Category: Data Science

Manufacturing Workforce Transformation
Data Science

How Pushing Data Tools to the Shop Floor Transforms Your Workforce

Several years ago, I was working in a large dairy manufacturer’s control room, helping implement our product. We were observing the manufacturing process running, when they had an unexpected stoppage on a production critical-asset. While several employees rushed to address the issue on the shop floor, I noticed a shift supervisor copying down some notes in a small notebook. I asked her what she was writing down. She explained that she tried to keep track of a specific in-line quality reading at the point in time when this particular asset failed. She was performing a manual and basic form of data analytics and continuous improvement.

Looking back on this simple interaction, I realized this moment told a compelling story. The shift supervisor was improving and transforming her job skills, creating a mini-database and mental models for analyzing correlations between quality readings and asset failures. This capability is not in the job description of shift supervisors.

Why Algorithms Alone Are Not Enough
Data Science

Why Algorithms Alone Are Not Enough

The ability to determine the root cause of defect creation, the frequency of unplanned downtime, the factors causing machine malfunctions…