IXE Nikodem Pyka
Production, engineering, technology, maintenance, infrastructure
Strategic advisory
Project management
Specialization: plastics processing and injection tooling
25 years in manufacturing plants. I analyze processes on the shop floor, not from behind a desk. I do not stop at the report. I help put the proposed changes in place.
About
For more than 5 years I have run my own consulting practice under the IXE Nikodem Pyka brand. I specialize in plastics processing, both injection molding and overmolding. With a team of experts, I help companies develop products, cut costs, manage injection molds and adopt modern technology.
Industry experience
Working in an international setting
Standards and work environments
Scope of professional practice
Why work with me / how I work
I do not judge processes from behind a desk, and I do not sell theory from courses and workshops. I run audits on the shop floor: watching, asking, analyzing and checking things live. I never build processes and paperwork just to look professional.
The report is only the start. We analyze the findings together and put the recommendations in place. I help teams understand why the change matters and hold the new standards. The results should last, not fade after a few weeks.
Production is more than machines and processes. It is people, structure, communication and how departments work with each other, with customers and with suppliers. I look at everything that shapes stability and quality.
I do not look for someone to blame. I look for the source of the problem. When machines keep breaking down, I check how they are run, their service history and their settings, instead of only swapping parts. Lasting change means reaching the root.
Weak communication between production, quality, maintenance, technology, planning and purchasing is one of the most common sources of loss. I help sort it out and build processes that genuinely tie these areas together.
Stability, repeatable quality, shorter cycles and less scrap are what let a manufacturing business scale. I work on those foundations, not on the appearance of efficiency.
My role
I am here to help your organization grow, reach a higher level of efficiency and build an edge in the market, and where it is needed, to regain stability, predictability, and confidence in your own processes.
— Nikodem Pyka, IXE Nikodem Pyka
What I bring:
In return, I expect commitment from you and your team. Without it, no project delivers real, lasting results.
I solve specific problems
Companies come to me with specific operational, technical and organizational challenges. Not a vague "we want to get better", but real problems that cost them money and time every day.
Our scrap is high and we cannot pinpoint where the loss comes from
Scrap comes from process errors, a mold running badly, poor machine condition, weak quality control, wrong process settings, badly prepared material and more. I go through production data, watch the process and name the specific causes, with a reduction plan and measurable targets.
Plastics processing auditThe injection process is unstable and quality shifts between runs
The usual causes are missing written standards, standards that nobody follows, operators or setters who need more skill, or errors in the process parameters themselves. I find the source of the instability and put standardization in place.
Injection process auditThe toolroom cannot keep up with mold problems
The cause is usually no mold management process, no repair standards, or unclear communication between production and the toolroom. Sometimes the toolroom simply lacks the right people, tools or equipment. I help choose parts, tools and maintenance and repair equipment, and I set up a full system, from documentation to quality control on the repairs themselves.
Injection mold and toolroom reviewChangeovers take too long and block the production schedule
In most companies changeovers can be cut by 20 to 50 percent. I study how the work is done today and bring in SMED. I start by reorganizing the work, well before we reach for costly hardware like magnetic platens or multi-couplers.
Changeover optimization and SMEDProduction planning does not hold, with constant delays and surprises
Delays usually trace back to molds that are not fit to run, unstable cycles, too much WIP, or planning and production not talking to each other. I help remove these one by one and build a predictable planning system on stable process data.
General production auditThe process documentation does not match what actually happens
A very common problem: the documentation is out of date and the process lives its own life, out of step with the master spec. During the audit I compare the documents with how the process really runs. Where they do not match, I verify the processes or help define them when they do not exist, check why they are not being followed, and look at whether the issue sits with a product group, specific machines or a particular shift, which points to the human factor. I show the scale of the problem, where it starts, and help fix it. Often the human factor turns out to be decisive, and then we move into organizational structure, job scopes and team management.
Documentation review and standardizationQuality problems linked to the state of machines and peripherals
I check the technical parameters, the breakdown history, the service history and how the machines are actually run. I identify which units are dragging production down and what needs to be repaired, improved or standardized.
Maintenance auditProduction, quality, planning, technology and the toolroom barely cooperate
Poor communication and inconsistent processes between departments are one of the most common sources of loss and delay. I map the information flow and build processes that pull the departments together around shared goals.
Cross-department cooperation reviewYou want to improve efficiency but do not know where to start
I start with an audit and a look at the data. From there I show which areas will give the fastest and biggest return. We roll out the changes step by step, together with your team.
How working together looks, step by stepServices
The audit is the first and most important step toward real change. I run it inside your plant, watching and analyzing the process as it actually runs. Afterward I do not leave you with a report. I help implement the recommended changes.
A full review of the plant | For companies in any industry
A full audit of the production area, from process technology through maintenance and infrastructure to organizational structure and project management. For manufacturers in any industry who want to understand what is really holding their efficiency back.
Who this audit is for:
What the audit covers:
What you receive when the audit is done:
A read on the current state, what works and what does not: the strengths and the areas that run well, plus the bottlenecks and sources of waste that hit your operating results.
A list of problems with their real causes identified, not just the symptoms
Analysis of the key KPIs and production data
Actions ranked by priority, from quick wins to systemic change
Concrete recommendations, with proposed next steps and the support I can provide
A specialist audit of everything tied to plastics processing. A deep look at injection molding and overmolding, mold management, the toolroom and all the infrastructure that shapes product quality and process efficiency.
Typical symptoms that trigger this audit:
What the audit covers:
Measurable results you can reach:
Lower scrap by finding and removing the real sources of nonconformity
Changeovers cut by 20 to 50 percent through reorganization and SMED
Better mold cavity availability and higher-quality toolroom repairs
Higher press OEE through fewer micro-stops and planned preventive maintenance
A process that stays stable regardless of the run, the shift or the setter
Predictable planning built on solid cycle-time and availability data
Typical situations
Three anonymized situations from my work, no company names, no personal names. If one sounds familiar, it is worth a conversation.
The plant molded and overmolded technical parts in PA6 and PA66. Scrap ran at 20 percent: burns, short shots, flash, dark specks in white parts. Production kept stopping because material leaked from the nozzle, in bursts of 10 to 15 minutes.
A three-day audit of the injection process, with corrective actions applied as we went. The main cause turned out to be oversized dryers: the granulate sat 4 to 5 times too long, which degraded the material and left an unstable melt cushion. We corrected the drying parameters, replaced and cleaned the nozzle and nozzle tip, pulled and cleaned the screw by pyrolysis, and introduced purging compound after every run.
Scrap dropped from 20% to 5%. The process settled down, with the short shots, flash and specks gone, and the nozzle-leak stoppages eliminated. Further work on the mold is still in progress.
The plant made medical parts (PP, PE, POM, PBT) in multi-cavity molds of 40 to 128 cavities. The average share of blocked cavities reached 30 percent, which meant overtime, unstable quality and missed plans. Molds were patched one cavity at a time, with no coherent approach.
A month-long review of the molds, starting with the key products. We changed the repair strategy: instead of fixing single cavities, the plant began ordering full sets of new inserts. The in-house toolroom got new equipment (laser welder, microscope, grinder, EDM). And we set a rule: a problem on a cavity means stop production and repair it here and now.
Over 18 months the share of blocked cavities fell from 30% to 5%. Overtime was gone, and quality and stability improved. The target for the next year or two is 2 percent.
The plant made medical parts in PP, PE and PC with frequent color changes, up to five times a week on the same mold. Going from a dark color to white meant up to 8 hours of downtime, and the output went entirely to sorting (at best half was good) or straight to scrap. Mechanical cleaning gave no certainty and the problem kept returning.
We tested four purging compounds and picked the best, which cut the changeover by about 2 hours. Then we ran the numbers on an in-house pyrolysis oven: the business case showed payback within 18 months. After the oven was bought, a new standard took hold: after every run, strip the screw and hot-runner system and burn them clean by pyrolysis.
Color-change time dropped to almost zero, and the carry-over specks from the previous color were gone completely. Stripping, burning and reassembling now takes at most 8 hours, against the two days of downtime and scrapped batches it used to cost.
Results of working together
The most common, measurable results companies see when we work together. Not marketing promises, but outcomes proven in real plants.
Client portfolio
Example projects span process optimization, audits, interim management and the development of production areas, building and expanding production halls, machine and mold cooling systems, R&D and launches into series production, and developing teams, coaching, building skills and spotting talent.
How working together looks
Every engagement follows the same path, whatever the industry or the size of the plant. Here is what to expect at each stage.
A free call, online or by phone. I get to know your company, its challenges and what you expect, and we set the scope and dates for the audit.
I work inside your plant, watching processes as they run, talking to the team and going through the data. Production keeps going.
I deliver a full report: the current state, the problems and their causes, and a prioritized set of actions. I walk through the findings with management and the key people.
I stay with your team through the whole change. I train, support and track progress until the results hold, rather than fading after a few weeks.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to real questions from manufacturers weighing an audit. If yours is not here, get in touch directly.
A production audit is a full analysis of processes, work organization, technology and resources in an industrial plant. I identify quality and technical problems, assess how well machines, teams and procedures perform, then set out specific actions in priority order. I run the audit on the shop floor, and I do not stop at the report; I also help put the recommended changes in place.
An audit usually takes 2 to 5 working days on site, longer for larger plants or several process areas. I run it without halting production: I watch the processes live and stay out of the way of operators and teams as they do their normal work.
The report covers the current state, the strengths of the areas audited, a list of problems with their causes identified (not just symptoms), an analysis of the KPI data, a proposed order of priorities and concrete recommendations for implementation. It is a document you can act on right away, not a vague note on "what could be better".
Scrap in injection molding usually comes from process-parameter errors and drift, a mold running badly, poor condition of the machine or peripherals, badly prepared material, or weak quality control. During the plastics processing audit I go through the data, watch the process and name the specific causes of scrap, along with a reduction plan and measurable targets.
Yes. I do not stop at the diagnosis. Once the report is delivered, I take the company through the whole implementation: helping teams understand why the change matters, training staff, tracking the results and supporting the new standards so they hold. I want the results to last, not fade after a few weeks.
Yes. I look at job scopes, skill matrices, training levels, backup coverage, the organizational structure, the knowledge people actually hold, their talents and the relationships between departments. I identify skill gaps and prepare a plan to close them, because a stable process has to rest on a capable, well-organized team. In Poland there is next to no formal education in plastics processing, so operators pick up what they know from colleagues or by trial and error, and that feeds straight through to quality and process stability.
Quality that swings between shifts is a classic sign of an unstandardized process. It comes from setters treating the machine parameters differently, out-of-date parameter sheets, an inconsistent start-up sequence or material prepared in different ways. The fix is fully standardized start-ups and a setter skill matrix. The IXE plastics processing audit examines these areas and puts durable standards in place.
A defect that comes back after a repair means the problem was never traced to its source; the symptom was fixed, not the cause. You need a mold management system with a full repair history, an acceptance spec after every intervention and quality oversight of the toolroom. Without an acceptance protocol, the mold goes back on the machine with no check that the fault was actually removed. IXE puts these systems in place as part of the toolroom and injection mold audit.
Toolroom problems usually come from having no mold management process, unclear repair and inspection standards and poor communication between production and the toolroom. But they can also come down to missing resources: no dry-ice cleaning units, laser welders, grinders or ovens for burning out hot runners. I put a full mold management system in place, covering documentation, inspection schedules, repair standards, acceptance and quality oversight, for both in-house toolrooms and external suppliers.
In most companies changeovers can be cut by 20 to 50 percent without heavy investment. I always start by reorganizing the work: what gets done before the machine stops (external setup) and what after. Only once that is in place do we consider costlier hardware such as multi-couplers, magnetic platens or mold-preheating stations. I study how the work is done today and bring in SMED steps that deliver fast, measurable gains.
A lack of alignment between production, quality, maintenance, technology, planning and purchasing is one of the most common sources of loss, and one of the hardest to fix without an outside view. I map the information flow, find where communication breaks down and help build processes that genuinely tie departments together around shared goals: lower scrap, higher OEE and hitting the plan on time.
I specialize in plastics processing (injection molding, overmolding, injection molds), but I also run general production audits in other sectors: automotive, medical, electrical, industrial painting and more. I have worked in these industries for over 25 years, and I always tailor the scope to the plant and its specific challenges.
Companies most often reach out when scrap is climbing and no one knows why, quality swings between runs or shifts, breakdowns and micro-stops eat into the plan, the toolroom cannot keep up with the molds, changeovers run too long, planning is unpredictable, departments do not cooperate, or the company is preparing for a customer audit or ISO certification.
The IXE readiness audit simulates an external audit, checking documentation, processes, competencies and the evidence of oversight against the requirements of the standard (ISO 9001, 16949, 13485) or the customer. I find the gaps and put corrective actions in place before the customer or certification-body auditor arrives. That clears the nonconformities in advance and lets you go into the real audit without surprises.
The best starting point is a diagnostic audit: a look at the plant that shows what is really holding efficiency back and in what order to tackle it. Without that, companies often invest in fixing secondary problems and miss the main sources of loss. The IXE general audit takes 2 to 5 working days and gives you a clear picture of the plant with prioritized actions; it is the cheapest way to avoid expensive implementation mistakes.
Press OEE comes down to availability, performance and quality. The most common losses are unplanned stoppages and breakdowns (availability), micro-stops and reduced output (performance), and scrap and rework (quality). Improving OEE starts with measuring the current state precisely, because without that you cannot see where the biggest losses sit. The IXE injection process audit includes an OEE analysis and a concrete action plan for each loss area.
"I do not leave you with a report in a drawer. We act on it together."— Nikodem Pyka, IXE Nikodem Pyka
Contact
If you think I can help your organization, write or call. A free first conversation is a good starting point: it lets me judge whether and how I can really help before I propose any scope of work.
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