• about reply
WM Reply Logo
Menu
  • About Us
    About Us
    • Newsroom
    • Case Studies
    • Events
    • News & Communications
    • About Us
  • Services
  • SOLUTIONS
    SOLUTIONS
    • Productivity & Collaboration
    • SharePoint Intranets
    • Enterprise Social Networks
    • Digital Workplaces
    • The Accelerator by WM reply
    • Core Technologies
    • SharePoint
    • Power Platform
    • Microsoft Teams
    • Office 365
    • Microsoft FastTrack
    • Microsoft Exchange
    • Yammer
    • Nintex Workflows
    • Microsoft Viva
    • Business Solutions
    • Mobile Applications
    • Document Management
    • Consumer Experience
    • SharePoint Websites Design
    • SharePoint Extranets
  • Careers
  • Contact us
  • about Reply
WM Reply Logo

Search

Focus On

News & Communication

Printer manufacturers test Microsoft solution to save money

FOCUS ON: Microsoft,

The Ricoh Company is testing out a wide range of tools created by Microsoft at its Shropshire-based factory in order to lower the quantity of toner it loses when its equipment fills containers.

The toner used in printers is an expensive resource and the current waste is a costly loss. By taking advantage of Microsoft machine learning, the electronics enterprise predicts it will save over £200,000 per annum.

Streamlining processes with Microsoft AI

The company currently imports bulk toner manufactured at factories in Japan. This is then used to fill somewhere from 400,000 up to 900,000 bottles of toner each month here in the UK.

Digital Operations Engineering Manager for Ricoh UK Products, Richard Aston, explained:

“Every bottle has a lower threshold and an upper threshold, and there is a lot of automation and processing equipment used in filling them. We wanted to leverage Microsoft’s machine learning technology and our data to improve the process. Our target was to reduce the toner ‘giveaway’ from 1.3 grams to less than one gram on one machine. We actually exceeded the target, cutting lost toner to 0.9 grams.”

The company is now looking to roll out the process to all its lines filling toner, and plans to assess other areas that might benefit from this “data-first” approach using Microsoft technology.

Aston added:

“Predictive maintenance is a big area that we want to start getting into.”

A new approach to using data

A standard filling cycle at the factory will typically take about 45 seconds. In each cycle is window of seven seconds to predict when it should cease to make certain each bottle has its correct quantity of toner. The toner consistency is affected by many variables, including the room temperature and humidity, which means the quantity of toner required for every bottle can alter during a factory day.

Workers at the plant, which employs over 650 individuals, are now using a selection of Microsoft tools such as the cloud-based platform Azure, Stream Analytics, IoT Hub, DevOps, Databricks to analyse captured factory data, thus acquiring far more accurate bottle filling levels.

The firm has recently employed a data scientist, with a data architect soon to follow in an effort to broaden the company’s technical skills and make the most of information within its operations. Aston has been in close communication with analytics and data experts at Microsoft and stated the company has been highly supportive regarding upskilling Ricoh to use its AI machine learning effectively. He added that Microsoft’s investment in Artificial intelligence made Ricoh feel it had placed its trust and faith wisely in a firm that delivers.

If your business currently employs cutting-edge services and software from Microsoft in its day-to-day running you can always rely on WM Reply for string support. With extensive experience gained creating bespoke answers to business problems using Microsoft technology, we’re well positioned to offer advice and practical solutions. Contact our professional team today to discuss how we can help.

RELATED CONTENTS

20.10.2020 / MICROSOFT

News & Communication

Microsoft announces milestone in digital learning

Tech giant Microsoft has revealed that over 500,000 UK residents have increased their skillset with new digital abilities over the last three months, using free online study courses.

27.08.2020 / MICROSOFT

News & Communication

Getting more out of Microsoft Teams

It’s fair to say that life after Covid 19 is going to be very different for every single one of us. Will we return to offices? Will we have a combination of office and working from home? Will we move to permanent home-based working? Whatever your solution, it has never been more important to think about how you make the most of your collaboration tools! That’s where Microsoft Teams comes in.

26.08.2020

News & Communication

New Microsoft partner launches powerful laptop for learning

A dual device, the Kano PC laptop features an innovative design that enables users to remove or click new parts into place as they increase their IT skills. Recently released around the world, the product rollout coincides with an announcement from Kano, introducing its new partnership with Microsoft.

 
 
 ​
 
Reply ©​​ 2023 - Company Information -
 PrivacyCookie Settings​
  • Abou​t Reply​​
  • Investors​​​
  • Newsroom
  • Follow Reply on
​
  • ​About WM Reply
  • Privacy & Cookies Policy
  • Information (Client)
  • Information (Supplier)
  • Information (Candidate)