Reducing the impact of variation for consistent quality
De Graafstroom is an independent dairy company that produces Gouda cheese in a region known as the ‘Green Heart’ of the Netherlands.
Overview
De Graafstroom is committed to producing high quality cheese with a perfectly balanced moisture, fat, protein and salt content. As the fundamental ingredient (milk) is a natural product, the variance in its characteristics must be proactively regulated right from the very start of production through to the end product.
De Graafstroom uses QIS as a company-wide resource to monitor production. Right from the very first step in the production process, information is continually gathered and analyzed in order to actively reduce the variances in subsequent stages. Firstly, QIS helps operators to manage the production process. The data enables them to take immediate action in response to the natural variance and react to other causes of variance inherent to any manufacturing process. Secondly, the large volumes of data in QIS are tremendously valuable after the production process. The analysis options provide the basis for further improvements in quality and productivity (Overall Equipment Effectiveness/OEE), and data relating to De Graafstroom’s CSR objective is also visible.
Since its implementation in 2004 De Graafstroom has stepped up its commitment to quality by fully integrating its ERP, MES and QIS information systems. QIS now plays a business-critical role in data collection, the supply of relevant real-time information for quality control purposes, and continuous improvement. All logistically relevant information is gathered from the production process in QIS and subsequently forwarded by QIS ProcessLink to Infor M3.
