OSTP Finland’s factory in Jakobstad operates around the clock, seven days a week. The company’s products are durable even in the most demanding environments, and quality has always been the cornerstone. The company, founded in 1949, has seen both good and challenging times and learned that change is not bad, but always necessary. Its innovative attitude is particularly visible in digital development, which has both management support and a strategy. “Our products help build a better future, and in the green transition they are needed practically in every industry. Stainless steel is a 100% recyclable and durable material”, says OSTP Group’s CIO Anders Brännbacka.
OSTP constantly wants to improve its efficiency and sustainability with the use of data and systems thinking. With Insta, the next steps were concretized.
Together from ideas to digitalization
OSTP Jakobstad and Insta worked closely together, also involving the production staff to success. The work covered four parts, including building of a dashboard, improvement of the final processing of stainless-steel pipes, introduction of a user interface to collect data on the manual work as well as a review of plans to make sure there were synergies between the current and upcoming improvements.
The first step was to build an OEE dashboard to monitor the overall efficiency of production. The dashboard offers reliable statistical data on production, which can be used for operational daily steering and to develop aspects such as quality, production efficiency and maintenance operations.
Next, the development was focused on collecting data from the final processing of stainless steel pipes. This is a multiphase and partly manual stage, including work such as moving around the components. In other words, its overall efficiency depends on the work done by people, and the end result is affected by numerous variables that the system cannot measure by itself. Concurrently, it’s essential to get enough data from all the process stages, including the manual work. The improvement of the work phase and thus the entire process was achieved using Six Sigma, a systematic data-based quality improvement methodology.
To cover the manual aspects Insta introduced a user interface for production employees, which allows them to report information about work performance in the system. The challenge of the user interface was to adapt it to a demanding industrial environment. The concept, being piloted in a Business Finland development project, was productized by a UX designer at Insta, who carefully listened to OSTP’s employees’ needs and ideas.
Automation that helps the team perform
Now, OSTP Finland gets a clear overview. By measuring the overall efficiency of production and taking the right development measures, speed, continuity, quality, and safety can be optimized . The process time is controlled by an algorithm that constantly learns from data and optimizes process parameters without compromising quality.
The data platform visualizes a comprehensive situational picture from the information collected. This enables an analysis of production and continuously provides more information to support decision-making, both in strategic management and everyday work.
The platform lays the foundation for intelligent automation, including several out-of-the-box features for collecting, processing, storing, and visualizing production data. Big initial investments were not needed, and the start-up was quick. The solutions meet OSTP Finland’s real needs because the staff has been involved in the development from the beginning.
“With Insta, we’ve been able to strengthen our capabilities with data by making the people and machines work together. Insta is a reliable partner that understands our strategy and business and helps us develop in the long term. Most importantly, we share a common mindset and goals”, says Brännbacka.
What is it all about?
OSTP Finland Oy, part of the OSTP Group, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of stainless welded process pipes and pipe parts. The company’s products are used in many different industries around the world, with the main market located in Scandinavia and Europe.
The company’s values are safety, quality, sustainability, responsiveness, reliability, and innovation. They are also lived up to, as the skills and management of the personnel are constantly being developed. OSTP Finland has recognized the strategic importance of digitization and designed an effective roadmap, divided into smaller and logically progressing parts. Instead of localized development, the focus is on the overall picture.
Insta helped OSTP Finland implement the OEE measurement system, the Six Sigma process improvement methodology, an industrial data platform, and the user interface for analyzing manual production data, together with the data produced by the automated process. This is how the vision of the world’s most efficient and sustainable industrial company is made real.
