Amid the wave of intelligent transformation in the manufacturing industry, Zhejiang Gu'anli Technology Co., Ltd., as a leader in precision press and high-speed press fields, achieved total annual sales exceeding 600 million RMB and maintained the top market share for precision presses in China. To deeply tap the potential of existing production equipment and reach peak efficiency, the company recently formally signed a cooperation agreement with Alps System Integration (hereinafter referred to as "Alps Smart Manufacturing").

With 30 years of deep expertise in smart manufacturing and lean production, Alps Smart Manufacturing precisely addressed the core issues Gu'anli faced in its complex production environment spanning two locations, three factories, and over 60 pieces of equipment: inability to monitor equipment status in real time and low efficiency in on-site response to production anomalies. By applying the equipment status monitoring system and Andon system of the Alps Dynamic Smart Lean Factory Cloud Platform, they significantly improved equipment OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) and strongly promoted Gu'anli's step toward lean equipment management across multiple plants. Leveraging the unique advantage of being "small, fast, light, and precise," the entire deployment required zero modifications and no downtime, achieving rapid go-live within just one week.

Gu'anli Equipment Management System Project Acceptance

Equipment Status Monitoring System: Real-Time Monitoring to Improve Equipment Utilization

Equipment utilization rate is a key indicator of factory productivity and efficiency. In past operations, Gu'anli encountered a core problem: across its three production bases in two cities, it had deployed a range of precision high-end equipment including machining centers, CNC lathes, CNC drilling machines, boring and milling centers, gear milling machines, large gantry machining centers, and gantry surface grinders. However, when managers conducted on-site inspections, they often found some equipment idle without being able to accurately determine the specific reasons for the downtime. This lack of real-time data support led to low equipment utilization and declining productivity, thus an effective solution capable of real-time monitoring and analysis of equipment operating status was urgently needed.

Gu'anli Factory

To break down information silos between production, management, and other links, Gu'anli launched the equipment status monitoring system of the Alps Dynamic Smart Lean Factory Cloud Platform based on the actual conditions and needs of its plants. This system uses a self-developed low-cost equipment status collection terminal to accurately determine whether equipment is running, idle, or in standby, and analyzes the specific causes of these conditions, providing production personnel with complete data support to precisely grasp equipment operating status and utilization. After implementing the equipment status monitoring system, Gu'anli's production capacity increased by 40%, improving production efficiency and overall equipment utilization.

Gu'anli Deploys Equipment Status Monitoring System

Andon System: Instant Anomaly Detection and Rapid Resolution

Due to Gu'anli's large production area, when an anomaly occurred at a production station or line, the distance between the problem location and the responding personnel could be hundreds of meters or more, making it impossible to quickly notify the relevant personnel for handling. The Andon system of the Alps Dynamic Smart Lean Factory Cloud Platform successfully solved the problem of notifying about 4 types of frequent anomalies (mechanical, electrical, equipment, and personnel anomalies) at 51 key stations by equipping them with SS-10 series button devices.

Gu'anli Factory

When any anomaly occurs on the production line, the system automatically alerts and precisely notifies the responsible person. This rapid response mechanism greatly shortens equipment downtime and reduces losses caused by production interruptions. Personnel from relevant departments (such as quality and maintenance) can learn the specific cause of the abnormal downtime at the first moment, allowing them to take precise actions to ensure smooth production flow and stable product quality.

SS-10 Series Button Device

After deploying the products, Gu'anli stated: "The equipment status monitoring system and Andon system provided by Alps Smart Manufacturing are highly aligned with our actual production site needs. This cooperation has truly let us feel the tangible benefits brought by Alps Smart Manufacturing's solutions."

In the current highly competitive market landscape, lean production and equipment management optimization are indispensable for manufacturing companies to maintain sustainable development and a leading position. The cooperation case between Alps Smart Manufacturing and Gu'anli fully demonstrates that in the process of promoting smart manufacturing among SMEs, the key lies in basing on actual application scenarios and accurately identifying business bottlenecks and pain points. For SMEs, what they urgently need are products that can quickly solve on-site problems, feature "small, fast, light, and precise" characteristics, are easy to operate, low-risk, and have low entry barriers, thereby smoothly achieving the strategic goal of digital transformation.