Real-time data directly from machines' PLCs means less downtime and more throughput.

Alere, a manufacturer of medical test kits, selected ShopVue to collect accurate, real-time data directly from their machines' PLCs, and to improve communication about what is happening on the shop floor between operators and supervisors, and between shifts.

Here are just a few ways ShopVue has helped Alere:

• Increased Throughput: Six months after implementing ShopVue, Alere
  managers now have a clear picture of machine efficiency. They are able to identify
  process bottlenecks, spot employee productivity issues and make strategic
  decisions that improve throughput up to 300% per shift.
• Improved Maintenance Response: ShopVue now helps Alere respond to
  machine downtime and track maintenance efforts. When a machine goes down,
  ShopVue automatically e-mails managers and mechanics. Mechanics use ShopVue
  machine run, idle and downtime data—along with operator comments—to
  quickly diagnosis and repair problems.
• Less Sampling Waste: Using the audit trail of machine runs and operator
  comments, Alere supervisors were able to improve machine sampling
  accuracy, thereby reducing the need for manually sampling (and wasting)
  extraneous amounts of product.   
• Less Clerical Work: During a surge in demand for Alere's products during the
  2009 swine flu epidemic, ShopVue enabled Alere to do away with a manual
  spreadsheet for tracking temporary employees. ShopVue collected temporary
  employees’ time and attendance and automatically generated reports for multiple
  staffing agencies, saving hours of clerical work weekly.