Hi-tech monitor boosts output

Press, 12 April 1988, Page 9

Hi-tech monitor boosts output

A Christchurch elec-? ironies firm has developed a sophisticated! production management system claimed to! provide productivity increases of 20 per cent and more. The Pro Com system provides factory management with real-time monitoring of production, and gives feedback to individual workers, for over-all increases in efficiency. It has been developed by Mr David Chambers, of Davco Electronics, and is already in use in 12 factories. He has spent the last 19 months developing a Mark II version, which has been installed at the Sydenham factory of the clothing manufacturer. Mavlin Industries, and is about to be marketed internationally.

Mr Chambers said that engineers from another of his customers, a major Christchurch company, recently toured the. United States evaluating similar systems, but returned with the verdict that Pro Com led the world in such technology.

Pro Com consists of a central computer, and small display units at each work station. As each worker finishes a task, sewing a hem, for example, he or she presses a button and the computer updates its data. Pressing other buttons will keep the computer informed of time spent on meal breaks or waiting for materials or repairs to the machinery. I

For the worker, the display gives progress reports on work rates and the daily bonus accrued. For the manager, the main terminal gives instant information on progress on the various batches of work running

through the factory, and pinpoints bottlenecks and other problems, Mavlin’s manager, Mr Bob Keenan, said the Mark I Pro Com, installed in 1984, provided a 25 per cent increase in productivity within a month, and paid for itself by the end of that year. j 1 '

The workers at Mavlin appeared just as enthusiastic, since the machine eliminated their paperwork and let them know instantly how they were getting on.

A union delegate, Mrs Beverley Affleck, said that there had been some feeling at first that the machine spied on workers, but they now. realised it was “more ' there to help you, really.”

Mr Keenan said that it made it easier for workers to keep track of stoppages which were not their fault — machine breakdowns, for example — and so protect their bonus payments.

Mr Chambers said that the system was developed primarily for the clothing industry because it was "switched on to production.” ‘jit is an environment that is very aware of efficiency.” It could, however, be adapted to other industries.

Mr Chambers, whose background was production management, , said that a big advantage of the system was its simplicity.

Competing American systems, designed by computer engineers rather than production experts, used far more complex keyboards and spoke to workers in numerical codes rather than words, he said.