1. HS Labelers – Downtime Results
Shane Ireland
University of Pittsburgh ’14
Industrial Engineering
Continuous Improvement Co-op

2. Overview
• Recorded Downtime for 8 complete shifts
– 7 on 1st shift, 1 on 2nd shift, Duration (4/2-4/11)
• Categorized all the different steps for why the
machine was down:
 Idle Time
 Changeover
 Preventative Cleaning
 Jam-Ups
 Mechanical
Operator Adjustment
• Took the average for the 8 shifts

3. 7 hour 6 min
HS Labeler Opportunity Map
Run Production,
426.52
Preventative
Cleaning, 23.50
Changeover,
14.49
Idle, 6.74 Jam-Up, 4.54
Mechanical,
2.53

4. Performance
 Observed Average Stick Count: 275,300
 Average Stick Count on all shifts from
4/2 – 4/11: 247,500
 Difference:=
275,300 - 247,500 = 27,800 Sticks!
 27,800 / 644 = 43.16 Less minutes of
Downtime

5. Top 13 Reasons For Downtime
Reason Sum of Time Frequency Average Time/Shift Downtime % Adjusted Time/Shift
Reheat Heater 81.75 128 0.64 10.22 19.11% 18.47
Daily Preventative
Cleaning 69.03 8 8.63 8.63 16.14% 15.59
Label Roll Change 46.88 71 0.66 5.86 10.96% 10.59
Remove Roller Wraps 31.00 24 1.29 3.88 7.25% 7.00
BH Crayon Level too Low 22.62 26 0.87 2.83 5.29% 5.11
Wait on Molder 18.38 7 2.63 2.30 4.30% 4.15
Clean Return Screen 17.52 1 17.52 2.19 4.09% 3.96
Clean Cutter 16.72 36 0.46 2.09 3.91% 3.78
End of Shift 16.57 3 5.52 2.07 3.87% 3.74
Clay Loader Malfunction 14.95 1 14.95 1.87 3.49% 3.38
Color Change 14.40 2 7.20 1.80 3.37% 3.25
Communication Error 8.87 5 1.77 1.11 2.07% 2.00
Boxed Crayons 8.45 31 0.27 1.06 1.98% 1.91
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6. Preventative Cleaning Breakdown
Daily
Preventative
Cleaning, 8.63
Remove Roller
Wraps, 3.88
Reheat
Heater, 2.43
Clean Return
Screen, 2.19
Clean Cutter,
2.09
Preventative Cleaning Per Shift - 24.59
15.59 min
7.00 min
3.78 min

7. Idle Breakdown
End of Shift, 2.07
Communication
Error, 1.11
Boxed Crayons,
1.06
BH Crayon Level
too Low, 1.02
Reheat Heater,
0.61
Empty Rejected
Crayons, 0.40
Idle Downtime Per Shift - 6.74 min
Average: 5.52
minutes
Frequency: 3
3.74 min
2.00 min
1.91 min
1.84 min
.72 min

8. Why Does This Matter
• What does 1 minute of downtime represent.
– 650 * 6 = 3,900 Crayons per Shift
– 3,900 * 3 = 11,700 Crayons per Day
– 11,700 * 5 = 58,500 Crayons per Week
– 58,500 * 52 = 3,042,000 Crayons per Year!
–3,042,000 * 43 =
130,806,000 Crayons per Year!!!!

9. What Makes a Productive Labeler?
 Troubleshooting problems quickly and
effectively
 Pay attention to their surroundings
 Anticipate Downtime
• Label Roll Changes
• Daily Preventative Cleaning
• Main Hopper Level too Low

10. 3) Label Roll Changes (5.86 min/shift)
 Average: 39 seconds, approx. 9 per shift
 Be Prepared!!! Things you can do prior to Roll Change:
• Have Splices
Ready
• Pre-cut the next
roll
• Clear your run off

11. 3) Label Roll Changes (cont.)
 Be in Position when the roll runs out.
•Make a nice clean
cut
•Make sure the splice
is secure

12. Preventative Cleaning?
 A clean machine is a happy machine
• Remove Roller Wraps – Check before every Label
Roll Change
• Clean Cutter – At least every other Label Roll
Change

13. 3) Label Roll Changes (cont.)
 Restart the Labeler right away!!
• Reheat Heater (Average: 38s)
• Great Opportunity to:
1)Box Crayons
2)Remove old Label Roll
3)Put new Roll on the wheel

14. 4) Remove roller Wraps (3.88
min/shift)
 Use your best judgment
 If possible perform while the machine is already down
• Main Hopper Crayon Level too Low
• Label Roll Change
• Color Change
 One roller wrap leads to a Few roller wraps which
leads to MANYroller wraps

15. 5) Main Hopper Crayon Level too
Low (2.83 min/shift)
 3 Causes
1. Smashing and Missing Crayons in the In-feed Hopper
2. Labeler Speed exceeds Mold speed by too much
3. Restart Machine while Back Hopper is too low
• Wait for the Main Hopper to fill half way.
• Exception to the Rule:
• 10 minutes of label left on the roll

16. 2) Daily Preventative Cleaning (8.63
min/shift)
 Performed with the first hour of each shift
• Floater should always be available to help
• Makes YOU responsible for how well your labeler
will run!!
• Eliminate End of Shift Idle time

17. Daily Preventative Cleaning (cont.)
 Things you can do prior to the Daily Preventative Cleaning:
• Empty Rejected
Crayons
• Empty Water Pan • Clean Crayon Run

18. Daily Preventative Cleaning (cont.)
 Communication is key!!!
• Floater initiates the daily cleaning
• Let the Molder know you are ready to start
• Communication Error
• Operator shouldn’t have to wait for the molder or
vice versa
• Sync all three processes to eliminate unnecessary
idle time

19. Daily Preventative Cleaning (cont.)
 Molder should start cleaning once the robot stops dropping
crayons
 Operator starts cleaning the
In-Feed Hopper once the
last crayon transfers to
the Main Hopper
 Operator Cleans the guard
and scrape the built up
residue off of the hopper

20. Daily Preventative Cleaning (cont.)
 Don’t let the main hopper run all the way out!
 Manually place remaining crayons in a box

21. Daily Preventative Cleaning (cont.)
 Operator places the Two Wheels and Main Hopper
Guard on the desk for the Floater to clean
 Operator-scrapes Hoppers, Floater-Cleans the Wheels

22. Daily Preventative Cleaning (cont.)
• After reassembling the Hoppers, Replace the Crayons
• Communicate to the Molder that the Hoppers are
ready to be filled

23. Daily Preventative Cleaning (cont.)
• Operator can go check the filter
• Floater should be finishing up the inside

24. Conclusion
 Minutes matter and seconds add up
 Anticipation and Preparation is the easiest
way to a successful shift
 You truly are the X – factor.
 Thanks for listening!

25. What Now?
• Preventative Cleaning will be performed
within the 1st hour.
• Floater will initiate the cleaning
• Communicate to the molder the start of the
process
• Follow Preventative Cleaning Procedures
• Anticipate your label roll changes
• Be Prepared!!

26. Any Questions?