Paper is patient, especially when you're looking for it!

You know how it is. The day begins, the early shift gets underway, and the smell of melting plastic and hydraulic oil is already in the air. The first injection moulding machines are humming. You're motivated, full of energy – until the first question comes up. ‘Bernd, where's the recipe for the new plastic mixture X again?’, ‘I urgently need the maintenance schedule for machine Y with the new heating zone!’, or the classic, which Bernd's colleague Sabine, the shift supervisor in the injection moulding department, knows only too well: ‘Sabine, can you check whether the quality reports for material batch Z, which is currently running, have already been signed off?’ 

And so it begins, the great paper scavenger hunt in the midst of plastic parts production.

The factory floor is transformed into a maze of material pallets, tool racks and seemingly randomly discarded adjustment sheets. The desk in the foreman's office becomes a battlefield where yellow Post-its with order numbers and sweat-stained routing slips with target and actual values fight for supremacy. Sabine digs through stacks of test reports, frantically leafs through worn machine manuals and wonders whether the document she is looking for has perhaps gone on its own little holiday to the Bahamas – or disappeared into the depths of the production hall or goods receiving area.

Anyone who has ever sunk into this paper quicksand knows that patience is a virtue that is mercilessly put to the test here. And while Sabine searches, not only valuable production time slips away, but also motivation. The energy that should actually be going into the precise adjustment of tools, monitoring the melting temperature or optimising cycle times is wasted in a hopeless battle against paperwork. The injection moulding machines are running at full speed, but the administrative processes that are supposed to control them are lagging behind – and often even stumble.

The invisible brake in everyday business life in plastics processing

One might think that a few minutes here and there spent searching are negligible. But especially in plastics processing, where every minute counts and adherence to process parameters is crucial, these small delays add up to a serious problem. They become an invisible brake that brings the entire production process to a standstill. Delivery dates for critical plastic components are delayed, quality controls for important components are postponed, and in the worst case, production errors, rejects or even machine failures occur because the correct parameter list or maintenance instructions were not at hand. The wrong setting due to an outdated sheet can render an entire batch unusable.

Just think of the expensive injection mould that is damaged because the last maintenance report or the start-up curve for the new material cannot be found. Or the employee who cannot carry out an urgent colour change because the exact recipe for the colour batch mixture is on a lost paper document. At a time when efficiency, precision and material efficiency are crucial in plastics processing, paper chaos can become a real competitive disadvantage. It is the shortage of skilled workers that is exacerbated here, not by a lack of personnel, but by unnecessary search times – every minute of the skilled worker's time not spent at the machine is a loss.

The call for digital revolution – Back to the machine!

It is time to put an end to this madness. Digitisation is not just a luxury, but a necessity to escape this paper nightmare. Imagine: all recipes, maintenance schedules, quality protocols, tool data sheets and approvals are stored centrally in one system, accessible at any time and from any computer, laptop, tablet or terminal at the machines. A quick search and boom: the document you are looking for appears – accurate, complete and without any loss of time.

Digitisation not only minimises search times, but also reduces sources of error. Manual transfer errors from development to production are a thing of the past, versioning of recipes or process parameters is clearly traceable, and archiving is automatic and legally compliant. Sabine, Bernd and everyone else can once again concentrate on what is important: their actual work on the injection moulding machines and extruders. They return to setting parameters, monitoring the melt, checking the plastic parts – to where their expertise is really needed and value is created. Digitalisation brings skilled workers back to the machine! And the best thing about it is that enjoyment of work and motivation return. Frustration at work gives way to enthusiasm for work. That is a competitive advantage that cannot be measured in monetary terms! 

The way out of the paper maze in plastics processing

At first glance, the change may seem daunting. But investing in digital processes quickly pays off. Less search time means greater productivity and longer machine running times. Fewer errors mean less waste and rework, which reduces the cost of expensive granulate and energy. And happier employees like Sabine and Bernd, who no longer feel like detectives in a paper jungle but like skilled professionals working with modern tools, are more motivated and loyal.

Let's work together to bring the ‘paper is patient’ motto in plastics processing into the digital age. Instead of searching patiently, we find things quickly and efficiently. In this way, we free our companies from the burden of mountains of files and pave the way for a more productive, modern and humane working environment in which skilled workers are back where they belong: right at the machine, turning granulate into innovative plastic parts.