Clean with Care: How WaterWipes Scaled Production with Real-Time OEE and Quality Management

WaterWipes was founded in Ireland by Edward McCloskey after his newborn daughter suffered from bad nappy rash, and he could not find a baby wipe free of chemicals or ingredients too harsh for her sensitive skin. He created his own wipes, and years later, under the WaterWipes brand, that labor of love became a staple in homes worldwide, marketed as the world's purest baby wipes.

With a consistently expanding customer base, the WaterWipes production team struggled to meet surging demand. Running two lines at 60 packs per minute, OEE capped at around 40 to 50 percent. An existing OEE point solution required operators to manually input data, leaving more than 10 percent of operator time unaccounted for. When two more lines were added and output increased to 120 packs per minute, OEE began to decrease. With minimal room for additional infrastructure, the team needed a real-time manufacturing operations management (MOM) platform that would work with existing machinery.

WaterWipes partnered with Parsec Automation LLC certified partner Cimlogic to deploy TrakSYS as a more robust MOM solution. Cimlogic provided Kepware connectivity along with support for solution building and configuration, communicating effectively with the WaterWipes team throughout, including during COVID restrictions when all resources were remote and local support on the ground was limited.

‍

After implementing TrakSYS and capitalizing on new production efficiencies, WaterWipes added a fifth production line. TrakSYS provided actionable insight into the new line's performance from day one, and with all lines viewable in one location, the platform established a picture of business-wide OEE that let production teams work toward consistently increasing production goals. With production efficiencies in hand, WaterWipes and Cimlogic have already begun planning the next phase of the TrakSYS deployment, replacing existing maintenance and utility management solutions with TrakSYS.

• Increased OEE by 5%, putting WaterWipes on track to reach 70% OEE
• Increased operator efficiency by automating data entry
• Helped operators achieve an accurate understanding of KPIs
• Optimized the control of production processes
• Identified opportunities for improvement in order accuracy, downtime usage, and asset distribution
• Improved data collection, aggregation, and analysis