By Vivek Bhachawat
You might have a very profitable plant, with great cycle times, accelerated product development, higher throughput, but is it working at its true potential? Have you really reached the pinnacle of your industry, in terms of technology and process excellence? Even if you are on top right now, can you afford to be complacent? These are a few questions that compel you to think about your process capabilities in the present and for the future. Let me explain why these questions become so relevant, the reason these questions are so important is because even if you have the technology leadership in your industry today, it does not guarantee that you will continue to be the leader, this is because of the ever changing external factors that affect your process and which to the maximum extent are out of your control.
By making the above argument I do not intend to dishearten anyone, rather I want to re-emphasize the importance of continuous improvement and to remember the crux of Kaizen- ‘Good Enough Never Is’. When it comes to manufacturing and factory ops, top management views equipment automation as the best solution for optimizing production process. However, I beg to differ, in any business, better equipment can only boost future production capacity and it does not guarantee that this capacity will be achieved. To improve your present production capacity and achieve your true potential, you should understand the importance of information and knowledge, and the role they play in the success of your operations. To realize your true potential in manufacturing you need to take a holistic view about automation and knowledge management. Always remember information is the most valuable resource for any organization and any production unit, doesn’t matter whether you make tooth brush or missiles, information is what keeps the business running and improving.
Having established the importance of information in manufacturing , now let us consider the ways to harness it and consider how this harnessed information can lead to process knowledge and help achieve the hidden potential. First we need to establish the parameters that are vital to the performance of the Organization from a customer and market perspective. Then we need to collect this data and analyze it for better performance. But data collection and analysis can be cumbersome and time taking when performed manually. This accentuates the need for an automated and integrated system for data collection and analysis, that collects the process data in real time, analyzes it and presents it in the form of information that can aid decision making. The choice of the right technology partner is crucial if you are to achieve the true potential of your process operation.
I2DS can be the right partner for you, it is our mission to provide data in real time from all vital areas of the process, analyze this information and aid speedy decision making, leading to process excellence and better profitability. I2DS can provide you the data that otherwise would have remained hidden in your equipment or process and this helps you get a better more comprehensive view of your process. Our automation team specializes in factory automation, MES, Manufacturing Excellence, data tapping, EDC and SPC. An automated factory has a comprehensive SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) application that enables effective HMI or Human Machine Interface. Our wide range of amazingly flexible products is what you require for applications like Tool Integration, Data Tap, SCADA, RFID implementation, SPC and EDC applications. So if you think enhancing your process knowledge can lead to a more profitable operation, I2DS is the best choice. Get in touch with us right away and we will help you realize your true potential, e-mail us at info@i2ds.com or just hit the Request Live Demo tab on this page.