Discrete manufacturer: scrap reduced 36%, line-stops halved
A discrete manufacturer deployed xyner agents across plant-floor quality and line-stop response — scrap rate cut by 36%, line-stops halved, with edge-resilient operation across 14 plants.
What the customer was up against.
A discrete manufacturer operating 14 plants and six product families had scrap rates running 5.8% on average — with one plant pulling the average up dramatically. Line-stops averaged 47/week per plant, with mean-time-to-resume of 38 minutes. Quality engineering teams were stretched; NCR drafting consumed disproportionate quality-engineer time.
What xyner built.
Deployed xyner with three specialist agents — Quality Investigation Agent, Line-Stop Response Agent, NCR/CAPA Agent — at the edge in each plant with sync back to a central quality data lake, fully integrated with the MES, SPC system and the quality management system.
Measured impact.
Scrap rate cut 36%; line-stops cut by half; MTTR on remaining line-stops cut 45%; quality-engineering capacity freed for design-stage interventions; CAPA cycle time materially reduced.
At a glance.
Situation
A discrete manufacturer operating 14 plants and six product families had scrap rates running 5.8% on average — with one plant pulling the average up dramatically. Line-stops averaged 47/week per plant, with mean-time-to-resume of 38 minutes. Quality engineering teams were stretched; NCR drafting consumed disproportionate quality-engineer time.
Intervention
Deployed xyner with three specialist agents — Quality Investigation Agent, Line-Stop Response Agent, NCR/CAPA Agent — at the edge in each plant with sync back to a central quality data lake, fully integrated with the MES, SPC system and the quality management system.
Outcome
Scrap rate cut 36%; line-stops cut by half; MTTR on remaining line-stops cut 45%; quality-engineering capacity freed for design-stage interventions; CAPA cycle time materially reduced.
Manufacturing · Discrete / industrial
A multi-plant discrete manufacturer producing industrial components
North America (multi-state)
Plant-floor quality investigations, line-stop response, NCR drafting, CAPA orchestration
8 weeks pilot, 6 months full rollout
From contract signature to full rollout.
What the deployment actually looks like.
Plant-floor operations cannot stop when central-cloud connectivity drops. The deployment runs primarily at the edge in each plant with sync to a central quality data lake for cross-plant learning and root-cause analysis.
Quality Investigation Agent
When SPC alerts fire, gathers process telemetry, recent setup changes, operator notes and prior similar events; produces a root-cause hypothesis ranked by likelihood.
Line-Stop Response Agent
When a line stops, identifies the right responder (operator, technician, quality engineer, engineering); briefs them with full context; tracks resume-time.
NCR/CAPA Agent
Drafts non-conformance reports and corrective-and-preventive-action plans from the investigation evidence; routes for engineering and quality-engineering review.
Edge components
Each plant runs edge components for sub-second response and graceful degradation when central connectivity is impaired; sync back when restored.
Central quality data lake
Cross-plant pattern learning enabled without sharing process secrets across plants where competitively sensitive.
MES & SPC integration
Real-time integration with each plant's MES, SPC platform and QMS; reads telemetry, writes back investigations and CAPAs.
How the rollout sequenced.
An 8-week pilot covered the worst-performing plant before rollout across all 14 plants.
Edge foundations
Deploy edge components in the pilot plant; deploy central data lake; integrate MES, SPC system and QMS for the pilot plant.
Agent configuration
Configure three agents against the pilot plant's processes; load product specifications and historical quality data into RAG; complete first round of OT-safety review.
Shadow mode
Agents operate in shadow alongside quality engineers; outputs reviewed daily; thresholds calibrated by line and product family.
Pilot plant live
Live in pilot plant with engineering review on every NCR/CAPA; metrics reviewed daily; weekly business review with VP Manufacturing.
Multi-plant rollout
Plant-by-plant rollout with per-plant calibration; cross-plant pattern learning enabled progressively.
Continuous improvement
Cross-plant patterns surface design-stage interventions; engineering loop activated.
How the deployment is governed.
Manufacturing carries OT-safety, quality-system (ISO 9001) and product-liability governance.
OT-safety boundary
Agents never issue commands to PLCs or SCADA; they only inform engineers and operators. OT actions remain human-controlled at all times.
ISO 9001 alignment
NCR/CAPA drafts respect the firm's ISO 9001-aligned quality system; nothing is closed without appropriate-level engineering sign-off.
Product-liability protection
Every quality investigation captured for product-liability defence; chain of evidence integrity maintained.
Per-plant data discipline
Process secrets stay per-plant where competitively sensitive; cross-plant learning shares patterns, not process detail.
Audit-grade trail
Every investigation, every NCR, every CAPA captured for ISO 9001 surveillance, customer audits and regulatory inquiries.
Three transferable lessons.
Three lessons for other discrete manufacturers considering agentic plant-floor operations.
Worst-performing plant is the right pilot
Pilots at the best plant prove little. Pilots at the worst plant prove a lot. The improvement opportunity is bigger and the staff motivation is higher.
Edge-resilient design is non-optional
Plants run when the internet doesn't. Edge components and sync-on-reconnect are design properties from day one, not retrofit.
Cross-plant learning is the multi-year compound
Single-plant scrap reduction is week one. Cross-plant pattern learning that surfaces design-stage interventions is the multi-year compound. Plan for both.
Could the same outcome work in your environment?
Tell us your sector. A senior xyner partner will walk you through a tailored plan.