How Nobian Avoided €980k in Losses with Short Interval Control

In this case study, Nobian partnered with Cyzag to tackle the challenge of preventing raw material losses. Utilising our digital platform, they identified an unexpected increase in raw material consumption, avoiding losses equivalent to €980k/year.

The Challenge

One of the significant challenges facing modern manufacturing is the lack of real-time visibility into asset and raw material efficiency. Raw material consumption and asset efficiency are typically tracked weekly or monthly, leaving no room to recover losses.

Another hurdle is visualising consumption without context. Operators often combine various spreadsheets, DCS screens, and MES displays to establish correlations between production rates, consumption, and process variables. This manual process proves to be both arduous and time-consuming.

The Solution

Short Interval Control (SIC) is a key operations process for driving production improvements and reducing losses. It prompts operators to ask three main questions about their process every one or two hours:

• What has happened?

• What is happening now or will happen soon?

• What information is required to make decisions?

The success of the SIC process relies on accurate, timely data that users can analyse swiftly. Specifically, data must be available concurrently to all users in real-time, contextual, and accessible in a single source for analysis. Introducing the Cyzag platform provided operator focus, enabling plant operators to:

• Visualise their process performance using a single tool rather than multiple spreadsheets, DCS screens, and MES displays.

• Track efficiency in real time rather than daily.

• Overlay consumption data with critical process information in the same display.

• Receive alerts when key efficiency parameters exceed operating limits.

This real-time visibility allowed operators to react immediately to variations, avoiding losses by addressing issues proactively rather than reacting after an event. For instance, Image 1 illustrates how our digital platform identified an unexpected increase in raw material consumption while the production rate remained constant.

Image 1 – Preventing raw material losses at Nobian within the Cyzag platform.

The operators spotted the change in raw material consumption immediately, and the issue was raised with engineering. While engineering worked on the root cause of the issue, operators focused on managing the process in fine detail to stop the losses.

The Result

The immediate result of these capabilities was significant savings at the plant. The Cyzag platform encourages Short Interval Control to drive production improvements by providing critical contextual data and fostering a collaborative environment. In this specific case, leveraging the Cyzag solution helped operators identify substantial overconsumption, preventing losses equivalent to €980k/year.

Beyond quantifiable results, the Cyzag platform provided operators with tools to actively participate in solving process issues. Over time, operator engagement transformed into operator ownership, contributing to the long-term success of the solution.

Want to learn how Cyzag’s platform can work for your manufacturing plant?