflow would make their work easier, reassure them about the reliability of the tool… But also to listen to and take into account their suggestions for improvement. » At the end of the POC, version 1 was therefore significantly improved:

• In terms of user interface (position, size, color of alert buttons, access to various actions, etc.),
• In terms of information provided: work order numbers and end times, for example, an indicator that « speaks » to operators and team leaders.

The result? An ergonomic 4.0 console, adapted to its uses, providing essential information in a timely manner (number of parts produced, rejects, etc.), and above all, the first solid building block for a more widespread deployment.

Following this conclusive POC, the operator consoles were generalized to all 8 TIAG blowers in 2021, then to the fleet of 7 injection machines at the start of 2022.

2021-2022: a deployment that is gaining momentum

But this deployment doesn’t « only » concern workstations. Facilitating the work of operators is just one of the levers of digitalizing a factory through visual management, which Pingflow has enhanced with:

• Streamlining the andon alert process: issued by the operator from their console, it results in the incident being displayed on the workshop display panels, followed by a second « escalation » alert to a second manager if there is no response.
• Extending the console’s functionality to call forklift operators to come and retrieve pallets of produced parts.
• Installing large summary screens to track production KPIs and display incidents at various locations throughout the factory.

The forklift operator’s desks, installed on the forklifts, are permanently accessible.

From the offices and in the factory, these screens provide a global, real-time view of the status of production.

Throughout the project: enrichments and agility

One of the keys to this successful deployment? The adaptability of the Pingflow teams… and of the tool itself, « in which it’s very easy to add or remove elements and applications, which made it much easier for us to optimize the interfaces: we wanted it to be as easy to use as a smartphone, » says Christophe Laurent.

And for everything that needed to be configured upstream, the Pingflow project teams were the driving force. This included the connection between Pingflow and TIAG’s ERP, an essential ingredient for success for:

• Monitor inventory status,
• keep up-to-date information on maintenance, quality, and new production launches, etc.
• all in real time, to facilitate feedback internally, as well as to management and even customers.

The results: more (and better) productive workshops

Increased responsiveness at all levels

Thanks to the system implemented with the help of Pingflow, all information relating to TIAG’s production is digitized and therefore available in real time. This results in significant time savings at all levels of the company.

On the production side, first:

• Workshop managers and operator supervisors, since they only need to travel when an incident requiring their intervention is confirmed, have « saved » between 5 and 8% of their working time.
• The operators themselves, relieved of the tasks of clocking in, counting, and calling forklift operators, have saved considerable time on their daily tasks.
• Finally, plant management benefits fully from a super-smooth information transfer. « It’s simple, » says Christophe Laurent, « today I know exactly, and in a few seconds, where we are in the workshop! »

This streamlining of production monitoring also has beneficial impacts well beyond production stations:

• In logistics, with better optimization of forklift operator routes thanks to the call function integrated into operator consoles,
• upstream and downstream, with more than two working days saved in administration: all data entry is now automated, allowing these teams to focus on other tasks.

Increased quality and compliance

The other major advantage of digitalization is that it minimizes (or even eliminates) the risk of human error. At TIAG, this translates into:

• On the administrative side, through a significant reduction in order entry errors and the monitoring of daily production results, thanks to automation and task streamlining.
• On the production side, through a drop in the reject rate (non-compliant parts) to 0.8%.

Incidents under control

The third major benefit is a classic of Pingflow’s factory digitalization projects: from reporting to resolution, incident management is fully optimized thanks to a digital andon alert system integrated into all operator panels. Previously, locating a problem on the machine park could take up to 30 minutes… Time reduced to a minimum today.

Consequences ?

• Operators gain peace of mind and comfort, since they know their alerts will be seen and responded to quickly.
• Their supervisors can better prioritize their time and allocate time between machine setup, operator training, urgent tasks, and important ones.

In short, it’s unanimous: « Today, all users tell me: there’s no question of going back, the new system makes their job much easier! » concludes Christophe Laurent.

Projects full of boxes

The results? It’s more than satisfactory. « A few years ago, I was learning by visiting our clients’ factories. Today, they’re surprised by the level of digitalization and efficiency we’ve achieved! » says Alexandre Moraine.

But this is a provisional assessment, because these initial successes have given ideas to the TIAG Industries teams! The next areas for improvement identified?

• Optimizing production processes: « By using all our individual data points (incidents, lead times, small workload disruptions, etc.), we aim to identify where recurring bottlenecks occur and better prevent them, » points out Christophe Laurent.
• Traceability and communication with customers, by allowing operators and team leaders to « feed » the system implemented with Pingflow: identifying batches in production, sending annotated photos of parts, etc.
• Management and company strategy. « The idea is to more systematically use the data collected through Pingflow and our ERP for AIC, but also for meetings focused on productivity opportunities, » imagines Alexandre Moraine.

“Thanks to Pingflow, we are fortunate to have a tool that provides us with objective, indisputable information: it’s up to us to make use of it,” concludes the manager.

Founded in Tourcoing in 1966, the Ciuch group (around 160 employees) is a leader in the field of intralogistics solutions. It designs and manufactures complete logistics systems that can be configured (almost) as easily as Lego: custom-made conveyors (10 km produced per year!), controlled by the Ciuch WCS (Warehouse Control System) software.

Its clients? Major players, retail startups, 3PLs (service providers that manage the entire supply chain for their customers), and other logistics integrators. These are all players for whom logistics has become a key issue and who rely on Ciuch’s turnkey solutions to ensure perfectly optimized warehouse flows.

Driven by this context and the e-commerce boom, Ciuch experienced explosive growth: doubling between 2016 and 2021. This impressive performance, but also required industrialization and the development of production methods, notes Bruno Galiot, the industrial director who joined the company in mid-2021. “We managed production with a little Excel, a lot of email exchanges, and even more memory!”

The challenge? Structure the business, optimize industrial processes, and restore visibility to all stakeholders in the production chain.

The observation: “weekly” production management, neither in real time nor visible to the teams

Coming from the machine tool industry, working for major clients in the automotive and aeronautics sectors, Bruno Galiot quickly set out to introduce management based on indicators and production monitoring into his organization. The goal? Simple: « that what we designed in the design offices be manufactured on time. » Here’s how they went about it.

A first step: modeling the flows

Well-oiled physical flows…

The first step to digitizing production monitoring? Examine and model the organization to gain a clear view of flows. At Ciuch, creating a logistics system involves several steps:

1. The design office, which designs the system and places the order internally.
2. The actual manufacturing of the various system components.
3. Surface treatment (painting, zinc plating, etc.) is subcontracted externally before being returned to Ciuch.
4. Mechanical assembly, and, in parallel, the wiring workshop for the electrical component.
5. Shipment in a single batch to the customer’s final site for installation and commissioning (always handled by Ciuch).

…but information flows to be optimized…

Visualizing the “path” of a customer order’s elements through the various workshops is essential, but it’s not enough. You also need to model:

• What information is needed: progress status of a part, completion or non-completion of a step, etc.
• Who provides this information: the plant manager, the workshop manager, the operator, etc.

At Ciuch, monitoring was mainly done through Excel files (one per workshop), which worked satisfactorily… as long as we stayed within the scope of each workshop. Because these monitoring files did not communicate with each other, and therefore remained primarily the tool of each workshop manager. Hence two concerns for effective management:

• In the field, where we relied on weekly printouts of the file, without real-time visibility of activity,
• between the different workshops, which had little visibility into the progress of the production of their « neighbors, » and therefore little ability to anticipate.

…and a need for agility in planning

The final area for improvement identified by the Ciuch teams: production scheduling. Every weekend, Bruno Galiot spent two hours drawing up the production schedule for the coming week.

The problem? « The scheduling was regularly disrupted as early as Monday evening, » notes Bruno Galiot. « In itself, this isn’t a problem; it’s normal workshop life. But where it posed a problem was that some people were sticking to the initial schedule because they weren’t effectively notified of changes. » Too cumbersome before, not agile enough during the process: the scheduling system wasn’t adequately fulfilling its role as a production scout.

Clearly identified management needs

In short, it was time to revise the copy. At the end of 2022, Ciuch therefore set out to find a solution to manage its production more efficiently, with clear specifications:

1. Make progress information for all activities visible everywhere. This involves two key challenges: enabling downstream processes to anticipate and then activate as quickly as possible when the units arrive within their scope.
2. Provide status updates as close to completion as possible, so that this information is always accurate, particularly for teams in contact with clients (project managers in the design office and installers).

It is with these needs in mind that Bruno Galiot asked Pingflow to support him in this project.

Digitalization of production monitoring: a high-speed project

Pingflow’s Choice

Why Pingflow? Three reasons led Ciuch to collaborate with us:

1. Pingflow’s ability to respond in parallel to another need identified by Ciuch: improving internal communication and QHSE within the entire company.
2. Beyond this immediate use case, the “functional breadth” of our solution. Pingflow allows you to digitize your production monitoring, set up advanced alert systems (e-Andon), lead team rituals (AIC)… And therefore assemble, step by step, and piece by piece, “the” digitization solution adapted to the challenges of the company.
3. The right mix of a proven solution and easy, affordable customization. For companies like Ciuch, Pingflow is an excellent « light MES »: powerful, tailored to the needs of manufacturers, yet quick and easy to implement.

Auditing and framing the project: an essential phase

The starting point for this type of project will be familiar to all lean manufacturing enthusiasts: going into the field. Pingflow’s teams visited Ciuch to:

• Observe and audit the organization,
• Collect all requirements, based on the roles of all stakeholders (from the industrial director to the operators), as well as the diverse contexts of the different workshops: the challenges of manufacturing and assembly, in particular, are not the same,
• and thus propose an approach that best « fits » Ciuch’s needs.

This approach offers another advantage, fundamental in this type of project that affects habits and working methods: presenting the project, from its inception, to end users. And therefore automatically involving them in the process.

The visit confirmed the diagnosis made by Bruno Galiot and his teams: “Ciuch already had a good foundation in its organization and a good grasp of its processes,” recalls Dimitri Brachet, Director of Operations at Pingflow. “The challenge was, on the one hand, to streamline it, and on the other, to disseminate information more effectively to make it available to everyone.”

Progress tracking on Excel (before Pingflow)

The prototype: delivery in 3 months

Last advantage of this audit visit (and not the least interesting): the design of the flowboard (the visual management screen dedicated to piloting production) is much faster and more efficient.

“It was operational by July 2023, although we preferred the end of summer to fully utilize it,” explains Bruno Galiot. “The responsiveness of the Pingflow teams during this phase was impressive: we hadn’t finished entering a ticket to report a problem before it was already resolved!”

Deployment: Data and design, the magic ingredients for accelerated adoption

By November 2023, 100% of workshop production monitoring had switched to flowboards designed by Pingflow.

The key to this rapid adoption? For Dimitri Brachet, the answer lies in two words: data and design.

“For a flowboard (and for any digital visual management screen), users must have confidence in the quality of the information they are viewing, and visualize it in an ergonomic interface. If one of these two ingredients is missing, it’s a failure.” “And Pingflow has real expertise in design and UX (user experience),” adds Bruno Galiot.

The flowboard: a tool for smoother production

Visible activity close to the ground

The result? With Pingflow, Ciuch implemented a digital flowboard on touchscreens in the various production areas:

• manufacturing, assembly and shipping now have a real-time view of the progress of orders in the workshop,
• the information, centralized and updated automatically, provides visibility on what is being done in other workshops
• teams can therefore quickly adjust priorities based on actual production progress.

« The Flowboard has allowed us to structure our production without imposing too many drastic changes on our teams. Today, we are more responsive and better organized, » says Bruno Galiot.

The results: more visibility = more efficiency

The benefits of these flowboards, with a little over 18 months of hindsight?

• A significant time saving, with « clean, » accurate information right where operators and workshop managers need it, whereas previously, even the slightest check in the ERP (to which the flowboard is connected) was slow and tedious.
• An energy saving for the plant manager and workshop managers, who no longer need to go on-site to check that operations are running smoothly, check shuttle records, etc.
• Better coordination between departments: from the design office to the « back of the shop floor, » information is sent (and sent) in a few minutes, instead of several hours (or even days) before the flowboard is set up.
• Better responsiveness to unforeseen events.
• « Rolling » planning and scheduling, which Bruno Galiot now performs in a few minutes every day, rather than several hours at the weekend.
• Overall, more agile management, without having to disrupt the existing organization.

And then ?

Building on this success, Ciuch is already working on the next steps. The first direction? Expanding the use of flowboards to increase productivity. And moving from a system that remains largely handled by workshop managers to a tool that teams can fully embrace: by recording their actions, the progress of various production orders, etc. « We still need to develop our reflexes at this level, » acknowledges Bruno Galiot.

The second approach? Streamlining the arrival of orders in the production workshop by leveraging Table (Pingflow’s « No-Code » collaborative database) to streamline the creation of shuttle sheets directly when the plan is edited by the design office. « Eliminating this double entry, ensuring the quality of the shuttle sheet information, and being able to trigger its printing automatically would be a significant time saver, » anticipates Bruno Galiot.

And finally, in the longer term, Ciuch’s teams are exploring the implementation of connected AICs. The ambition? To further improve monitoring and communication between teams, and capitalize on data from production management for more effective team rituals.

In the factory of the Atlantic group in Billy-Berclau (62), there is no time to lose! Started up in 2016 with 50 people, the plant dedicated mainly to the production of heat pumps now employs 500, “produces” more than 200,000 products per year and plans to further accelerate to 350,000 within 2 coming years.

A full throttle start that also characterizes the way its teams digitized their AIC (Short Interval Animations, about fifteen different rituals in this factory) in barely 3 months! All without ever confusing speed and haste…

Their method ?

• clear objectives from the start (which facilitates the search for the right partner and the framing of the project)
• the business and the IT department working hand in hand
• a constant head start on the rest of the project: how the teams will get to grips with the tool,   and how it will be able to be rolled out on a large scale after the first tests…

Make SIM management more efficient

Already well-structured rituals…

“SIMs are something that has been deeply rooted in the factory, and in the entire Atlantic group for years, explains François Huyge, production manager at the Billy-Berclau factory. TOP 5, for the starting points of each shift for each of our 14 production lines, TOP 30 (the production coordination meeting) and a ritual called InterGAP (for Groupes Autonomes de Production) which allows facilitators to line to take stock of their priorities and needs… We are fond of these rituals”.

46 SIM per day at the Group Atlantic factory: 

… to avoid waste of time in preparation 

Before turning to Pingflow, the Atlantic teams in Billy-Berclau organized their AICs in the traditional way: whiteboards, paper prints, cards for actions to be taken, Powerpoint presentations, etc.

The problem ? This system, efficient and well established, but “operators spent their time copying information from whiteboards to computer files, and vice versa, with all the risks of loss of information and errors that this entails. ”, laments François Huyge. And with more than 40 daily rituals to organize, the time counter climbs very quickly…

Why did they choose Pingflow?

Based on this observation, François Huyge therefore set out to find a solution allowing him to digitize the AICs of his factory. With very clear expectations:

• a system that simplifies and streamlines the retrieval of production information, and its visual “translation” into clear indicators,
• a solution that centralizes and monitors the various action plans for the plant
• and for each line a solution that can be easily integrated into the site’s information system.

“At Atlantic, we like to have our hands on our tools: so I was looking for an intuitive solution, which would allow us to be quickly autonomous, and above all flexible because we do things our way, lists the production manager. I studied several solutions on the market: only Pingflow ticked all the boxes. The other solutions were either unsuited to our needs, or much too formatted”.

After initial discussions in the spring of 2022, Atlantic Billy-Berclau is therefore embarking on its digital visual management project with Pingflow.

Connectivity to data with the IT teams

In such a structuring project on the smooth running of production, the involvement of IT teams is obviously the sine qua non of a good deployment. But their role goes far beyond that, and especially begins well before the production phase: it is from the framing of the project that they have a role to play.

A stroke of luck: at Billy-Berclau, the industrial IT team is used to working as close as possible to the field, and we were able to provide assistance on two essential dimensions

• how to structure it and if necessary create it to make the best use of it in the context of SIMs connectivity:
• how to interconnect Pingflow with the “stack” of existing tools in the factory, and make the most of it.

The role of tools: which one does what (and how does it integrate with Pingflow)

At Atlantic, two internal software programs are mainly used to manage production:

• Suprat, focused on quality monitoring
• Ocean, which collects machine or line data to analyze performance

Keen not to « pile up » software bricks, Atlantic’s IT teams therefore began with a reflection exercise: « internally, we redefined the role of our different tools, » explains Nicolas Denis, industrial IT project manager. « The idea is that these tools complement each other, and that we don’t assign them functions for which they are not designed. »

Conclusion of this reflection?

“We reserve Pingflow for animation purposes: even if it would be technically possible, we do not process data there.

adds Nicolas Denis. 

Data Mastery: A Healthy Foundation to Start From

Another issue where IT’s involvement was crucial: data. « It’s a subject we have a very good grasp of: how our data is formed and structured, » observes Nicolas Denis. « So it was easier to ask the right questions upfront so that it could be easily used in Pingflow, and above all, always structured in the same way. »

The result: when it came to designing the wallboards (the displays used during the various AICs), the base was « clean, » consistent, and easily deployable across all lines to cover the entire site in just a few days.

Easy handling

Because the various wallboards have been “templated” (same overall structure, same indicator format) as much as possible: from one line to the next, the TOP 5 wallboards are structured in the same way, and only the information changes. “When we need to deploy one more, it’s a matter of 5 minutes,” smiles Nicolas Denis. Optimization, always…

Same design, same information hierarchy, but personalized data in 2 different wallboards: with a single template, Atlantic teams were able to deploy their AIC wallboards very quickly in the different areas of the factory.

From design to animation: an intuitive solution

The final factor that allowed Atlantic to move so quickly in the deployment of its digital AIC project: Pingflow’s ease of use. « In terms of designing the wallboards, the solution is very intuitive: no need to be an IT expert to achieve this, » says François Huyge.

The same observation was made by end users (line managers and operators), who quickly took ownership of Pingflow, and in particular Table, the “No Code” database management solution integrated into Pingflow, which allows the creation of interactive data entry forms (for reporting incidents, absences, etc.), as well as all action plans, documented, sorted, prioritized… and up to date.

The results: less time-consuming, more interactive, and more impactful AICs

A few months after this rapid deployment, Atlantic teams are already identifying a triple gain:

• Time savings in preparing AICs
• Efficiency of these rituals, with more focused teams
• Impact, with better-monitored action plans and better visibility of activity

For the first, which was François Huyge’s main objective from the outset, the findings are clear: 80% of what the facilitators had to re-enter before the meeting is now automatically available on the wallboard. « Clearly, the half-hour spent by AICs searching for and copying information has practically disappeared, » the production manager says.

For the second, François Huyge observes that having a single medium (the screen displaying the wallboard) and an interactive medium makes the rituals more participatory and the teams « more attentive and more engaged in the discussion. »

For the third, the digitization of action plans is a major plus. Beyond that, his goal of having a more concise and precise overview of the « factory pulse » (essential, particularly during the TOP 30) has been largely achieved.

Summary

By switching from a paper flowboard to a digital flowboard, the Sabca Brussels plant has significantly streamlined the production monitoring of parts for the Airbus A350 program. All this in record deployment time. Wallboards for team rituals have also helped streamline communication.

Sabca: an aeronautics subcontractor… “condemned” to excellence

For a century, Sabca (Société Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques) has established itself as one of the world’s largest suppliers of aeronautical equipment, with four main markets: defense, space, industry, and commercial aviation. From drones to Arianespace launchers, the group employs around a thousand people across four factories (three in Belgium, one in Morocco), the largest of which—and the one we’re interested in here—is located in Brussels.

Sabca Brussels: a major subcontractor of the A350 program

At this Brussels site (which is also its headquarters), nearly 700 employees work in the 105,000 m² factory to produce cantilevers, ribs, and levers—the parts that operate the flaps of the A350, Airbus’s large aircraft. This high-precision work is part of the incredibly complex industrial ballet that is the assembly of an Airbus: safety, quality, costs, and deadlines are non-negotiable!

At any given time, the production backlog on the two lines of the Sabca-Brussels factory is approximately 80 parts, enough to equip five A350s. The factory operates Monday to Friday, from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., in two shifts that must also be coordinated for smooth operations. In short: precise production monitoring is essential.

Paper production monitoring: precise, but so time-consuming…

The factory is, of course, equipped with an ERP system, which provides reliable information on the status of parts and structures in production. “But an ERP system doesn’t give you a global view of the health of your line,” emphasizes David Vermoesen, “that’s not its job.” It’s also not designed to provide this visibility to all stakeholders in the chain, and access to it is restricted.

To answer the question “where are we in terms of the progress of the parts to be produced”, David Vermoesen, the program operations manager, therefore created a flowboard, with several levels of information:

• Operator level
• Team leader level (workshop manager)
• Factory level

First, with a very simple process… on paper. A large synoptic spreadsheet diagramming the production lines and showing the progress of each part in production, which each team leader would then « point out » during the shift.

Simple? But not very efficient! “Do the math: import the ERP data into Excel, print the tables, have the team leaders fill them out for each of the 80 parts in production (and this over 2 shifts) and then manually enter the information into the spreadsheet… It took us a good 1 to 2 hours a day,” explains David Vermoesen. And if there’s one rare commodity in industry, it’s time!

Less time, fewer errors: the challenges of automating production monitoring

David Vermoesen quickly began looking for a solution that would allow him to automate the collection of field information.

What does he expect from it?

• Real-time monitoring of production progress (instead of having a snapshot of it per shift);
• The ability to better manage, or even anticipate, bottlenecks;
• Fewer errors (partly related to human input);
• And a significant time saving (for both the manager and the team leaders).

Lucky break: Sabca has been working on a project to digitize AIC (short interval animation) meetings with Pingflow for some time now. A potential partner to implement David Vermoesen’s idea has been found. All that’s left is to find the right partner!

The automated flowboard: gains for all links in the chain

The digital flowboard project will be deployed at… almost supersonic speed. Approached at the beginning of summer 2021, the Pingflow teams delivered an operational flowboard in September. “The Pingflow teams were ultra-responsive,” appreciates David Vermoesen. “But we were able to move forward all the faster because David’s expression of needs was extremely well-crafted and advanced,” retorts Christophe Zanetto, project manager and UX/UI Designer at Pingflow.

Pingflow’s contribution: challenging the user experience (UX)

Indeed, the expression of need was clear: based on his “manual” flowboard, David Vermoesen had already sketched out a first rendering of what he wanted. On this basis, the Pingflow teams proposed a more readable and dynamic version with:

• Immediate identification of « MSNs » (batches of parts in production corresponding to an aircraft)
• A clearer view of the progress of each batch based on the forecast schedule
• Visualization of the advance or delay in part production (thanks to color codes applied to the gauges)

“This wasn’t a clearly identified expectation on my part, and yet, this is where we realize the contribution of design and UX to an interface like this: Pingflow has really succeeded in making this flowboard much simpler and more efficient in transmitting information,” emphasizes David Vermoesen.

Sabca’s first digital flowboard project

The final version of the flowboard proposed by Pingflow

The result: an agile, near-real-time flowboard

With this rendering, which more clearly conveys the production progress of the various parts, the new flowboard easily won the support of operators and team leaders.

On the rib line (where the new digital flowboard is initially deployed), a large screen allows all teams to monitor production in near real-time (information updated every 30 minutes), while saving David Vermoesen and the team leaders the tedious step of timekeeping.

Because the main need was there, and the contract has been fulfilled: the team leaders now use the flowboard « live » as a production management tool, saving 1 to 2 hours per day on update time.

This real-time visibility offers a second benefit: it allows them to anticipate timekeeping or other problems on parts, and also improves response time when they occur. More responsive, less time-consuming, more readable: the project is a success! And we’re only just getting started…

Flowboards, a new asset for Sabca

Building on this successful POC, David Vermoesen plans to continue in two directions:

• Implement similar flowboards across all production lines at the Brussels plant (2021-2022), then across Sabca’s other divisions (2023).
• Use reprocessed data for flowboards to more precisely manage production lines.

Generalize flowboards across the company

Monitoring and responding to production incidents on a production line in real time is just one step. The whole challenge of the project is to streamline all factory operations on the A350 program: in 2022, all lines dedicated to ribs and levers will benefit from the same dashboard as the test line.

Then, probably from 2023, it will be the turn of other production units in the group to draw on the lessons learned from the project carried out with Pingflow to set up their own flowboards.

Using the flowboard to inspire operational excellence

Another follow-up to this project: exploiting the data generated to feed the flowboard no longer from a dynamic and real-time perspective, but with a historical view.

Every advance or delay in the production of a part, every delay in an operation… will serve to fuel reflection on the actual pace of production. And therefore allow for upstream adaptation of capacities, implementation of more efficient resource reallocation processes… Production monitoring represents a wealth of information for achieving the ultimate objective: operational excellence.

The wallboard for AIC (team rituals)

“The time we no longer spend building KPIs is spent on taking action.”

Looking back, David tells us that « the tool can be used by the operator, the team leader, the line manager » and that it allows us to « ensure that operators are always working with the latest qualified and validated products. » Wallboards are now the « main management tool, » and it is even « the operator who will come and challenge the improvement of the tool. »

His advice for this type of project:

• Involve users (don’t impose)
• and… take it step by step!

Simple checklists and escalation of actions from level 1 to level 2

Checklists are a valuable tool for operators because they help them follow the steps of a process in a clear and organized manner. They help limit errors, especially in environments where tasks are complex or highly regulated by standards. By guiding operators step by step, they ensure that nothing important is overlooked, which improves safety, product quality, and compliance. They are also very useful for supporting newcomers.

Different questions were designed for each section, and operators meet daily to complete the checklist and escalate actions to level 2. David tells us that « we can now escalate from the bottom to the top and from the top to the bottom » thanks to the tool. Digitizing this practice has made it possible to « reduce human error » and focus on taking actions during the level 2 ritual.