Custom Traffic Lights in Manufacturing

Vincent Costigan at Purina wanted the people at his facility to know whether they were meeting their safety, production, quality, and warehouse goals. Here's how we worked together to build a custom traffic light visual display system that motivates everyone to win the day.

Vincent came up with an idea and sent Michael at Stack-Light a rough sketch of what he was looking for. Then he called and talked through the concept.

After tossing around a few ideas, together they came up with the perfect solution. Michael sent a more refined sketch. There would be five traffic lights, all controlled by independent switches.

Mounting and wiring were worked out so the final product looked nice and clean.

Our team took Vincent's sketch and turned it into a buildable concept: five wall-mounted red/green traffic lights, one for each goal, plus a horizontal traffic light up top for overall status. All five lights wire back to a central enclosure with three-position switches (Red, Green, Off) so operators can update status in seconds.

Here's the finished project mounted above the entry door, with each light clearly labeled — Safety, Production, Quality, and Warehouse — and a "Did we win the day?" banner above tying it all together.

The ROI: Visibility That Drives Action

This is what a visual factory is supposed to do. When goal status is visible in real time, issues get attention faster. Teams self-correct, adjusting their priorities based on what they see. Wins get recognized and reinforce good habits. Custom traffic lights and visual display systems like this one turn KPIs into something the whole plant can see and act on.