Redzone is Coming!
by Jared Stumpenhorst
Have you ever thought, “I sure wish that I knew what was going on around here?” or “Was my boss even listening to what I said?” or how about “Is anyone working on that great idea that I had last month?” If the answer is YES to any of these questions then you are not alone. In fact, you could probably add a few more examples without trying too hard. The good news is that we think we have a way to better answer those questions and it is called Redzone. It is a new system that is going to help to capture real-time data about how the plant is running and make it visible to employees at all levels. It is also going to help make sure that employees are no longer left wondering what is going on in the plant by giving them access to peers across all shifts as well as managers at all levels. Redzone does this by making them participants in the process and giving them the knowledge and tools to help solve problems as part of a larger team. It also creates visibility to the same data that is used throughout all levels of the company. It will en- able us all to be on the same playing field when working together to make improvements. That introduction likely prompted more questions than anything so let us try to answer a few… What is Redzone? In general terms Redzone is a continuous improvement system. They have developed a tech- nology for collecting data in real-time from the production floor and presenting it to employees via an application on an iPad or iPhone. However, unlike most data collection systems, they take the next step and not only provide real-time data but also coach employees how to use that data via various structured forums and tools to help drive sustainable improvement on their lines and in their areas. Through these forums and tools, Redzone is able to create an environment where employees across multiple departments and shifts can interact and work together in a way that was never possible before. Why did we choose Redzone? A standard data collection system would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement and at the end of the day most of the time companies are left with more data than they know what to do with. Then to deal with all of that excess data companies end up adding employees to dissect the data in an office somewhere. The problem with that, in case it was not obvious, is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to ever know if you are headed in the right direction because you are constantly processing data instead of engaging with the people that can make a difference. Having a couple of people analyze data in an office does not exactly promote an environment where employees are working together to make improvements. Through the use of iPads on the production floor, Redzone has created a mobile environment that enables teams to be able to come together and solve problems where they need to be solved…on the production floor. Additionally, instead of just dumping a bunch of complex data onto people and then walking away, they have spent a lot of time simplifying how that data is processed. Through coaching and training, they partner with us to develop a structure where our teams of man- agers and employees on the floor can work together to drive improvements. How does Redzone work? Well, to be honest we only know the basics right now. We are certainly not experts since we are still on the path to going live with the system. However, the idea is that through simple input and out- put signals gathered from the equipment the software is able to monitor when a line is running or stopped. It then sends this information to iPads that will be located on every production line. When stopped, for any reason, the app on the iPad prompts operators to enter a reason for why the line is down. While those reasons can potentially get complex, the way that the Redzone app works makes it simple and very intuitive to use. It has been built in a way that feels very familiar by modeling it after a lot of apps that we use every day on our phones and tablets. The software then calculates the data that is entered and provides a variety of data points that employees can use to understand their lines better and help to make better decisions. This decision making process is really at the core of why Redzone is so successful. A coach from Redzone will work with our plant to show employees at all levels how to use the data being collected and structure a daily workflow that will encourage employee engagement and provide a framework to generate sustained results.
6 Crest Ink April, May & June 2017
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