Systems and methods for determining process cycle efficiency in production environments

1 . A system for determining process cycle efficiency within a production environment, comprising:

a database;

a computer in communication with the database, the computer including a program memory; and

program instruction code stored in the program memory, the program instruction code operating to determine a process cycle efficiency of at least one job workflow and a process cycle efficiency for all workflows.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the database comprises workflow information.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the workflow information comprises at least one of JobId information, OperatorId information, StationId information, Eventld information and timestamp information, wherein EventId information further includes at least one of arrival time, job start time, job stop time, and completion time.

4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the database further comprises date and time information regarding an operating schedule of the production environment.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the program instruction code comprises program code configured to determine a value-added time associated with at least one job, the value-added time being a sum of all time spent to output the at least one job.

6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the program instruction code further comprises program code configured to:

determine a process cycle time of the at least one workflow, the process cycle time being a function of a job arrival time, a job completion time and an operating schedule of the production environment.

7 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the program instruction code further comprises program code configured:

to determine the process cycle efficiency based upon a ratio of the value-added time to the process cycle time.

8 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the program instruction code further comprises program code configured to determine an available working time between a first time and a second time, the available working time comprising an amount of time between the first time and the second time that the production environment is available for production.

9 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the program instruction code further comprises program code configured to determine statistical parameters.

10 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the program instruction code further comprises program code configured to draw a histogram of the process cycle efficiency for all jobs.

11 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising at least one node in communication with the database, the at least one each node comprising an RFID reader, wherein the at least one node is configured to transmit workflow information to the database.

12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the production environment comprises at least one Xerographic workstation.

13 . A production print shop comprising the system of claim 1 .

14 . A method of determining a process cycle efficiency of an environment including at least one workflow, comprising:

maintaining a database of captured workflow information;

determining a value-added time associated with at least one job, the value-added time being a sum of all time spent outputting the at least one job;

determining a process cycle time of the at least one job, the process cycle time being a function of the job arrival time, the job completion time and a work schedule of the environment; and

determining a process cycle efficiency of the workflow.

15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

capturing at least one of JobId information, OperatorId information, StationId information, EventId information and timestamp information, wherein EventId information further comprises at least one of arrival time, job start time, job stop time and job completion time.

16 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising plotting a histogram of the process cycle efficiencies for at least one workflow.

17 . The method of claim 14 , wherein determining the process cycle efficiency of the workflow comprises calculating the ratio of the value-added time to the process cycle time.

18 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

determining a distribution curve of a plurality of process cycle efficiencies of the at least one job; and

calculating mean, median and confidence intervals of the determined distribution curve.

19 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

statistically comparing the process cycle efficiency for a set of workflows with a process cycle efficiency of the environment at a later time.

20 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the process cycle efficiency is determined for a workflow including at least one Xerographic workstation.