Samsara > Case Studies > Meridian Brick Partners with Samsara to Enhance Production Efficiency with Real-Time Data

Meridian Brick Partners with Samsara to Enhance Production Efficiency with Real-Time Data

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Customer Company Size
Large Corporate
Region
  • America
Country
  • United States
Product
  • Samsara Manufacturing Analytics
  • Samsara HMI Interface
Tech Stack
  • Real-Time Analytics
  • Cellular Connectivity
  • Automatic Downtime Logging
Implementation Scale
  • Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
  • Productivity Improvements
  • Cost Savings
  • Customer Satisfaction
Technology Category
  • Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
  • Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
  • Networks & Connectivity - Cellular
Applicable Industries
  • Construction & Infrastructure
Applicable Functions
  • Process Manufacturing
  • Quality Assurance
Use Cases
  • Predictive Maintenance
  • Machine Condition Monitoring
  • Factory Operations Visibility & Intelligence
Services
  • System Integration
  • Software Design & Engineering Services
About The Customer
Formed in 2016 with the merging of Boral Bricks and Forterra Brick, Meridian Brick is a leading manufacturer of sustainable building products and construction materials in North America. Meridian Brick builds on the two companies’ histories of innovation while expanding its catalog to over 1000 products targeted towards residential and commercial use cases. With a supply chain that spans from raw material extraction to finished brick, the company understands the importance of accurate, real-time data in driving efficiency in its operations. As the largest manufacturer of brick and masonry products in North America, Meridian Brick partners with Samsara to improve production efficiency with automatic downtime tracking and OEE analytics.
The Challenge
When a single hour of downtime at Meridian Brick costs thousands of dollars in lost revenue, having the most accurate downtime data is critical for the company’s bottom line. David Peters, Meridian Brick’s Director of Technical Services, is on a mission to improve operational efficiency, and knows that accurate production data is the first step in knowing what to improve. The most challenging part of their manual data logging process was never having accurate times. All of the 30-second downtimes that went unlogged ended up becoming death by a thousand papercuts. With Samsara, the impact of real-time analytics on uptime, throughput, and scrap rate that can be accessed from any device has been immediate. The data is way more accurate than what was possible with a manual system. They noticed, for example, that a significant amount of downtime was occurring at a particular plant due to raw material loading, something which wasn’t apparent in their manual data before. Accurate downtime logging has empowered David and the plant managers to make more informed decisions around processes, resourcing, and capital expenditures in order to improve production performance.
The Solution
Samsara first appeared on David’s radar during a quarterly best practices review where the plant manager for their Phenix City facility shared insights on using Samsara sensors for monitoring dryer temperatures. After further conversations, David realized Samsara’s Manufacturing Analytics solution, with its automatic downtime logging and flexible connectivity options, was a great answer to their most immediate data challenges surrounding inaccurate manual data. They had explored other solutions in the past, but they either didn’t have the connectivity options for their facilities or were priced for much larger enterprises. Samsara offered a compelling feature set at a price point that made it a no-brainer. Unlike other solutions - which required Wi-Fi access and created broader corporate concerns around network privacy - Samsara was able to provide the Manufacturing Analytics solution entirely through cellular signal, allowing for fast and secure deployment to get the system up and running. The plant managers for Meridian Brick’s Columbia and Augusta facilities quickly saw the value of Samsara Manufacturing Analytics as well, and both sites were able to self-install Samsara with minimal support. Samsara’s ease of use has made it an instant hit on the production floor as well. Operators at the Columbia facility were able to start and stop runs, enter downtime reasons, and view production progress through the Samsara HMI interface with zero training. Compared to the hours of manual work previously needed each week to log data, input the data into spreadsheets, and create customized reports, adding new products or shift schedules could be done in the Samsara dashboard in just a few clicks.
Operational Impact
  • REAL-TIME DATA provides insights into downtime, throughput, and yield.
  • EASY-TO-USE HMI enables floor operators to quickly add downtime reasons to unplanned downtime for better issue diagnosis.
  • REMOTE VISIBILITY enables teams to view and respond to the latest performance metrics from any location.
  • EASY-TO-INSTALL solution kit means going from unboxing to live data in less than 30 minutes.
Quantitative Benefit
  • Significant reduction in downtime due to accurate logging.
  • Immediate impact on uptime, throughput, and scrap rate.
  • Cost-effective deployment with minimal support required.

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