SABIC Innovative Plastics Selects Proficy Workflow From GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms to Improve Work Processes and Drive Leaner Production

GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, a unit of GE Enterprise Solutions, announced that SABIC Innovative Plastics is implementing the company’s breakthrough work process management software system, Proficy® Workflow in its Lexan factory in Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands. SABIC Innovative Plastics will use the system to connect and organize people and work processes to drive Lean production initiatives – easing decision making on the plant floor and reducing costs.

SABIC Innovative Plastics works around the globe and around the clock, offering innovative solutions to design needs in virtually every manufacturing arena. The Lexan factory in The Netherlands produces more then 2 million kilograms of plastics per week serving various industries, e.g. automotive, construction sheets, mobile phones and medical appliances.

“Work Process Management from GE will help us do the required jobs in the right sequence and in the correct anticipated time – which coincides directly with our Lean production initiatives,” said Peter Bobbe, Process Availability Leader and Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt for SABIC Innovative Plastics in The Netherlands. “With Proficy Workflow, we can streamline production and continuously improve every work process, reducing waste and costs.”

Proficy Workflow helps production teams find and eliminate waste faster and easier by making sure best practices become standard practice. The system enables Electronic Work Instructions to guide operators through proper production steps and take automatic Corrective Action. SABIC will be able to electronically and interactively manage work processes and compliance, ensuring proper completion of all work process steps. In addition, the software facilitates analyzing processes to develop new best practices for continuous improvement and quickly deploying and monitoring them.

“At GE, we have a long heritage of Lean and digitization,” said Greg Millinger, Product General Manager for Proficy Workflow. “Proficy Workflow packages this experience to help companies react to change and leverage their best practices in a repeatable way across their enterprise. When every worker is your best worker, then you truly have a sustainable advantage.”

As a Work Process Management software system, Proficy Workflow enables power users and domain experts to digitize manual and automated processes with one tool – capturing process, traceability and quality data across systems to reduce errors, waste and delays. Companies can manage by exception, orchestrate production and achieve event-based, data-driven results. Built on the Proficy SOA platform, Proficy Workflow also is third-party extensible and enables composite solutions, enhancing the value of existing MES, HMI and ERP systems. At SABIC, Proficy Workflow will communicate with the plant’s existing Proficy Plant Applications from GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms.

Work Process Management systems like Proficy Workflow, support Lean efforts in the following ways:

• Graphically define and document work processes—making it much easier to start the lean journey
• Find and eliminate the non-value add activities more quickly and easily
• Execute work processes through a controlled, electronic system—ensuring that processes are followed
• Improve processes in real time—not “after the fact”
• Automatically capture, store and analyze production data—closing the loop for continuous improvement
• Digitize the control plan and its execution
• Keep process improvements consistent, so projects keep adding value

“While Proficy Workflow monitors and manages execution of work processes, supervisors can also navigate the system’s higher-level views,” Bobbe said. “Supervisors can view all of the workflows running within the system, assess performance, determine and deploy a new best practice as standard work, generate reports, and more. By using Proficy Workflow, the loss of time due to incorrect decisions will be reduced to a minimum – and we’ll have better asset utilization and FTE efficiency and therefore a leaner organization.”

For more information: www.gefanuc.com/workflow.

About GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms

GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, a joint venture between General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) and FANUC LTD of Japan, is an experienced high-performance technology company and a global provider of hardware, software, services, and expertise in automation and embedded computing. We offer a unique foundation of agile, advanced and ultra-reliable technology that provides customers a sustainable advantage in the industries they serve, including energy, water, consumer packaged goods, government & defense, and telecommunications. GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms is a worldwide company headquartered in Charlottesville, VA and is part of GE Enterprise Solutions. For more information, visit www.gefanuc.com.

About GE Enterprise Solutions

GE Enterprise Solutions elevates customers' productivity and profitability with integrated solutions using sensors and non-destructive testing; security and life safety technologies; power system protection and control; and plant automation and embedded computing systems. Enterprise Solutions' high-tech, high-growth businesses include Sensing & Inspection Technologies, Security, Digital Energy, and GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms. The business has 17,000 problem-solving employees in more than 60 countries around the world.

Proficy is a registered trademark of GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.