Riding high on the Internet of Things or the IoT space, Ricoh India Ltd. a global provider of Imaging Solutions & IT Services, has unveiled its IoT driven fully automated real time shop-floor productivity tracking & monitoring solution ‘RAMP’.
The new solution from Ricoh will transform the shop-floor/factory transaction reporting and will enable manufacturing companies achieve higher productivity by connecting shop-floor to the top floor through real time monitoring and reporting of machine performance, productivity, downtimes, production output, etc.
The solution will bring a lot of relief to the manufacturing sector in India, where the most crucial part, i.e. the shop-floor is still isolated from the rest of the IT network in the organization. Due to this, the most crucial shop floor data on production quantity and man-machine utilization, etc. is manually collected and compiled, that is made available the next day, and is often inaccurate or doctored , resulting in poor decision making.
Most of the CXOs are unable to monitor progress of productivity initiatives and processes. The complexity increases when there are diverse machines with mix of new and legacy technologies that are big impediment for any IT enablement on the machines.
‘RAMP’ also known as Real-time Automated Machine Productivity system is going to change all of the above, as it provides for an off-the-shelf hardware for data capture that connects directly to machines like CNC, Heavy Presses, Injection Moulding Machines, Textile Machinery, etc. and capture signals on production & productivity, and a fully customizable reporting software for providing standard or customized reports on any device viz. desktops, laptops, hand-held, etc. Reports on critical parameters like hourly parts count, machine down time, Total Predictive Maintenance (TPM) parameters like – OEE, Availability of Machine (A), Performance Efficiency (P), Quality Rate (Q), and Maintenance Reports like – Downtime, Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), Mean Time to Repair (MTTR), etc. are provided real-time, and are made available on email, desktop or web. The solution also provides for the email or sms alerts on critical events like production shortfall, high rejection rates, critical machine breakdown, operator absenteeism, etc.
Further, the solution is going to provide a host of benefits to the manufacturing companies like tracking of production quantity, improved machine availability, enhanced operator productivity & efficiency, stream-lined shop-floor transaction reporting, tracking & improving, OEE, etc.
Speaking on the occasion, Manoj Kumar, MD & CEO, Ricoh India said, “RICOH India always believes in providing tailor-made solutions for core issues & needs of our customers. A recent global survey revealed that 38% of top 50 global manufacturing executives define their biggest problem as “Poor visibility into the shop floor”. As a result of this poor visibility, many of them faced poor productivity leading to poor profitability. RICOH’s solution RAMP will make sure that visibility of the shop-floor meets vision at the top floor. I strongly believe, that for a manufacturing company, real money is made in the shop-floor, and shop-floors are the islands of information that are extremely critical to the businesses. RAMP will make sure that these shop-floors are no longer isolated from the rest of the IT network. Making most innovative solutions at affordable prices is always at the fore-front for RICOH, and launch of this innovative yet affordable solution is another step in the same direction. Ricoh’s innovative product and solutions has helped the company to achieve 1637 cr. turnover in financial year 2014 with astounding 50%+ growth for last 4 years.
“With this announcement Ricoh looks forward to bring more innovative products and solutions to its customers in the near future. Ricoh’s uniqueness does not only differentiate Ricoh from its competitors, but is also helping the company achieve its vision to be the most trusted brand with irresistible appeal in the Indian market”, added Manoj Kumar.
