Heidelberg launches tool to analyse production trends

Heidelberg hopes to help its customers to improve their efficiency and profitability through the implementation of lean manufacturing by introducing a new tool into its latest generation of press consoles.

The Prinect Press Center can analyse and display running details, including percentage of productive time, running speed and proportion of good sheets produced, to help firms analyse the production trends of their presses and to improve performance.

"The continuous improvement mindset has reached printers," Jürgen Rautert of Heidelberg's Engineering and Manufacturing arm said. "Until now the tools needed were handmade and cost extra.

"In Press Center, now we have the flat screen, we can extract information and show how productive a press has been."

In time, the firm plans to extend the tools to include comparisons with historic data, other presses in the same factory or even industry averages if firms will share their data.

Heidelberg's stand is in Halls 1 and 2 at Drupa.