by I2DS | Apr 6, 2023 | Blogs
All Operations professional know and would agree that no matter how fool proof a process might be there is always a possibility of an excursion. The later an excursion is detected the more loss it causes. Detecting an excursion becomes even more important in discreet manufacturing as every product is different and tailor made. Even in an HVM production line an excursion can cause a massive loss if it remains undetected, thereby causing both financial and non financial loss. The financial loss caused by an excursion can be calculated, but the non financial loss, such as loss of customer goodwill, loss to the brand value, product replacement and product recall can permanently damage the image of an Organization.
Each Lot that is produced is of great value to the factory and any excursion during production process is a definite loss. It is imperative to be proactive in checking all production requirements are appropriately filled even before the material leaves the Ware-house. Being reactive will only lead to analysis of the loss that has already occurred rather than preventing it. Today most Factories are employing standard ERP systems that give material traceability to and from the warehouse, but what if the excursion occurs during production or when the material has already gone through the first stage of processing? Most systems lack the capability of tracking material through the production line; this may lead to a major loss in material and production time. The chances of an excursion occurring during the production process is higher as the material under processing changes hands a number of times and even in a completely automated process non conformities may occur at any stage of processing.
So what is required is a better information system that allows us to monitor the material during and after the production process. When we have a system that is capable of recording and reporting all the metrics relevant to a production lot, the chances of detecting and preventing an excursion are increased. Employing an integrated system that can track material throughout the production process is very important. I2DS is a pioneer in design and application of such innovative and cutting edge information systems. We have developed a unique Inventory Management Solution, which allows you to track your material even after it leaves the Ware-house. Our system gives you the ability to track the exact location of material, anywhere and everywhere in the production line, right up to the finished goods stage.
Our system is capable of collaborating with your existing ERP system to give you better control and complete traceability for your material. Our system is in-line with JIT theory and helps you monitor the inventory at each and every step of production and insures you not only detect but prevent any excursion that might happen. Our system allows you to detect excursions faster and thereby helps you to prevent losses which might have otherwise occurred. So if you are interested in cutting your losses and improve traceability of your material, contact us right now and get a free demo of our path breaking solutions, e-mail us at info@i2ds.com
by I2DS | Apr 5, 2023 | Blogs
What helps the Organizations that are market leaders get to the position they are at? After wondering about this question myself, I realized that there is one major common factor, Evolution. Yes, the organizations that have made it big have all kept evolving, just like human beings, but only much faster. Organizations that have been proactive in their efforts to understand the needs of their customers and change their products and services accordingly, have been able to capture a larger portion of the market share than those who decided to stick to their old ways of doing things. Companies that spend a higher amount on R&D, also experience a higher volume in sales. It is through systematic and well funded R&D efforts that companies of the modern world have been able to devise much more sophisticated products and services and generate better business than their competitors.
But just having an R&D Lab is not a panacea for all future needs. It is extremely important how you manage the operation of your R&D facility and whether you have effective control on the process. R&D facilities have become more efficient by using technology and IT for managing operations. LIMS or Laboratory Management Information Systems are helping many Labs achieve their diverse objectives. Due to the dynamic nature and needs of an R&D facility no standard LIMS package can be suitable for your Lab. A Pharmaceutical lab has completely different objectives and operational needs than lets say an Aircraft development lab. This makes the design an application of LIMS a highly process specific and complex task.
The core function of LIMS is sample management; this includes the request from sample from the customer, the process of sample creation and also the tracking & delivery of sample to the customer. This requires data management expertise that is compliance oriented and process specific. A LIMS application can also have features beyond sample management, such as, equipment integration, electronic data exchange, export to excel/spreadsheets, audit management, barcode/RFID applications and the list virtually is endless. The presence of a good sample management application is pivotal for a successful LIMS system as the most important operation of any manufacturing R&D Lab is sample generation as per customer specs, effective sample creation and timely delivery of the said sample.
I2DS has successfully implemented the best-in-class, process specific, LIMS system for its customers. We have the expertise required to understand the diverse needs of different operations and design our solutions accordingly. Our sample management provides the desired functionality to our customers through effective data management, sample requisition tracking, material flow tracking, equipment issue resolution, Quality control, Inventory management, scheduling tools, sample analysis and a comprehensive database related to approval, rejection and compliance matters related to a particular sample. The answer to the initial question asked at the beginning of this is- ‘YES’. Yes a LIMS application does make your lab more efficient as it makes the operation more integrated and responsive, this allows tight coordination between various functions, right from Marketing to Production and helps you cut the Total cost of your R&D endeavor.
by I2DS | Mar 28, 2023 | Blogs
What is a Manufacturing Excellence Application? Does it really work? Does my factory need such an application? I encounter these questions frequently. So, what is a Manufacturing Excellence solution? A manufacturing excellence solution, as the name clearly suggests is an IT application that helps you achieve excellence in manufacturing. No don’t worry; I do not intend to go around in circles. What I mean is that a manufacturing excellence application allows you to monitor, control and improve the performance of all the vital parameters and issues you consider critical for your Organization and your plant’s operation. Let us say that you find Safety, Quality, Communication and Equipment the top four areas of concern for your factory, a Manufacturing Excellence solution provides you an integrated platform to analyze the information pertaining to these key areas and enables you to make real time decisions.
It does work, especially for Organizations that have a culture that relies on setting high standards for themselves and achieving them at any cost. For Organizations that rely heavily on manufacturing, discreet or process, achieving manufacturing excellence is the only way to be more competitive and gain a larger market share. A Manufacturing Excellence solution helps you maintain the high standards you believe in.
Excellence can be achieved when simplicity in decision making and the subsequent action, results from monitoring and control of complex processes. Integration of the entire plant, process and personnel is vital for achieving manufacturing excellence. This integration can result only with the help of an information system that provides a seamless and holistic view of the vital process and personnel related parameters. This system should allow effective monitoring and efficient control for the entire process and aid real time decision making and action. There are many packages available in the market for Manufacturing Excellence, but is just any package the right package?
I believe every manufacturing process is unique; this is because of the fact that each organization has an inherent set of resources and unique environmental conditions. Thus a Manufacturing Excellence application should be process specific and not general. Every Operations manager gives importance to certain parameters, for the sake of this discussion lets say Quality, Safety, Equipment and Factory Communication. If the package available cannot capture the details of the parameters above mentioned, it is rendered useless for this particular Organization.
I2DS has devised a Manufacturing Excellence solution that can fit to your process and give you the power of monitoring and controlling the process parameters you consider vital. So if you believe that Safety, Quality, Factory Communication and Equipment issues are important cost centers and need to be monitored and controlled effectively, I2DS’ Manufacturing Excellence allows you to do exactly that. You have the capability to assign priorities and owners to each issue, see the real time actions and judge the performance of the entire process or the performance of individual parameters. With I2DS as your Excellence partner, you will never miss a vital issue and will be able to reduce the operating costs drastically, thereby achieving better profitability. With I2DS you can gain process excellence and this would help you become the Best-In-Class Operation. So open your doors to Manufacturing Excellence and I2DS, write into us at info@i2ds.com, and give us the opportunity to help you achieve excellence in all your competitive priorities.
by I2DS | Mar 27, 2023 | Blogs
The scenario in manufacturing is changing from highly centralized production to a distributed and decentralized production. The main drivers for such distribution is the availability of raw materials, issues related to transfer pricing and taxes, labor skills, govt./non govt. grants and proximity to markets or suppliers. Organizations manufacturing complex products or ones that are customized just before delivery are opting for highly diversified production plants in terms of capacity, location and processes. This way of manufacturing seems lucrative and a sure fire way to become more flexible and responsive, but there are many downsides to it. Such a manufacturing requires perfect synchronization between the various production units, it also requires real-time capacity planning and ability to change schedules as required. These requirements put immense pressure on the management of the plants as the success of the Operations Strategy depends on their ability to communicate and execute such production in a relayed manner.
Organizations which succeed in running production plants, which manufacture various components of a common end product, are able to do so by using IT applications which allow systematic and synchronized execution of the process. MES applications are increasingly making diverse manufacturing a reality. Through an operation wide MES system, it is possible for an Organization to plan production, design, WIP and Logistics, Centrally, while keeping the execution of the production process Decentralized. Modern MES systems are web-based and allow seamless integration of all production facilities irrespective of their geographic location. It is only through these applications that an operation can act as single entities even when it’s various components have a different geographic location.
MES applications allow for a greater degree of control as they are able to incorporate the production process being executed at diverse location as a single integrated process, residing on a single system. Which means for the system the location of activities is not a barrier any more; it portrays the execution of these activities along with relevant metrics associated with the same. So let’s say a US based company which sources its raw material from Brazil, China and India, then processes them into components in its factories Taiwan and Germany and finally assembles the finished product in USA and China, can plan, monitor and control this entire process through a single MES application. This allows for both efficient production and effective centralized control of the entire operation.
As we move towards more visible and viable globalization due to better trade environment and uniform trade policies, dispersed production will become more and more popular. To reap the benefits associated with dispersed manufacturing, organizations will increasingly move towards MES and the way in which they utilize this system will determine their profitability and position in the highly competitive and closely knit global market. So if you are a company which is willing to diversify your production and increase profitability, it is highly advisable to consider an MES application which can provide synchronization and integration for your entire operation.
by I2DS | Mar 24, 2023 | Blogs
Ever since the beginning of human civilization, what sets us apart from other animals in the world is our ability to communicate, express thoughts and process information. Human beings have come a long way from gathering food, scavenging and hunting to building super cities and living in well established industrial societies. Do you ever think how has that been possible, it cant be just intelligence right? When I think about the growth of human beings on the whole, it strikes me that the main reason for our amazing growth is our ability to innovate and the pursuit of being better. Yes, human beings are inherently dissatisfied with what they have; we aspire to be better, faster, stronger and safer than we were yesterday. This active discontentment has lead to the innovation of almost everything man has created.
Most evident example of the above statement is the growth and complete transformation of manufacturing as an industry. Ever since manufacturing became an industry, it has been transformed and evolved, to achieve more than it did yesterday. This is true for all industries irrespective of the end product or genre of manufacturing. Major leaps have been taken in how the work is performed; the level of automation has increased from 0 to a 100 percent in some industries. The credit for this massive change goes to the very discontentment I mentioned before and I am an ardent admirer of it. It is this discontentment that drives the development and implementation of technological innovations.
Besides the high level of automation in terms of machinery, what else has changed in manufacturing industry? It is the way industries process information that has completely changed. However the development of highly efficient manufacturing information systems can still be considered to be in their nascent stage. But information systems and applications are undoubtedly the future of manufacturing Organizations. It is the same need of being faster; better, more efficient and more profitable that is driving this change and the revolution called IT. Yes, IT applications are making manufacturing processes more efficient by providing better process control, higher throughput, lower costs, real-time decision making and thereby greater profitability. Even for industries at the pinnacle of technology in terms of equipment and process capability, IT applications can still lead to better process performance, faster cycle time and a boost in profitability.
The need of having better information processing and higher level of transparency coupled with the desire to achieve better quality and control are the key drivers of the proliferation of Information systems in manufacturing. The level of excellence that you desire and crave from your process is only possible through the application of IT solutions. You will be amazed to see how IT has influenced every aspect of production right from design to dispatch of the end products. Now that we have established the necessity of IT applications and justified that they are the future of manufacturing, let me introduce to you the premium provider of these innovative and efficient IT application, I2DS.
I2DS has realized the need of the futuristic organizations to manage and retain their knowledge and has developed Information solutions to meet these needs of future, today. We offer a seamless integration for the entire Organization, our services and solutions range from Database Management to Manufacturing Excellence. We can achieve the level of integration desired by the Organization as we have developed solutions that are aimed at automation of Information Processing and better Knowledge Management. Let’s have a brief glance at all our verticals; they are, Data Management, Factory Automation, Factory MES, Manufacturing Excellence and IT/Software services.
Our verticals have been designed specially to provide integrated platforms, which have the functionality of converting raw data to information and providing seamless information to achieve smooth learning resulting in an Organization wide Knowledge Base. We have experts in all verticals mentioned above, which gives us the ability to empathize with Organizations and realize their pain points better, our solutions are aimed at resolving present information problems and better dealing with the future ones. So if you are an Organization that aspires to be a market leader through effective and efficient Information Management, I2DS is the right partner for you. If you want to get a glimpse of our world class product line e-mail us at info@i2ds.com or hit the Request Live Demo button on this page.
by I2DS | Mar 10, 2023 | Blogs
What separates an Industry leader from the followers? Why are the leaders able to adapt faster to changes and achieve higher market shares? What makes Organizations like Intel, Sony, Bose and Toyota, the Best-In-Class or leaders in their respective industries? The answers to these questions are similar to some extent. Every Organization that has been able to understand their customers and successfully convert their needs, into products and services has been able to become the leader in their industry. An extraordinary Organization does not aim at doing different things, but rather at doing things differently, by understanding their capabilities and market requirements better than their competition. The market leaders are better at achieving a state of dynamic equilibrium between the external forces and internal abilities. This facet of their success can be attributed to impeccable strategic planning and flawless execution of the plans through subsequent tactical and operational planning.
Companies that have been able to embrace the new technologies and implement them successfully in their operations are experiencing unprecedented growth and market share. Information Technology has helped firms perform processes differently, thereby reducing related costs and increasing process efficiency. It is only through advanced applications of IT solution that the present industry leaders have achieved their coveted status. Besides management practices, workforce knowledge, resource base and market conditions, IT is the most important contributor to the success of an Organization.
Manufacturing Organizations in particular have been able to outperform their competition by the implementation of Manufacturing Execution Systems or MES solutions. So what is an MES solution? Well, an MES application, as the name suggests helps better and more reliable execution of a manufacturing process, it gives higher degree of control over the process and allows real-time decision making. Such applications have proven to be extremely successful in controlling costs and increasing throughput. There are many players in the MES space, that provide MES solutions, but who is the right partner for you? To be a leader you need a partner who is a leader in its own industry space and has a good handle on what your needs are. To be a leader you need to embrace automation and deal with industry experts such as I2DS.
I2DS has developed one of the most respected MES applications in the world today. Our solution is capable of adapting and changing itself to suit your operation’s needs. We are successful in MES because we are not just an IT company; our team of experts has more than 100 years of experience in fortune 500 companies in Operations Management. We understand the importance of factors that are unique and inherent in every process; our solutions reflect the individuality of our customer’s process. We have been able to achieve operational excellence through the application of our MES products in different operations from diverse industries. So if you are looking for a partner who would understand your process first and then devise the best solution accordingly, I2DS is the best choice for you. To get a demo of our product made to fit your production process, e-mail us at info@i2ds.com or just hit the request live demo tab on this webpage and our team will get back to you.
