by I2DS | Oct 25, 2022 | Blogs
Throughput, Operational Expense and Inventory are three major concerns for any manufacturing Organization irrespective of their end product, process and environmental factors. An organization can attain the goal of Profit Maximization only when they are able to minimize the Operational Expense and Inventory costs and at the same time increase Throughput. Throughput can be described as the rate at which a system or a process attains its goal, in business the goal being profit maximization, through higher sales and lower inventory. A high throughput indicates that the sale of the produce is high and the inventory is low, which basically means that the profit is being realized faster per unit of product sold. A high throughput is extremely desirable especially in present industrial environment, where product preferences change in a fort night and a product that was hot yesterday becomes obsolete today.
Companies today strive to achieve a dynamic equilibrium between external market forces and internal operational capabilities. In order to enhance the throughput it is important to consider the impact of all external and internal factors on it. Besides the application of management theories, Quality management systems, Poka Yoke (fool proofing), 5S, 7S etc., it is extremely important to realize the nature of your production process and the role that technology plays in it. All management theories that have come up in recent times have emphasized two major pointers, one- Management by facts and two- Use of Technology for better information management. To increase your throughput you need to assess the technological requirements and capabilities of your process and understand the supposed increase in throughput that can result from a technology up gradation.
On of the major reasons for the ever-changing bottlenecks in a manufacturing plant is the lack of proper communication and lack of clarity. Bottlenecks are the main deterrents to achieving a high throughput, so as logic would suggest it is imperative to eliminate bottlenecks to attain a higher throughput. The question is how do we eliminate the root causes of these menacing bottlenecks? Well, the answer is quite simple it’s- MES. Yes, MES applications are those information technology applications that provide an integrated platform, which allows the execution of the entire production and QC process on a single system. The MES automates the entire facility and prevents the formation of bottlenecks. An MES application allows for real-time decision making and allows the operations manager to stay ahead of bottlenecks.
MES applications are being employed by the best-in-class organizations to increase their throughput and ultimately their profitability. However the level of throughput you are able to attain for your plant depends on the partner you choose for the design and application of MES at your facility. At this point I would recommend that you consider I2DS as your MES design and application partner continue reading and you will know why.
I2DS has the most respected, Factory automation and MES implementation team in the industry. Our experts specialize in MES, Factory Automation, PLC, APC, SPC, Data Tapping, Database Management and RFID Implementation. Our approach to automation is highly professional and customer centric. We believe that every process is unique and the level of automation required varies for each organization. Our experts provide automation solution that is not only leading edge but also highly efficient, there by assisting your team to make your process the Best-In-Class process in your industry. I2DS’ customers have experienced a higher throughput, better flexibility and greater profitability ever since they chose I2DS as their automation partner. Our goal is to provide process specific automation and manage the resultant change; this makes us a preferred partner in the industry today. So if you are in need of Leading Edge automation for your production plant, look no further, I2DS is here to assist you in this endeavor. For getting a better idea of how automation can improve your process and achieve a greater profitability, e-mail us right away at info@i2ds.com or just drop your inquiry in the comment box and we will get back to you.
by I2DS | Oct 19, 2022 | 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. With our LIMS you can rest assured that your R&D facility will be working at optimum efficiency and achieve the desired results for your customers. So if you want to be a leader of innovation and achieve the coveted spot of market leader, I2DS can help you in this pursuit of excellence. All you have to do is e-mail us at info@i2ds.com and we will take care of the rest.
by I2DS | Oct 17, 2022 | Blogs
Is Safety the first priority in your Organization? Is worker safety and a hazard free working environment really what you strive for? It is seen that many organizations have fancy policies and documents portraying the concern they have for the safety of their workforce, but the reality is very different. Safety is the most basic and primary need for any individual and the duty of the management of any organization to fulfill this need is implied. As per Maslow’s theory about ‘Hierarchy of needs’, Safety, at the workplace is the most first and foremost need of any worker. So when we say Safety First, we should mean it and work towards achieving it, because no one would like to work in an unsafe working environment.
Today there are various industrial safety standards around the world that are helping Organizations better understand and develop safety related policies and procedures, OSHA Act 1970 USA- Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act, is one such example, where a clearly defined set of rules have to be adhered to for Safety and Health. Almost every country has similar rules for the minimum safety requirements for industrial establishments. Companies around the world need to better monitor and achieve these safety standards, but the problem that they face is that the efforts made for safety management are not fully integrated, there is a need for a system that would provide a greater insight on what is happening and what needs to be done for safety across the entire Organization.
At I2DS we truly believe in the Mantra- ‘Safety First.’, we have developed the most comprehensive Safety Management Solution for Organizations like yours. Our system has the ability to integrate the safety efforts of your entire organization on a single platform; it will ensure that safety is not just a priority on paper, but in practice. Our system gives you amazing functionalities such as, the ability to plan and organize safety events, provide trainings, assign owners to safety tasks, view safety events such as Audits as they happen, prioritize safety issues and so much more. If you really believe Safety is your prime concern, then don’t wait, get in touch with us right now and help us make your working environment safer than ever before. Our e-mail id is- info@i2ds.com, or you can also hit the Request Live Demo link and we will get back to you.
by I2DS | Oct 14, 2022 | Blogs
The importance of Quality can never be under estimated. Quality is the most important competitive priority for every Organization, achieving better quality than competitors, is imperative to stay in the race to become the Best-In-Class today. Cost and Quality were considered to be at two different ends of the same continuum i.e. to improve quality meant increasing cost, but over time this view has changed drastically. Improved Quality, achieved through continuous improvement of process has been able to reduce the total Cost function in the long run.
Doing things right the first time, managing operations by facts and applying statistical process controls has led to better Quality for Organizations and have reduced costs such as rework, rejection, reverse logistics, labor costs, materials cost and many other costs that contribute to the overall cost function. Practices like Kaizen, Poka Yoke, TQM, Lean Management, JIT management etc. have contributed towards the Quality revolution and have become a part of day-to-day operations for firms world-wide. But there is much more to Quality Management than just theories that emphasize on Quality improvement. Quality management should be viewed as the number 1 priority and a proper quality management system should be put in place to achieve the desired quality conformance.
Information Technology plays a vital role in monitoring and maintaining Quality, doing things right the first time is possible only when the facility has the capability of analyzing quality in real time as the process is performed. Using IT to implement a Quality management system is a novel idea, because of the inherent features of IT applications. An IT application not only automates a factory, it also integrates all the processes that would otherwise remain separated. IT applications allow Quality to become a part of the entire production process and helps develop the ‘Quality Culture’ within the Organization. There is an evident need for achieving a high Quality standard and also there is a need for comprehensive IT systems that can help monitor and improve the overall quality of products and process.
I2DS realized this need to monitor and detect quality issues on the go and came up with a unique Manufacturing Excellence solution. This system has the ability to track Quality related issues in real time, assign priority to Quality issues etc. along with many other attributes that make it impossible to miss any Quality Issue. Experts at I2DS have the experience of managing Quality of Product and Process for many global giants, and they understand the importance of Quality, for you. According to Deming ‘85% Quality problems are related to the Process and 15% related to other issues’, our solution helps you monitor all key functional areas of your process and thus achieve better Quality control and improvement. I2DS’ Quality Management system gives you complete control of your entire process and will ensure that you not only improve Quality but you also reduce Costs effectively. If Quality is your number one priority get in touch with us at info@i2ds.com and we will help you achieve Quality Excellence.
by I2DS | Oct 11, 2022 | Blogs
I believe that the pursuit of process excellence is quite a complex and in most cases a very unique endeavor, however the way in which it is approached can be simplified. Process excellence in manufacturing is greatly influenced by the level of knowledge the plant/factory possesses, pertaining to the way in which the process works and the way in which seemingly separate and independent activities eventually add to the value of the end product. Today, I am going to present a simple three step ladder for achieving world-class levels of process performance and the role IT applications can play in the better execution of these steps from an economic and ease of operation perspective.
THE LADDER OF PROCESS EXCELLENCE-FIRST STEP: KNOW WHAT.
The first step involves establishing what exactly is done in your process, this can be done through a WIP profile or a WBS i.e. a Work Breakdown Structure or any means which would help understand how various activities performed in the process deliver value at the end, in the form of a finished product. This stage requires the formation and careful documentation of SOP or Standard Operating Procedures for each value adding activity. To complete this step a close involvement and contribution of the process owners is mandatory. The step gets completed when a comprehensive, written account of the process (as-is), is established and linked to the way in which each activity contributes to the bottom-line. Here the objective is to understand the status quo of the process and quantify the activities in terms of their contribution to the economic profits attained.
THE LADDER OF PROCESS EXCELLENCE-SECOND STEP: KNOW HOW.
This involves careful scrutiny of each activity to understand which Process Metrics translate to value in terms of customer satisfaction, Quality, Throughput etc., the metrics can range from Efficiency to CpK to OEE to any metric which, when influenced can effect the bottom line directly or indirectly. It is at this stage improvements can be pursued through TQM, Quality Management Systems, SPC modules. The know-how results from the derivative knowledge attained through these improvement efforts would help process owners understand how the process reacts under various circumstances and contingencies. This step aims to chalk-out the pain points of the process and analyze the root causes for all of them. This step will help deal with all common issues which occur on a day to day basis and will help form an action plan to deal with these recurrent causes, by either eliminating or avoiding the root causes of the issues.
THE LADDER OF PROCESS EXCELLENCE-THIRD STEP: KNOW WHY.
This step involves ramping up the the pursuit of process excellence by looking at process wide improvement through interdepartmental and cross-functional collaboration. It is not uncommon to begin implementation of Lean, Six-Sigma, JIT and other such complex strategies, techniques and tools. The aim here is to reduce process anomalies to the extent where errors can only occur due to contingent issues or non-assignable causes, which are beyond the control and reasonable comprehension of the process owners. By the end of this stage process owners should know exactly why issues happen in their process, and should be able to control or mitigate them before happening or escalating.It is at this juncture that the IT applications like the MES which have the capability to integrate the process become very important. Through these applications the cumbersome task of obtaining, maintaining and analyzing process data, becomes automated, this helps faster decision making, leading to early detection and prevention of issues and errors. Due to the collaborative and flexible nature of these applications a granular view of each and every process activity can be obtained. The ‘Know Why’ step is the most crucial for the manufacturing process, as only when a process knows exactly why events occur in the way they do, there can be positive momentum for continued improvement and positive and profitable change.
For processes which do not face continued pressure from market forces and technological developments, the ladder is quite linear and process excellence can be realized when the third step is reached and maintained. But for manufacturing processes which face turbulent market and technological forces, the ladder becomes circular, as due to the constant change, the level at which each activity and process element is located might be different. This condition calls for continued monitoring of each facet of the process and evident and constant effort should be made to reach the third step for all process activities. The pursuit of Operational Excellence, especially in complex processes is benefited by MES applications, as they make transition from one step to the other, seamless and thereby less painful. So if you think your process needs improvement or if your process is already mature and seemingly profitable, analyze it against the steps mentioned above and decide if its capable of pursuing excellence, if so don’t forget the importance of IT and specifically the MES.
by I2DS | Oct 6, 2022 | Blogs
Information Technology is one of the most important areas of strategic planning and decision making for modern day organizations. IT decisions become even more critical because the top management of most organizations have limited knowledge of IT applications and relevant costs. All organizations feel the need to implement better IT infrastructure, but how to go about it, remains a crucial question. In most organizations IT services are outsourced, this makes sense considering the need to concentrate on core competencies. But while outsourcing IT services and applications it is important to understand the implications involved and take a decision after weighing the pros and cons of the situation.
It is indeed necessary to implement better IT infrastructure and have the operation of the organization automated. However, one should remember that once a mistake is made in choosing the right application or the right technology partner, it would be very difficult to deal with repercussions if the project does not work as desired. Even when purchasing a simple inventory or accounting software, it is important to understand the functionality that is desired and the functionality being offered by the selected product. As IT products become more advanced, the process of choosing the right application becomes more and more complex.
For companies that manufacture products, irrespective of their process, an MES application is highly desired to achieve a high level of automation and integration. There are many players in the MES market and all of them claim to have the best product. But what you need to look out for is whether that MES application suits your operations or not. Buying an Off The Shelf MES application has many implications, such as, there would be a need to change your process to suit the application, due to the changes made in the process the level of resistance received from the work force will be a lot higher and there are many other problems that may arise depending on the application selected and the degree of change to be made in the production process. I am strictly against the philosophy of ‘One size fits all’, especially in the case of MES applications.
I think it is easier to design an application that can automate and integrate the present process, as is, without making substantial changes in the process. Tailor made MES applications have proven to perform better and face lesser resistance from the work force. While making the decision of acquiring an MES application for your Factory, please remember that you should work with a company that understands operations in your industry and is willing to design a product to improve and integrate your current operations rather than change it completely. I2DS is one such company, we believe that every production process is unique and has different internal and external environments. We believe that a thorough study of a production process and an in depth research of the entire operation is required before designing and implementing an MES application.
I2DS has the most revered team of professionals both from IT and Ops Management background and our team of experts design our MES applications to better suit your process. If you need an MES application, get in touch with us and we will guide you towards a better more efficient solution, which will truly fulfill your needs of automaton and integration. We will visit your plant, analyze your process and then guide you towards an MES solution that will deliver the desired functionality. So what are you waiting for, e-mail us at info@i2ds.com or just hit the Request Live Demo, Tab and we will surely get back to you.
