Production with a View
A Look into the Innovative Production Philosophy of Process Analytics
Thirty years ago, the founders of Hamilton Process Analytics were working in a cramped lab in Zurich and they could only dream of the modern production facility that is now enjoyed on a daily basis. Located in idyllic Bonaduz, Switzerland (and featuring a magnificent view of the Swiss Alps and the Rhine Valley), we can’t think of a more inspiring place to continue developing our vision.
Of course, we didn’t start out in such an advanced facility. In the early days of Hamilton Process Analytics (PA), we designed and manufactured our first round of Hamilton pH sensors in a rather improvised way (at least by today’s standards). That is to say, we had a great product, but we didn’t have a great way to build it. From the beginning, it was clear that we couldn’t limit our innovation thinking to the products we sold; we needed to innovate our processes in parallel.
A New Approach – A Process of Continual Improvement
In order to thrive, all divisions of a company should be focused on continuously developing, improving, and innovating. This focus takes dedicated effort from stakeholders at all company levels, backed by a specific framework for validating each strategy. This mentality was the foundation of our emerging PA business unit, which has since developed individual strategies for all of our departments to stay optimally positioned for the future.
Philipp Storchenegger, Head of Production, and Ueli Grünig, Project Leader for LEAN Production, describe a few of the strategies that were designed specifically for the production department:
“Designing future- and customer-oriented production means implementing the most innovative technologies and continuously improving processes while taking into account industry-specific requirements,” explains Storchenegger.
Hamilton puts this into practice using three strategic areas that form the foundation of all production activities at Hamilton PA: employees, the value stream, and of course, the customer benefits. Philipp Storchenegger emphasizes that these three strategic areas must be considered in conjunction. They’re closely interlinked, just like cogs in a machine. Says Philipp, “It’s just like a clock. If even one cog doesn’t spin properly, the face will no longer function.”
As such, it’s crucial to maintain each of these parameters at all times and be ready to adjust when necessary.
Employees
Employees have direct influence on the quality, duration, and cost of production, so employee motivation is critical to success. The factors that influence motivation are many, but there is a clear correlation between active participation in the design of business processes and motivation. As such, Hamilton PA incorporated employee participation into its production workflow early in its development. This would become the backbone of our Continual Improvement Process that has led us to where we are today. “Our Continual Improvement Process gives our employees the opportunity to directly address inefficiencies or wastage in the manufacturing process and to suggest possible solutions,” explains Storchenegger.
This bottom-up approach allows the potential of the entire team to be fully-realized as they are encouraged to identify and improve inefficient processes. Of course, identifying potential for improvement isn’t necessarily intuitive, so we train employees to identify the traits of efficient processes. This allows them to apply their learnings to the processes they know best.
Value Stream
The automotive group Toyota introduced the concept of lean production a few decades ago. Hamilton PA saw the value in this methodology and has gradually implemented it as the standard. We now understand that in order to be able to offer customers the best possible experience – short delivery times and attractive prices – it’s necessary to keep the value stream lean and accurate throughout the entire production process.
Before reaching this understanding, most products were manufactured in a batch process. This meant that process steps needed to be completed on an entire batch before being passed on to the next production stage.
“Batch methods certainly have advantages, but for us, a switch to continuous production was essential,” says Ueli Grünig. “For years now, we’ve been working in one-piece flow wherever possible”.
In the one-piece flow production process, each individual sensor passes through the various production stations on its own (as opposed to in a group or batch).
As soon as one work step is completed, the component is forwarded to the next production stage without needing to wait for the completion of additional components from that batch.
“This approach allows you to achieve the highest possible capacity utilization, prevent idle running, and eliminate activities and equipment that have become redundant,” says Grünig.
Today, only a few short years after the introduction of “Lean Production,” it’s clear to everyone involved that the changeover was a smashing success. Before Lean principles were introduced, readiness to deliver fluctuated strongly. But now, we’re pleased to say that it has been permanently stabilized at a high level. This strongly benefits Hamilton workflows across inventory turnover and productivity. “This changeover also had a direct impact on employee satisfaction,” explains Grünig. “The fact that production is now more evenly averaged over the year means that production employees experience fewer of the dreaded ‘stress peaks’”.
Customer Benefits
In a competitive environment, customers choose the provider that promises the highest overall benefit.
“Our customers, especially in the biopharmaceutical industry, are looking for a supplier that can deliver high-quality products in a short time at an attractive price,” says Storchenegger.
It sounds like a simple goal, but meeting these expectations requires the best possible company structure, with production playing a central role.
Today, Hamilton PA is able to provide its products “just-in-time” due to the implemented reduction of throughput time. This means that production is only commissioned when an order is placed, providing a tight framework that minimizes inefficiency.
“Due to the very short production times, the customer receives the ordered product quickly. This enables us to minimize stock and storage costs, which in turn gives us more flexibility in offering attractive prices,” emphasizes Storchenegger.
The Future of Production Innovation
So, what does the future hold for production in Hamilton PA? Philipp Storchenegger and his team are already working on production innovations that will help the company further explore the benefits of digitalization. This will provide the opportunity to further boost production utilizing business intelligence tools, real-time data optimizations, and automatic product identification to streamline processes.
These are just a few examples of how we’re working towards a digitally-connected enterprise. Despite all of our technical progress, it’s important to note that these advancements won’t replace the value we place on the advancements of our employees. After all, even the most automated technologies and processes are driven by people. Hamilton’s unique production environment is designed to support progress in both our people and in our processes.
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