The foreman knows which sequence
reduces setup times.
But he retires next month.
Campaign planning, color sequences, setup optimization — most of it lives in people's heads, not in systems. RheoNet translates this knowledge into data-driven decisions. Without changing your MES.
Typical challenges in plastics manufacturing
Five problems every production manager in injection molding and extrusion knows.
Sequence is set by experience — not by data.
The foreman knows: light color first, then dark. Low viscosity first, then high. But this knowledge is not scalable and not fail-safe. When he is absent, guesswork begins.
Scrap creeps up — only visible when it is too late.
Quality drift does not trigger an alarm. It shows up in the complaint that arrives three weeks later. QMS and MES are separate worlds — nobody sees the connection between process parameters and scrap rate.
Semi-finished goods pile up uncontrolled between molding and assembly.
Buffers are not a mistake, they are a symptom: missing coordination between injection molding, painting and assembly. WIP is capital waiting — and nobody knows exactly how much is waiting right now and why.
The dashboard shows 68% OEE. Whether the problem is setup time, scrap or downtime — unknown.
Aggregated KPIs are not a control instrument. They describe the past. What is missing: the breakdown into action-relevant root causes.
Campaign formation happens in people's heads — not in the system.
Which orders can be bundled into a campaign? Which color sequence minimizes purge time? These decisions are made daily — without a data basis, under full time pressure.
How RheoNet helps in plastics manufacturing
Connect
MES + ERP + QMS
Standard exports from your MES, ERP and QMS. No IT project, no migration. First data foundation in days.
Understand
Setup time analysis & quality tracking
Which sequence minimizes setup times? Where does quality drift occur? How is WIP distributed across semi-finished goods?
Decide
Campaign & sequencing recommendations
Data-driven recommendations for setup optimization and campaign formation. Every morning. In the context of today's order backlog.
Measurable results
8–15%
WIP reduction
Less capital tied up in semi-finished goods. Batch control improves coordination between injection molding and downstream stages.
<6 mo.
Payback
Setup time savings + less scrap + lower inventory costs. Calculated conservatively.
2–3 wks
First insights
Rapid Factory Assessment: setup time analysis + top-5 bottlenecks — before a pilot project starts.
"We knew our setup times were too high. But we couldn't say which sequence would actually reduce them — that knowledge lived in the heads of two people."
— Typical feedback from plastics manufacturing
Does RheoNet fit your plastics operation?
20 minutes is enough. We'll show you where the biggest lever is — setup times, WIP or quality drift.
Schedule a call