P-MAP

A structured approach to identifying and transferring best practice

Are certain plants in your group performing better than others? Have you uncovered why and shared that knowledge?

Does your organisation manufacture the same products at several locations around the world, and does every location do it differently? If you could find a way to capture exactly who is doing what, you could share the best ideas amongst the group, standardise your operations and save money.

There’s a way to do this without endless meetings and travel

We have developed the P-Map process to help companies such as yours share best practice quickly and efficiently. We provide a framework so the time you spend gathering information is minimised, and you can spend more time actually improving your processes and saving money.

The P-Map knowledge transfer solution: the process

The P-Map process involves two of our engineers spending time with the people involved in your manufacturing operations. We’ll build the P-Map structure based upon your processes, and then we’ll train everyone involved in the data capture. The specially-designed software is then mounted on your intranet to be accessed 24/7 by the people you choose. Manufacturing process data can be added remotely and comparisons made between locations.

The P-Map knowledge transfer solution: the software

The first level of the P-Map software consists of a matrix with the axes defined as the process stages and the plant locations. The matrix is populated with buttons to show which process operations are performed by each plant.

Level 1: Process stages and plant locations

Behind each button there is a schematic diagram of the process stage with the process ‘steps’ (variables) labelled. We call this Level 2.

Level 2: Overview Level for the hot rolling stage

Detailed information is recorded behind each process step on the schematic diagram. There is a description of the step, how it is executed and why. This is Level 3.

Level 3: Step detail for exit temperature at the hot rolling stage

The software makes it possible to make comparisons between plants by using the ‘Compare Locations’ option at the top of the page. This can highlight differences in operating practices across the plants and is an important first step towards the development of best practice.

This is a simplified description of a P-Map. In fact, that’s a lot more to say about it. However, we’d rather explain the detail of the P-Map process to you in person, and we’ll demonstrate the software and share case studies with you too. Please drop us a line and we’ll come and see you.