Andrew Loescher

Ultra Tool & Manufacturing Automation Specialist, Ultra Tool & Manufacturing

Ultra Tool & Manufacturing, located in Germantown, Wisconsin, is a privately owned, leading manufacturer of precision metal stamped components. Ultra focuses on quality and repeatability for metal parts and tooling dies. Specializing in stamping and fabrication, the company produces precision metal components that serve the recreational vehicle, automotive, electrical, small engine, military defense and lawn and garden industries. Ultra employs over a hundred employees and has been in business for fifty-five years. 

Supernova Award Category: 
Data to Decisions
The Problem: 

As business success increased, Ultra expanded operations but quickly realized they lacked visibility into the expanding plant floor. With access to minimal plant floor data points, this issue cascaded into a lack of knowledge of machine outputs, how they were performing, or how they should be performing. Additionally, when operators failed to meet expectations, management had no insight to understand what caused those delays.  

Ultra recognized a lack of automation and insight into data at the factory level. These unknown variables caused concerns that the organization was losing out on revenue and failing to reach full efficiency. Ultra calculated that these costs would result in tens of thousands of dollars in manual labor and more than two hundred and forty operating hours each year. 

The Solution: 

Ultra identified Plex’s Manufacturing Execution System Automation & Orchestration (MES A&O) as the possible fix. After analysis, Ultra selected this solution to connect the factory floor to control information flow and processes, adding efficiency, saving costs and eliminating manual errors. For Ultra, the ability to track and gain visibility into its manufacturing process is a highly important capability to increase production. 

Plex’s MES A&O provided a powerful low-code toolset that connected Plex MES, which was already a part of Ultra’s solution arsenal, to the equipment and devices on the plant floor. This allowed for the automation of tasks and orchestration of workflows which eliminated human error and removed manual oversight from Ultra’s workflow. 

The Results: 

Implementing Plex’s MES A&O allowed Ultra to collect real-time machine activity in addition to production outputs and monitoring. This visibility has allowed Ultra to create a color-coded system for machine rates that allows them to quickly identify production delays. 

This visibility now extends to the operator, as well. Ultra now gains access to the operator production rate with MES A&O. It provides such detail that Ultra can now calculate how an operator’s performance impacts annual costs. This insight allows Ultra to compare production rates between operators to verify which production goals can be achieved and which ones are unattainable. Increased attention on operators has opened avenues of training for those on the shop floor. If an individual requires additional training, they are now more easily spotted and addressed. 

Metrics: 

Gaining visibility into machine output has been invaluable for Ultra, saving both time and money. A testament to the immediate benefit of adding on Plex MES A&O, Ultra saved $48,000 in production in their first year of implementation alone. Executives shared that one of their sole focuses of implementing Plex MES A&O was to calculate such savings. Ironically, these savings essentially paid for the implementation of Plex MES A&O. 

Before migrating to Plex, Ultra was spending about 64 hours of manual setup time of production, in excess of their traditional setup times. The Plex solutions give Ultra managers the tools and insights necessary to track, alert and utilize custom screens that visibly display setup times. Due to the breadth of machinery automated with Plex MES A&O, this amounts to $80,000 annual savings with the elimination of non-value-added excess setup. 

The Technology: 

Plex MES A&O functions as an industrial automation and orchestration software suite designed to enhance Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) within a production environment. It achieves this by automating data capture and workflows, while also orchestrating communication and process control between machines and the MES. This integrated approach improves real-time data collection, production accuracy and overall manufacturing efficiency. 

Disruptive Factor: 

Since implementing Plex MES A&O in June 2021, Ultra has experienced a variety of production improvements, including increasing visibility into production and tracking data. 

After starting implementation with just one stamping press, Ultra moved through nine more over the course of a year and upgraded the controls on machines that were old or obsolete. Their implementation of Plex MES A&O went beyond just machines and included training or retraining operators to utilize this new solution.  While this was a major undertaking for Ultra, the implementation was segmented to be as undisruptive of ongoing production as possible.  

Shining Moment: 

Ultra’s current implementation is only the first phase. As they continue to move forward with Plex MES A&O, the plan is to continue automating other areas of the company. Increased visibility has led to better decision-making, and the company believes there are more benefits coming down the road. The newfound visibility has inspired Ultra to update other systems in the company to continue streamlining processes and unify teams across all departments. 

About Ultra Tool & Manufacturing

Ultra Tool and Manufacturing is a precision metal components manufacturer based in Wisconsin with a strong focus on innovation and quality.