A Case Study: Digitalising Frontline Operations to Save 2 Hours Per Shift

A leading speciality chemicals manufacturer partnered with Cyzag to digitise shop floor operations, achieving significant efficiency gains: 2 hours saved per shift, elimination of 18 manual data flows, creation of 3 automated flows, removal of 2 redundant digital tools, and better alignment of shop floor activities. This project highlights how engaging frontline operators drives sustainable continuous improvement.

The Challenge

Using the Sustainable Continuous Improvement (SCI) framework, Align, Optimise, Scale, in this use case, Cyzag focused on “Align.”

The platform consolidated tools and workflows, providing:

• A single source of truth for operators

• Logbooks, disturbance entry, recurring task management, and visual KPI/HSE boards

• An idea log for operator suggestions to continuously improve operations

• Incremental updates driven by operator feedback

This streamlined operations, reduced complexity, and empowered operators to take ownership of process improvement.

The Solution

Taking a user-centric approach involving frontline workers in the tool’s development was crucial. Instead of instructing workers on how to use a tool, involving them from the beginning leads to increased engagement and ownership, making the adoption faster and the benefits more sustainable.

Through implementing the Cyzag platform in Nobian manufacturing sites, three powerful statements emerged as guiding principles for the change: Flexibility, Enablement, and Trust:

• Flexibility: Balanced standardisation with autonomy, enabling rapid adoption across multiple sites

• Enablement: Frontline workers explored the platform and built tailored use cases, increasing engagement and ownership

• Trust: Central teams supported users, encouraged collaboration, and simplified processes

The Cyzag platform provided real-time process data, a single source of truth, and contextual information, allowing operators to spot issues immediately and act with engineering support.

The Results

• 2 hours saved per shift (30 minutes per operator)

• Streamlined work processes and improved compliance

• Increased engagement across user groups

• Improved data quality for analysis

• Established a foundation for scaling future CI initiatives

Read the full in-depth case study here.

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