New Report from QAD Redzone Identifies $1.4M Annual Labor Savings Across 1,000 Plants

Today, QAD Redzone, a leading connected workforce technology solution, released its fifth biennial Productivity Benchmark Report, quantifying productivity increases in factories where QAD Redzone software is deployed. The findings reveal:

• The average productivity gain for QAD Redzone customers was 29 percent.
• Average Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) increase - the percentage gain between starting OEE score and OEE score after 90 days with QAD Redzone - was 14 points.
• Across all factories, the average amount of potential total savings opportunities (per 1pt OEE) is upwards of $175,000. This potential savings increases dramatically based on factory revenue, as plants with more than $10 billion in revenue could see upwards of $380k in total savings opportunities (per 1pt OEE).

"Far too often, frontline workers are blamed for the failure of continuous improvement programs," said Ken Fisher, SVP Product & Solutions at QAD Redzone. "However, our experience is that frontline teams are the key to unlocking and driving new business value. Creating worker enthusiasm and motivation sustains change for the long-term, and with the right tools and leadership support, every factory can achieve record productivity increases."

This year's Productivity Benchmark Report analyzed 1,000 plants over a 10-year period that utilize QAD Redzone's software and completed the accompanying 90-day coaching program. QAD Redzone's programming focuses on boosting productivity, quality, yield and equipment reliability, while also enabling a sustainable continuous improvement (CI) culture.

Plants begin to see productivity improvements immediately following QAD Redzone deployment. In fact, this year's report found 700 factories with at least one year of QAD Redzone deployment history raised OEE by an average of 21 points one year later. Additionally, results show that continuous system improvement builds upon itself, creating ever-growing results year after year. For example, in 2020, study participants achieved an average OEE uplift of 12 points, whereas in 2022, they achieved a gain of 14 points. Similarly, in 2020, participants increased productivity by 22 percent, compared with 29 percent in 2022.

"After analyzing our operations for areas of improvement, we determined a need to improve visibility into all production processes - especially because we were largely relying on spreadsheets and boards to keep track of everything," said Kyle Hach, chief operating officer at Raining Rose, an all natural and organic body product manufacturer. "With QAD Redzone, we have one point of control that integrates everything. We can rapidly inform operators about production changes without losing momentum, and we saw a 20 percent production increase in units per hour."

Additionally, study participants reported a variety of less-tangible benefits of implementing a connected workforce solution, including enhanced communication and collaboration, greater worker engagement and retention, lower absenteeism, enhanced operational flexibility and agility, and more.

"Prior to utilizing QAD Redzone, our team members were tracking production data by hand," said Amy Sena, Vice President of Quality Control at T.H.E.M., a single-serve co-packing production company "After just 90 days with this new technology, we not only improved our production safety and throughput, but we also achieved a 23 percent% overall OEE uplift at one of our plants. These improvements helped us strengthen our partner relationships and better address our customers' needs."

To download Redzone's full 2023 Productivity Benchmark Report, click here.

Methodology
The 2023 Redzone Productivity Benchmark Report includes data and onsite assessments of 1,000 factories that launched the Redzone Connected Workforce Solution over the last 10 years. Each plant deployed identical technology and went through an identical 90-day coaching program. The data was collected directly from production equipment using IIoT instrumentation installed for the purpose of tracking and displaying productivity data for frontline teams to prioritize and solve problems.

About QAD Redzone
As the #1 connected workforce solution in manufacturing, QAD Redzone enables frontline teams to contribute their full potential, elevating the frontline with new technology to achieve company goals around productivity and throughput. Today, hundreds of thousands of frontline workers are valued, celebrated, and working with purpose; creating stronger communities inside and outside their plants. With customers both big and small, Redzone is helping more than 1,000 plants worldwide achieve remarkable productivity gains in just 90 days. For more information, visit www.rzsoftware.com.