Problem explained
Molds are cleaned and repaired after they stop a press, not before.
How it works today
The plant makes plastic parts on injection presses, which melt plastic and shoot it into steel molds.
Each cycle, one shot of the press, leaves a little residue in the mold's vents, the fine channels that let air out.
Nothing counts a mold's cycles, so it runs until a part sticks or plastic leaks out and the press stops.
The downtime log shows about nine such stops per week on the eight molds that stop most.
What we saw and heard
- On our visit we saw a mold cleaned inside a stopped press, and no counter on 14 molds on the rack.
- We did not see a mold fail, so the press time and plastic lost per stop are our estimates.
What it costs
Preventing five of the nine stops per week could save about $13,700 per year after paying for planned cleaning.
Illustrative sample. The plant, the walk and the footage are synthetic. Figures from our analysis are estimates made with AI, not guarantees.