Ricoh has expanded its Edge consultancy to provide print companies with hands-on guidance on embedding automation to sustainably improve their growth potential.
A new manufacturing process improvement module focuses on understanding barriers to production efficiency by encouraging PSPs to challenge workflows and product movement, consider factory benchmarking, and review installations and layouts with 2D and 3D visualisations. It also looks at advancing the business through people, process and infrastructure with space optimisation, process waste elimination, process automation, and print-on-demand integration, as well as visual management and employee training.
Evaluating results and continually improving by engaging employees in lean methodology and follow-up business reviews to measure success are also part of the module.
Edge members can gain access to services within the manufacturing process improvement module, including Ricoh Connected Factory solution – the platform that lets use data from across the factory by visualising business operations, analysing and standardising workflows and optimising processes using digital tools.
Mark Hinder, business development manager, Graphic Communications Group, Ricoh Europe, said: “For PSPs to remain profitable and meet demand for data driven print and online business it is essential to embed lean manufacturing methodologies and drive productivity improvement. This module has been carefully developed to help operations assess their business, review their goals, and create a strategy to implement change smoothly and efficiently. It is designed to deliver measurable and impactful results that enable PSPs to achieve successful growth. Our differentiator is our unique hands-on approach. It sees our experts work alongside employees on the shop floor to ‘work smarter, not harder’, taking the workforce on the continuous improvement journey and ensuring that transformation is sustained.”
