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Industryweek 34478 Gettyimages 613535506 1200x1200 Low
Industryweek 34478 Gettyimages 613535506 1200x1200 Low
Industryweek 34478 Gettyimages 613535506 1200x1200 Low
Industryweek 34478 Gettyimages 613535506 1200x1200 Low

Are Your Manufacturing Operations Getting by on Pure Luck?

March 18, 2019
Don't take any chances.

When it comes to luck, having a lot of it is very often a good thing. But you can’t run a complex manufacturing operation on luck. You need visibility into inventory from the moment it arrives at your facility through production and when the finished product ships. You need control during production to ensure that every step of the process meets quality and customer specifications. And forget multiple spreadsheets or paper, they’re out of date by the time you need them.

A manufacturing system of record that includes ERP and MES capabilities built in the cloud enables you to:

Gain Visibility into Operations

Because production is captured as it happens, you gain visibility into what’s actually happening on the shop floor. This means you have a genealogy of all inventory containers, providing both an upstream and downstream trace, from receipt of materials, through work in process, and all the way to customer deliveries.

With insight into inventory, you can reduce stockouts, drive down carrying costs, and free-up space for more production capacity. Audits are no longer a challenge because all transactions are captured in a database and you simply login to view compliance documentation. Operators can easily oversee production from an intuitive control panel that connects them with everything they need, from any device.

Operationalize Quality Management

With the right system, quality controls are built in. Each operation is defined in the control plan for input materials, work center machines, and tooling. The system does not allow the operator to record production unless all of these elements are correct for that operation. Inspection procedures and frequency are initiated as per the control plan to ensure that operators perform as required, using the proper inspection devices (and that they are within calibration).

Supervisors can receive an alert if an attempt is made to override or circumvent the control plan. All activities are recorded directly at the work center and are immediately available throughout the business for analysis by quality managers. Measurements are digitized by typing them in or thru direct digital device connections and Statistical Process Control (SPC) is populated automatically and made available at the work center for continuous monitoring by the operator. And because everything is digital, it is always online for remote monitoring by quality management to more quickly catch dimensions that may trend outside of the control limits.

Maintain Accurate Inventory

Since you’re capturing every action in production, that means you have complete track and trace records for virtually every movement and operation. For every action in production, there is a transaction in the system. It starts with serialized barcoding, which not only helps streamline and automate shipping and receiving, but also captures incremental information—quantity, location, and status—at each point of production. With full material details by operation and accurate work-in-progress information, you can bring your inventory accuracy to a new level.

End-to-end traceability lets you keep a view of your inventory—both where it came from and where it goes—so that you can respond quickly to both orders and recalls. High-resolution traceability delivers a digital “paper-trail” that tracks inventory detail from your suppliers to your customers. The result is accurate end-to-end detail, available in real time, that helps you know the whole truth about your inventory.

With a manufacturing system of record, you don’t leave your operational processes up to luck. You essentially have a system that ensures your operations will be running with precision and efficiency.

Learn more by downloading the white paper: Are You Controlling Your Shop Floor?

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