From Manual Metrics to Intelligent Insights:

How a Global EMS Manufacturer Transformed SMT Operations with Arch Systems

A leading global electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider deployed Arch Systems’ factory intelligence platform at an Eastern European site to modernize outdated production monitoring practices and accelerate operational improvements. Prior to implementation, production data was collected manually across disconnected systems, leading to delays, inaccuracies, and inefficient team workflows. Within months of adopting Arch’s platform, the site fully automated its OEE calculation and began using real-time insights to drive continuous improvement initiatives across SMT lines.

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Replaced manual Excel + MES processes with real-time, automated data collection
  • Reduced time to prepare daily production meetings
  • Increased confidence in OEE accuracy
  • Enabled targeted Continuous Improvement (CI) projects to reduce downtime and optimize material feeding and line balancing

The Challenge

  • Manual data collection: Production efficiency metrics were calculated by hand, pulling from Excel and MES for cycle time and quality data.
  • Human error and delays: The process was inconsistent and slow, making OEE tracking unreliable.
  • Operational inefficiency: Valuable time was lost in preparing for daily meetings and responding to performance issues reactively.

The Arch Approach

With Arch Systems, our customer:

  • Automated data capture and reporting across SMT lines.
  • Streamlined production meetings by making accurate OEE and downtime metrics available instantly.
  • Integrated insights via Power BI and Grafana dashboards to validate improvements and inform line management decisions.

Key Outcomes

Accurate, Real-Time OEE Metrics

Arch’s platform replaced manual Excel calculations with fully automated OEE computation, improving both confidence and responsiveness in daily operations.

The chart below shows the clear upward trend in OEE after restarting the use of Arch’s platform in production meetings and standardizing data categorization:

Shorter, Insight-Driven Daily Meetings

With data available at any time, production teams can focus on decision-making instead of data wrangling.

Targeted Downtime Reduction

● Using downtime labeling and analytics, the team identified part replenishment as a top downtime driver.

● Observations revealed inefficiencies in EDIF station usage, triggering ergonomic changes and retraining.

● Continuous improvement efforts are underway to reduce reel replenishment time below 2 minutes.

Data-Driven Line Balancing

● Arch Systems’ platform, integrated with Grafana dashboards, enabled the team to analyze line balance percentages and optimize product-to-line assignments.

● Shifted from MES-based cycle time tracking to more accurate SiPlace recipe Cycle Time (CT) reference points for each production run.

Ongoing line balancing analyzing cycle times for each machine.

Strategic Lessons

This customer story exemplifies the benefits of adopting a modern, connected approach to factory intelligence:

  • Real-time data empowers faster, more confident decisions.
  • Targeted analysis of downtime and line balance unlocks measurable improvements.
  • Seamless integration with visualization tools like Power BI and Grafana supports scalable CI efforts.