March 5, 2007
WinSPC Software Used For Net Weight Control Program At One Of North America’s Largest Manufacturer of Snack Food Products
SOUTHFIELD, Mich.-March 5, 2007-DataNet Quality Systems (DataNet), manufacturer of WinSPC® and QualTrend® quality improvement software, announced today that a $4 billion snack food company successfully completed a 14-plant installation of WinSPC software. This finalizes phase one of the company’s net weight project, which began in December 2005 and wrapped-up in February 2007 with the launch at its flagship factory.
WinSPC was purchased in 2005 to replace the company’s legacy program for product net-weight control. Phase one included the launch of WinSPC at 14 plants in Canada and the U.S.A., on-site training for administrators and operators, device support for scales and other packaging equipment, and custom reporting for shift efficiency, management summaries, and packaging throughput. DataNet’s solution delivery team supported the company throughout the project by providing supplemental consulting, programming, configuration, installation and training services.
The Company’s objective is to track the net weight of every product. Critical decision-making factors for selecting WinSPC was its ability to manage tare weights according to the company’s established procedures and WinSPC’s easy integration with a variety of scales and weighing devices. This was accomplished through a combination of existing product features and some custom programming using standard API’s (Application Programming Interfaces). To speed implementation, DataNet’s application engineers created a plug-and-play device to configure the various scales and weighing devices across the 14 facilities.
Another critical component of the project was to monitor, in real-time, product weights against Maximum Allowable Variation (MAV) for facilities in the U.S.A. and the T1/T2 set points in Canada. The ability to report data using country-specific limits was critical to the implementation. WinSPC provides real-time process feedback by identifying and alerting appropriate personnel of any violations. After its completion in February, the project was nominated for, and won, the company’s coveted internal excellence award.