YOU CAN’T IMPROVE WHAT YOU DON’T MEASURE

The need for data in factories is crucial. Manufacturing is a complex world filled not only with complicated machines but hours of spreadsheet analysis and process optimization as well. Managers are always looking for ways to improve factory production while decreasing manufacturing costs. To do that, they need data to see how they’re currently doing and where to improve.

However, this data seems to be a scarce resource only coming in once a day on average. With this twenty-four-hour old data, manufacturers can’t respond to changing conditions fast enough to counteract workday production slowdowns, shipping delays, decreased efficacy and higher costs of production.

FROM A SCHOOL PROJECT TO A FULL-TIME BUSINESS

Seeing the trouble that manufacturers have with data, four engineering students from the University of Waterloo decided to create software that documents real-time manufacturing data as part of their 4th-year project.

While in school, they developed a software platform that connects directly to factory machines and capital equipment to monitor, analyze, and optimize their operations.

The system retrieves real-time data from the machines for managers to analyze. In turn, the managers can see how well production is running. They can then optimize performances throughout the factory making sure that they’re able to respond to any changing conditions that cause production slowdowns, shipping delays or other inefficiencies.

From a basic standpoint, the software analyzes production outputs seeing what’s working and what isn’t, providing this information to managers for optimization.

Working from their living rooms after class, the school project quickly turned into a full-time business called MAJiK Systems.

MAJIK SYSTEMS TODAY

Since those humble beginnings, MAJiK has grown its operation, hiring 10 full-time employees and getting numerous clients across North America. Some clients include major manufacturing companies such as Dare Foods and Mother Parkers Tea and Coffee.

Currently, MAJiK Systems is focused on providing its manufacturing data software to small and medium-sized factories within the automotive and consumer packaged goods industries.

ON-PREMISE TO THE CLOUD

Starting from the beginning, MAJiK Systems has been deploying its platform on a customer-based premise (installing the MAJiK software on the client’s computers and servers). As MAJiK continues to grow its customer base, delivering their product on-premise becomes more challenging and expensive, requiring custom on-location monitoring, support, and updates.

To expand their customer growth without increasing costs in time and money or sacrificing the quality of service, MAJiK needs to move from an on premise-based solution into a multi-tenant cloud-based solution (hosted on vendor’s servers and accessed through a web browser).

TESTING MAJIK ON A MULTI-TENANT CLOUD SOLUTION

Validating that the software will work on a cloud-based environment is only part of the solution, however. Once active in the cloud, more testing needs to be done to see if the platform can handle a larger customer base, equipment data, and numerous amounts of users all at the same time.

Looking at these proof-points, MAJiK Systems is working with CENGN to validate the cloud version of their software. They’re looking to answer the four different questions below.

1. Can the software operate in a multi-tenant cloud-based environment?
2. Once active in the cloud-based environment, will it be able to handle 10x their current customer base?
3. Will the software be able to handle 20,000 pieces of equipment data coming into it per second from 150 customers?
4. Will the software also be able to handle at least 1,500 users at once without slowing down?

By using CENGN’s expertise and infrastructure, MAJiK Systems will be able to leverage a cloud project to validate its platform over a multi-tenant cloud-based environment and leave knowing what to improve.

BRIDGING THE DATA GAP

Without access to real-time data, factory managers and manufacturers are left vulnerable to delayed shipping, production slowdowns, and decreased efficacy.

Seeing the benefit that MAJiK Systems provides to these manufacturers by keeping them informed on factory output, CENGN is looking forward to providing MAJiK with the services required to grow their business.

MAJiK Systems is a growing Canadian business that is using the services at CENGN through the Next Generation Network Program (NGNP). The NGNP is a Government of Ontario program offered through a partnership between CENGN and the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) that is providing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Ontario access to the CENGN Testbed. CENGN’s digital infrastructure is connecting SMEs like MAJiK Systems to state-of-the-art equipment and network services, which will allow these companies to test and validate their solutions.

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About the Author

CENGN, Canada’s Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks, drives technology innovation and industry growth through our testbed, technical expertise, talent development, and partner ecosystem. Through our projects, CENGN enables small and medium Canadian Enterprises to test and validate promising technologies, removing barriers to product commercialization and accelerating market growth.

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