What the technician reported
“The blades were taking heavy impacts and the packs were coming out stuck together.”
- Case record
- No. 2
- Date
- Sep 25, 2026
- Machine
- Multipacker 1
- Component
- Blades and anvils
- System / Assembly
- Cross sealing / Jaws
- Attended by
- Mechanic Carlos
How the event translates into indicators
Average of two stoppages on the same machine, despite different causes.
(135 + 55) ÷ 2 = 95 min
- Blades and anvils: 135 min
- Infeed chain: 55 min
+4.2 percentage points
Shift: 480 min. Recorded downtime: 135 min; comparison without searching: 115 min. Performance and quality do not change in this comparison.
(480 − 135) ÷ 480 → (480 − 115) ÷ 480
Closed: Sep 25, 10:15 → next start: Sep 26, 06:50. This is one interval between stops on the same machine, not an average MTBF or a judgment of normal frequency.
The 75 → 55 min comparative cycle and recorded 135 min downtime are different data. Calculated recovery represents avoiding 20 min of searching; results are not guaranteed for other plants.
What those 20 minutes are worth in production
| Indicator | Traditional | ProFACTOR | Reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cycle duration | 75 min | 55 min | 20 min |
| Lost individual packs | 6,000 | 4,400 | 1,600 |
| Lost multipacks | 500.0 | 366.7 | 133.3 |
| Lost boxes | 20.83 | 15.28 | 5.56 |
Assumptions: 80 packs/min · 12 packs/multipack · 24 multipacks/box · 288 packs/box.
Every failure is traced, not just closed
RCA pending: urgent stoppage without analysis. Analyzed: root cause documented. Corrective action may still be in progress.
Legend from the supplied example; same line, machine and cause in the calendar month. No event level is assigned without its recurrence history.
From a worn blade to the root cause
- WHY 1
Why were packs sticking together and the blades taking impacts?
Because the blade and anvil were worn and no longer cut or sealed evenly.
- WHY 2
Why did they reach this level of wear without earlier detection?
Because sealing-system calibration was not checked as frequently as the wear required.
- WHY 3
Why was it not checked that frequently?
Because jaw adjustment was left to each technician’s judgment at shift change.
- WHY 4
Why was it left to individual judgment?
Because technicians did not all have the same experience in calibrating and adjusting sealing systems.
- WHY 5 · ROOT CAUSE
Why did technicians have different adjustment criteria?
Insufficient training for less-experienced technicians.
Corrective action
Schedule training for less-experienced technicians in sealing-system calibration and adjustment.
The same saving, by machine type
| Machine | Speed | Replacement | Traditional | ProFACTOR | Recoverable boxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single jaw | 80 ppm | 10 min | 75 min | 55 min | 5.56 |
| Double jaw | 220 ppm | 30 min | 95 min | 75 min | 15.28 |
| Triple jaw | 360 ppm | 45 min | 110 min | 90 min | 25.00 |
The time saving stays the same; output during those minutes changes. Each traditional cycle combines part replacement with the example’s fixed 65 min.
How the time is saved
The 20-minute saving is the same for all three machines; the repair is not. The technician calibrates, installs and tests the same way in both cycles.
What changes between machines is how much each one produces while stopped for those 20 minutes.
What each column of the table means
- Speed (ppm)
- Individual packs per minute the machine produces while running. It defines how much production is lost per stopped minute: 80, 220 or 360.
- Blade and anvil replacement
- The repair time itself (10, 30 and 45 min). It is the same in the traditional cycle and the ProFACTOR cycle.
- Traditional cycle
- Total stoppage time, from machine stop to normal production again. It includes the replacement, the other steps (65 min in all three rows) and the 20 minutes of management that ProFACTOR removes. It gives 75, 95 and 110 min.
- ProFACTOR cycle
- The same cycle without those 20 minutes: 55, 75 and 90 min.
- Boxes recovered
- The production no longer lost thanks to those 20 minutes. Calculated as speed × 20 min ÷ 288 packs per box (12 packs per multipack × 24 multipacks per box).
| Machine | Calculation | Boxes recovered |
|---|---|---|
| Single jaw | 80 × 20 = 1,600 packs | 5.56 |
| Double jaw | 220 × 20 = 4,400 packs | 15.28 |
| Triple jaw | 360 × 20 = 7,200 packs | 25.00 |
Production lost in the base case (single jaw)
- With the traditional cycle, 75 × 80 = 6,000 packs are lost — 20.83 boxes.
- With ProFACTOR, 55 × 80 = 4,400 packs are lost — 15.28 boxes.
- The difference is 5.56 boxes.
The difference is not repairing faster. It is avoiding lost time.
Production figures are calculated for this specific event; they do not represent a plant average.