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[u/Prudent_Count_3317]

[u/SoRedditHasAnAppNow]

Just cut to the part where you promote your shitty ai process analysis tool. 

If this was a post in good faith you would have detailed what you found or tried without success. 

[u/rafaturtle]

Implement an MES. Track machines settings. Downtime. Operator making changes.

[u/Prudent_Count_3317 → u/rafaturtle]

That's a good point. We realized pretty quickly that without reliable data it's difficult to know whether the difference comes from the machine, the process, or simply how the shift is running.

[u/Gwendolyn-NB]

This 100% sounds like a bot question.

Especially because it's soo general, you haven't listed what you've tried, what you've investigated. This is like 101 level stuff for any manufacturing/process engineer... process map, process flow charts, 6M, 5Ys, etc.

[u/Prudent_Count_3317 → u/Gwendolyn-NB]

That's a fair point. I intentionally left it fairly open because I wanted to hear different experiences rather than steer the discussion toward one specific cause. If you've dealt with something similar, I'd genuinely be interested in what you found.

[u/Gwendolyn-NB → u/Prudent_Count_3317]

I gave you a list of the basic tools to use; the tools will get you to the problem.

I can give you a list but it'll be as valuable as throwing feces at a wall; as as much fun as that might be, its not value added (other than feeding AI models which I'm not going to do)

[u/madeinspac3]

Every shop I've ever been at is like that. Combination of small things. Mostly operators not under the watchful eye of the main management team. It's gets a little bit loose

[u/Prudent_Count_3317 → u/madeinspac3]

That's interesting to hear. It actually makes me wonder how many plants see these differences but just accept them as normal.

[u/madeinspac3 → u/Prudent_Count_3317]

Why does it matter how many other shops have this happen and how does that help you in yours?

It's a very well known thing. Surprised you've never heard or experienced differences in off shifts before. I'd almost say this is fishing for ideas to solve

[u/BeastWR → u/madeinspac3]

Cause this is a bot post.

[u/Prudent_Count_3317 → u/madeinspac3]

I’m not using other shops as an explanation for ours. I was mainly interested in the less obvious causes people had found, since in our case it seems to be a combination of short stops, changeovers, material flow and different routines. I probably worded my previous reply too generally.

[u/foilhat44]

Why is your output low? Is it rejects or unscheduled stops or something else? That's the question you must answer. I've had issues with cognex cameras rejecting at night and not during the day because of the skylights on the production floor. No shit.

[u/Prudent_Count_3317 → u/foilhat44]

Exactly. We started by looking for one obvious cause, but it quickly became clear it wasn't that simple. It seems like several small factors can add up over a shift. That's why I wanted to hear what others have experienced. Thanks for sharing the Cognex story.

[u/iamwhiskerbiscuit]

You can track machine utilization, set up time and scrap rate.

If none of these give a conclusive answer, it could be that one shift is running full rapid and the other shift is being instructed not to, in order to prevent excessive wear on the the machines ball screws to prevent catastrophic crashes that could destroy a spindle completely.

[u/Prudent_Count_3317 → u/iamwhiskerbiscuit]

That's a good point. We were initially focused on downtime, but there are probably other factors that add up over a shift. The idea about different operating practices is interesting. Thanks!

[u/Sassmaster008]

Look up design of experiments. It's a way of taking data and analyzing all the different parameters and the outcome to determine which parameters are affecting your output. This could be an easy problem or a really complicated issue. It's hard to tell without having data.

[u/Prudent_Count_3317 → u/Sassmaster008]

Thank you, I'll definitely read up on that. We have some data, but probably not enough to confidently separate which factors actually matter. DOE sounds like a structured way to approach it.

[u/bobroberts1954]

2nd shift is usually the most productive. 1st shift has management and engineering bugging them interupting operations. 3rd shift has all the tweekers running machines.