+Smart Automation. Automating and Optimizing a Book Production Workflow. a case study. Prepared by: David L. Zwang

Transcription

1 +Smart Autmati Autmatig ad Optimizig a Bk Prducti Wrkflw a case study Prepared by: David L. Zwag

2 Autmatig ad Optimizig a Bk Prducti Wrkflw This case study highlights the sigificat imprvemets f a mid- sized, frward- thikig bk ad jural prducti service prvider wh has vercme may f the challeges facig bk priters tday. The cmpay has a rich mix f glbal cliets ad a great gegraphic lcati ad facility, lkig t capture sigificat grwth i the Pacific Rim ad ther regis arud the glbe. Like may cmpaies, it is already well it its trasiti frm Offset t Digital prit prducti techlgy t prepare it t supprt the chagig requiremets f the market. T cmplete the trasiti, supprt its ew equipmet ad prepare fr ew market demads ad pprtuities, the cmpay eeded t re- egieer its prcess ifrastructure t supprt the additial challeges f: Just i time delivery Itegrated cliet supprt services Cmpetitive price pressures Addressig these challeges is mre difficult tha just acquirig ew press techlgy. Strg leadership, a bright ad egaged staff, ad prper guidace frm a eutral, ubiased parter with extesive experiece i evaluatig prducts, prcesses ad implemetig this type f sluti is crucial t a successful utcme. Ad the beefits are sigificat ad gig Cliet s Maual Wrkflw Custmer Desig Iput yes Reestimate? Plaig Schedule Estimatig Plaig Digital Prepress Prep t Spec Nrmalize Prf Iteral QA Prf Apprved? yes Prit Fiish Ship Digital CSR/OE Ope Jb Order Prit Methd? Search/ Retrieve Files File Available? Offset Offset Prepress Prep t Spec Nrmalize RIP/Trap Prf Iteral QA Prf yes Apprved? Impse Prf yes Apprved? Plate Prit Fiish Ship Page 2 f 9

3 Iitial verview f prject ad eeds t address These are the areas we idetified that require iitial atteti. They address the challeges listed abve that face the cmpay tday ad it the future, ad iclude: Gaps i jb ticketig ad autmated wrkflw fuctiality Further trasiti frm Offset t Digital prducti Icreased prductivity ad reduced waste Icreased prcess cectivity with cliets Develpmet f cst- effective prit- - demad services Delivery f ed- t- ed publishig slutis t cliets Gettig frm here t there Whe we audited the plat s curret state, if there were e bservati that wuld capture the sese f the emplyees ad prcesses we reviewed, it wuld be that everye is wrkig much harder tha they really shuld have t, i rder t keep up with the curret ad chagig market requiremets usig their existig tls ad prcesses. This was t a cmplete surprise, sice we see this situati ccurrig i may, if t mst, f the prit service prviders we visit. I this cmpay, while the trasiti frm ffset techlgy ad supprt prcesses t digital had already started, the trasiti really had t kept up with cliet ad market demad. Oe f the mre cmm miscceptis i this type f trasiti is that purchasig a digital press is all that is required t make the trasiti. I reality, buildig the apprpriate prcess supprt ifrastructure first is mst imprtat. Oce that is accmplished, pluggig i ew digital presses r ther types f media ad ctet prducti t the prcess ifrastructure becmes almst a plug ad play perati. Grwig a busiess, ad esurig viability ver the lg term requires that yu t lk tward ptimizig yur systems, expadig yur service fferigs ad becmig a much mre itegrated prcess parter fr yur cliets. This was highlighted i the PRIMIR Trasfrmative Wrkflw study which lked at chagig demads ad pprtuities, ad des a gd jb f framig the way yu ca begi t thik abut yur busiess gig frward. Busiess ad Prducti Data Flw Sice a wrkflw is really abut buildig tuch pits fr a series f peratis, we eeded t lk at the primary cliets f each thse perati: the data flw. There are tw separate parallel, but at times itercected, data streams i a plat wrkflw: prducti data (busiess), ad the prducti files. There ca als be a third if there is variable data ivlved. T achieve maximum success i buildig a frward- facig autmated wrkflw, yu eed t have a sluti that will supprt each f these data streams ad prvide fr the iteracti f the results with the ther data streams as eeded. This requires a pe wrkflw with gd iter- applicati cmmuicati capabilities ad effective, pe applicatis t prcess the data streams. Page 3 f 9

4 Cliet s ew prducti data flw alt XML feed PDF CSR Maual WF Maual Order Etry Custmer XML ad PDF Or Cust ID+PO# ad PDF Web Prtal XML ad PDF Efcus Switch XML PritVis PDF JDF Imp pla with pdf file assigmet Preflight Ultimate Impsiti Schedule Jb Prit PDF PDF Impsed PDF fr Prit File Strage Maagig the prducti data is hadled thrugh this cliet s ERP system. Like the may ther slutis that fall it the categry f MIS/ERP slutis, it is develped t be tightly itegrated withi itself while ffer varyig levels f itegrati t utside systems ad cmpets. The cliet s Nvavisi PritVis ERP system, as with ther prit- cetric MIS systems, uses JDF/JMF t streamlie itegrati with 3 rd party systems. While JDF/JMF ca wrk fairly well, it almst always requires idividual applicati- t applicati (1:1) itegrati ad cfigurati t make it wrk. This is due t the fact that althugh there is a JDF/JMF stadard, each vedr usually has a slightly differet implemetati f the stadard. A cre elemet f the ew market requiremets icludes bridgig cliet ad plat prcesses. This meas we eed t capture ad prperly distribute the prducti rder data ad prducti files it the apprpriate plat systems ad prcesses, while keepig them aliged with each ther. I the case f this service prvider, that icludes the direct igesti f XML r ther rder prducti data it their ERP system frm their custmer s applicatis. This happes thrugh rutig ad direct igesti f the XML prducti data as a part f the prducti file trasfer prcess. Alterately, it happes thrugh a web prtal that autmatically creates the rder i the ERP system. It als requires cmmuicatig the successful acquisiti f the jb t iteral staff, ad t cliets whe desired. Gettig the custmer rder it the ERP system as quickly as pssible allws the plat t mitr ad maage the high vlume f quick- tur rders thrughut the prcess frm a sigle iterface. Virtual Jb Ticket With the icreased vlume f very quick tur bks i quatities as small as e, the jb ticket frm the ERP system eeds t be live, virtual ad lie (t paper), Page 4 f 9

5 ad available t all departmets ad may peratrs ad machies as eeded. This is the ly way t esure that curret ad accurate data is available as yur prducti prcess begis t mve faster ad tward icreased autmati. Plaig/Schedulig Optimizig plat prducti ad maximizig equipmet utilizati is the key t a successful ad prfitable cmpay. Autmatig the prcess f makig the best impsiti decisis ad press chices is e f the primary challeges i the plaig prcess. This cmpay s ERP system has a plaig mdule ad a crrespdig feature t supprt JDF exprt fr impsiti creati. Havig the MIS/ERP system itegrated it the impsiti prcess allws fr tighter prcess ctrl ad facilitates curret ad future fully autmated schedulig based machie ladig ad due date. Prepress Prducti Whe we reviewed prepress prcesses, we fud that they had a very icely ru cvetial prepress departmet. The peratrs are all very experieced, ad they have a premier prepress platfrm, Kdak Priergy. While this cmbiati f experieced peple, gd systems ad prcess cfigurati prvides a strg maual prducti system, ufrtuately it des t fully supprt what their busiess requires at this pit ad i t the future as it ctiues its trasiti t a digital wrkflw. I fact, it t ly csts a lt t maitai this evirmet, it culd t eve begi t hadle the immediacy ad vlume requiremets f the ew bk- f- e fferigs. Cetral Autmati Tl T address these eeds, we istalled Efcus Switch as the hub f the cmpay s prcess autmati. This is a autmated rules- based pipelie sluti that cects varius prducti ad cmmuicati prcesses. It is a scalable, server- based applicati that easily itegrates with ther systems thrugh a umber f built- i features. Switch has supprt fr ibud ad utbud cmmuicati f prducti files, custmer cmmuicati, ad metadata. It supprts the use f cfiguratrs, which are API- drive itegratrs fr certai 3 rd party applicatis. It als supprts the use f ht flders. It icludes a variety f scriptig supprt ptis fr mre advaced wrkflw custmizati. It gave us the flexibility we eeded t custmize the wrkflw t supprt their curret ad future requiremets. Autmated Preflight ad Crrecti Oe f the advatages f autmatig prducti is that yu remve the ptetial f itrducig peratr errr it the prcess. I rder t d that successfully, yu eed t either ctrl the iput creati, which was t practical fr their type f wrk, r have a gd rules- based preflight ad crrecti applicati t autmatically prcess files as they are received. The idea is t remve peratrs frm the prcess t the extet pssible, havig them egaged fr excepti hadlig ly. Page 5 f 9

6 We arrwed the sluti chice t Efcus Pitstp Server, e f the premier applicatis fr rules- based autmated preflight ad crrecti. It itegrates icely with Switch ad is very cfigurable. Settig up preflight prfiles that check icmig files, r acti lists that idetify PDF bjects ad als fix files, is de usig the Pitstp Pr applicati, which the cmpay already had istalled ad was familiar with. Impsiti Autmatig the impsiti prcess was a imprtat part f streamliig the prepress prcess. First we lked at differet appraches fr autmatig impsiti, ad it really came dw t tw chices. D we use the PritVis ERP plaig mdule i cjucti with a separate impsiti applicati, r ru impsiti as a stadale prcess? If we selected a stadale sluti, we wuld eed t select e that had built i plaig features i rder t maximize the level f autmati. Sice PritVis icluded the plaig fucti, ad it was ultimately better t cetralize the crdiati f all prducti, we elected t use the ERP plaig mdule t help drive impsiti. As is the case with itegratig disparate applicatis, usig the ERP plaig mdule with a impsiti applicati added a level f cmplexity, sice we eed t esure that the ERP system seds istructis that the impsiti system uderstads. While we iitially thught that shuld be easy just use JDF i practice, it was t that easy. I fact, tryig t fid a stadale impsiti system that wuld supprt JDF istructis frm the MIS system was a challege i itself. We fially selected the Ultimate O Demad Scalable impsiti applicati, ad it tured ut t be a gd chice. Ultimate wrked with the develpers f the ERP system t esure that the JDF istructis cmig ut f PritVis met the requiremet f its applicati as well as custmers eeds. The autmati features f Ultimate O Demad actually made that task a bit easier, sice it was desiged t be very flexible with page sizes as well as supprt all f the varius impsiti requiremets f a mixed digital ad ffset prducti facility. Due t the vlume f wrk gig thrugh this facility, ad with a view tward establishig a viable grwth path, we selected ODemad Scalable, which allws the additi f as may impsiti egie istaces as eeded t supprt ccurret vlume requiremets. Additially, we fud that its built- i autmati fuctiality allwed us t ru alterate rules- based impsiti withut the ERP plaig data whe ecessary fr sme f the digital prit jbs. Sice the iitial istallati, this fuctiality has imprved sigificatly with the itrducti f a Ultimate ODemad cfiguratr fr Efcus Switch. This allws the establishmet f a variety f Ultimate- based wrkflws regardless f whether r t the ERP plaig system is icluded. Page 6 f 9

7 Offset ad Digital Prit: A Hybrid Apprach The third pressig issue was hw t create a seamless wrkflw that wuld facilitate the mvemet f prducti amg varius ffset ad digital prit platfrms as eeded t supprt cst r timig requiremets. This cmpay s ffset ad digital peratis are e f the mst efficiet ad well maitaied we have ever see. I the ffset departmet, we were amazed at the amut f plate turs they hadle each press per day, althugh that als scared us as well. The ability t d ffset bk cver rus f less tha 100 a regular basis was very surprisig. Hwever, usig ffset pritig fr rus this small affects the cmpay s cmpetitive psiti, exteds the turarud time a mixed ffset ad digital bk, ad is t the best use f the ffset equipmet. We fud that the primary reas the cmpay was usig ffset prit fr cvers was t achieve a gd PMS clr match ad prper ik laydw fr the quality custmers require. The cmpay has assrted digital equipmet frm HP, Xerx ad Oce as part f its digital prducti platfrm. After a review f all f the PMS clrs used bk cvers prited fr the prir year, it was ur impressi that the vast majrity f them culd be hadled with digital equipmet ad a gd clr maagemet system. Sice they are wrkig with s may utput platfrms, it is critical that they implemet clr maagemet thrughut the plat prcesses t esure csistecy f utput ad prducti flexibility acrss devices. We recmmeded settig up CGS ORIS Press Matcher as a clr server. This esured that all clr was prcessed by the same clr egie t each f the idividual device characterizatis. Cliet s Hybrid Press Flw PritVis OCE6250 FX1000 WIP Strage Ultimate Impsiti Efcus Switch HP7500 CTP HP5000 Offset Presses We the created Switch prducti flws that were able t mve the prducti files t the best press, based size, cfigurati, availability ad tur time. Page 7 f 9

8 Cclusis After cmpleti f this highly successful implemetati, the cmpay is w i a great psiti t maximize its prfits ad icrease its grwth by addressig the issues we idetified as well as by reegieerig its prducti ifrastructure ad bradeig its service fferigs. This shuld allw this frward- thikig cmpay t bth supprt curret market demads ad be prepared fr future chages. The primary beefits iclude: Icreasig respsiveess t cliets, ad fr thse cliets i a psiti t itegrate their i- huse systems with thse f the prit prvider, creatig a much tighter relatiship betwee the plat, its custmers ad related prcesses. Reducig prducti labr csts, ad allwig reallcati f existig staff t address excepti prcessig, ad t fcus grwth areas rather tha iteractig with repetitive, - prductive activities. Shrteig cycle times ad decreasig waste. While a ttally lights ut prducti facility is prbably t practical at this pit, the ew wrkflw will brig this cmpay a lg way tward that gal. Miimal capital utlay. Nt ly was the capital utlay required t achieve these results miimal, the ew platfrm shuld achieve fairly quick (mths) retur ivestmet. The implemetati was desiged t have relatively lw impact curret prducti, ad t shw icremetal beefits as implemetati prgressed. Page 8 f 9

9 Ctact Ifrmati Australia 10 Tas Street, Attadale Australia Japa Yamauchi, Kamakura- shi, Japa USA 1543 Alturas Dr. Burligame, Califria Mari St. Dabury, Cecticut Page 9 f 9