OS/2 Wins Seal Of Approval at RJR Packaging

December 9, 1994 -- The next time you peel the foil lid off a yogurt
container, or tear open a foil pack containing film, or open a pack of
effervescent headache tablets, think of IBM and R.J. Reynolds. These two
unlikely corporate giants are probably responsible for the freshness of
the products. That's because RJR Packaging (a division of R.J. Reynolds)
makes much of the laminated packaging used to ensure product freshness,
and IBM's OS/2 2.1 is the system that keeps everything running smoothly at
their manufacturing plants.

Through the use of IBM's OS/2, LAN Server, and an application called
"Factory Link for OS/2" from U.S. Data, plant employees can keep track of
orders (on a real-time basis), monitor machine output, and have easy
access to data kept on remote mainframe computers. When an order is
received at RJR Packaging, it is placed in a mainframe production order
and scheduling system. This makes it instantly available to the operator
on the production floor via IBM Communications Manager/2. FactoryLink for
OS/2 then steps in to load machine setpoints for the order, then monitors
actual process conditions and passes this data back to OS/2 Database
Manager 2/2 for later analysis, if necessary.

Problems and solutions concerning an order or machine are frequently
entered by the operator into Lotus Notes mail or added to a Notes
discussion database...enhancing communications across shifts and between
plants. No more "reinventing the wheel" when a similar problem occurs on
another press or at another plant.

Should an order change at any time prior to final shipment, the new
information is instantly relayed to the PC controlling the machine
assigned to the job. Need a hard copy of the change? Production planning
or the operator simply prints the new changed order at the machine's
printer using OS/2's LAN printing utility program. No more lost order
adjustments or changes getting to the manufacturing floor too late to act
upon. That's the advantage of real-time processing. Perhaps the biggest
advantage of this OS/2-based solution, however, is that it has resulted in
significant savings for RJR and, especially, its customers.

If you have an OS/2 success story to tell, write to:
          JTIESZEN@VNET.IBM.COM.

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