by I2DS | Feb 18, 2022 | Blogs
Every Top Boss of every Organization of the world strives to make his/her organization the best in its class. If you read the Vision or Mission statement of any organization in the world this desire to be the best and even better, will become very evident. Irrespective of the line of business every company strives to be labeled the best in business, today we will talk about achieving this dream and making it a reality for manufacturing organizations, for whom their factories/plants are the main source of revenue.
To become the Best-In-Class operation, you need to realize that there is much more to the endeavor than benchmarking the present best in the industry or otherwise. Benchmarking is very helpful but the main reasons for the success of the best organizations around the world can be attributed many factors, such as, strong leadership, clear vision, pro technology outlook, innovation, process control, quality ownership, zero error philosophy and above all 100% customer satisfaction. When the above mentioned features are embraced by the entire organization and these beliefs and practices enter the value system of each and every employee in the organization, becoming best-in-class is just a matter of time.
To develop such value system, integration of the entire process and involvement of employees along with ownership of process in critical. Information Solution like MES are providing process integration and automation for Organizations globally, which is helping them develop a more efficient, coherent and profitable operation. 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 facilitates 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?
I2DS has the most revered 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 | Feb 16, 2022 | Blogs
The common notion in the minds of people is that software applications like the MES are more suited for large, automated plants, which are typically 100 million dollars, type of plants. This is a terribly incorrect notion, MES applications have evolved from expensive on-site applications to suave and low cost service like solutions. Gone are the days where MES projects used to last for a year or two from the establishment of need to the roll-out, acquiring MES applications has become easier and more cost effective than before.
Modern MES solutions are more like a product suite, which comprise various modules, these modules are quite flexible and can be deployed for diverse processes and functional areas. It is important for manufacturing organizations irrespective of their current position, to realize that the future will be much more uncertain, rife with global competitors vying for their piece of the pie. It is extremely crucial to embrace automating and integrating technologies like the MES to become more responsive and more agile. A typical MES module covers functional areas right from purchase/inventory to end-of-line production and beyond, it also integrates seamlessly with the current legacy applications and other enterprise wide applications such as the MRP or ERP. The idea for SME companies is to understand the implications of not having the MES, not in the status quo but 5 years down the line, a future perspective will help them realize the importance and need of the MES, today. For most manufacturers, cycle times will need to reduce drastically in the future, with a definite increase in the product basket being offered, this will be coupled with the need to customize most of the basic products on offer. To have this kind of agility, even smaller companies will need enabling technologies, which help individual functional areas collaborate more effectively. The need to have precise actionable information will increase drastically and the cost of bad quality will have far more adverse effects than today. In this age of social networking, any quality issue or product re-call can potentially kill a small player, even if all its customer base isn’t affected, the ones who are exposed to bad products can spread the word faster and more aggressively than ever before, the idea of containing the issue by swift re-calls and reimbursements is no longer a lucrative one even currently, the situation will only worsen in the future.
The key here is to appreciate the value an application like the MES adds both in terms of tangible benefits and intangible ones resulting from the aversion of quality issues and faulty production lots. The future of every manufacturing company will depend on how they embrace integrating technologies like the MES and how they use the information generated to become more agile and more innovative.
by I2DS | Feb 15, 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 | Feb 8, 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. These protocols and procedures that organizations claim to have in place are generally to achieve documentary compliance for various certifications and audits, with the end-goal remaining a boost in profits. Safety, however remain neglected and procedures become a joke if they are not practiced as is, any leeway that occurs in safety procedures no matter how trivial, can prove to be very costly. If we look at tragedy’s that have previously occurred, such as the Oil spill in the Pacific, Gas Tragedy in India and nuclear blast in Russia, all of them could have been avoided if safety policies and procedures were robust and well adhered to.
Even in organizations which do not pose an overt threat to workers or the environment, 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 Abraham Maslow’s theory about ‘Hierarchy of needs’, Safety, at the workplace is then 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. The life of a person is of the highest value and to ensure the safety of workers the highest responsibility of any organization. Many management practices like Poka Yoke widely practiced in Japan aims to fool-proof a given process in terms of operations in lean manufacturing, but similar processes can be used in Safety from a Safety Management point of view. The trick is to make a safety procedure both effective and efficient at the same time and this can be done using IT.
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.
The need is to truly believe in the Mantra- ‘Safety First.’, and practice it through IT solutions. Today there are many products in the market which are helping organizations streamline their Safety efforts and thereby achieve a cost effective yet robust management, to ensure a safe working environment. Automated systems today are capable of providing features ranging from risk-assessment to providing safety training. With a right IT application the possibilities become limitless. But, it is very important to understand your own needs first before jumping for a solution. You need to first understand the industry practices for safety, then compare them with your current system and establish what needs to be automated and why. Then you need to work with a competent vendor, who understands your industry’s requirement and can achieve the safety level you desire, with minimum efforts and cost. So if you really want a Safe working environment, you need to think safety, plan for safety and act for safety, but with an IT perspective to make a fool-proof, robust and cost-effective safety solution.
|
by I2DS | Feb 4, 2022 | Blogs
Have you ever wondered what is missing in your manufacturing plant? Why are operational costs still high? What is causing redundant expenses in the production line? Why is it that TPM efforts are not succeeding in your facility? These questions haunt Operations Managers on a daily basis. The abovementioned problems exist in all facets of the manufacturing industry and some implications remain the same irrespective of industry, but vary as per the level of industrialization. Even in factories that have completely automated equipment, there might be similar problems to the factory that has a completely manual process. No matter how complex a production process is, it still requires at least these things, 1) Equipment/Tools, 2) Raw materials and most importantly 3) Human beings.
Worker and employee training have helped lower the costs related to human errors and have helped organizations develop an environment for learning. Raw materials are generally outsourced and the suppliers have to comply with strict compliance a standard, which assures the quality of raw material is acceptable. Equipment issues however are neglected in many organizations; these issues contribute heavily towards factory overheads and high operational costs. The reasons why TPM efforts fail in Organizations are the lack of correct monitoring systems, lack of correct metrics and lack of Organizational commitment. The above argument necessitates the need for a comprehensive, facility wide information system, which has the capability to monitor equipment and help reduce costs.
Having access to real time data from the equipment can be beneficial in a number of ways. It would help obtain a higher degree of clarity and transparency, it would help in better preventive maintenance efforts, it would help cut costs due to redundant maintenance efforts, and it would help increase the up-time of the equipment and thereby result in a greater throughput. But the application of such a system is a tricky job and requires an expertise in Operations management as well as Information Technology. If IT is not one of your core competences you need to choose a partner who has the desired skill set to give you the functionality you require, at reasonable costs and help you manage the resultant change.
by I2DS | Feb 3, 2022 | Blogs
The biggest requirement of Big Data Analytics can be considered the paradigm shift required in the perspective of the Top Management of the organizations wanting to implement the same. The management has to realize that the economy has become heavily dependant on information and the work force needed for survival in such an economy has to be a knowledgeable workforce. This means that the organization has to make Analytics an active part of Strategy making, where information obtained is used to strengthen competitive position. We have seen in previous Blogs, what are the challenges that lie in the path of Big Data Analytics implementation. Today however we want to focus on what else is required for the endeavor to succeed even if the management is aware where it will source the info from, where it will use it and who will make the applications.
Yes, even if the Organization has overcome the primary challenges in the Analytics application, there are many perils that lie ahead in the path of sustained value addition and success from the implementation of Big Data Analytics. The major one being the training and conditioning required to be given to the personnel. The major source of resistance to any change, which changes the way in which work is performed, faces major resistance in every Organization. In the case of Data Analytics, employees need to learn how to make sense from the complex information that they encounter and how to best use it, to add value to the operation. The exercise of applying an analytics application would bear fruition only if it is used with dexterity by workers and staff capable of properly using the valuable information they receive.
The challenge for the management here is to manage the changes required by the analytics application along with the actual implementation of the application itself. The process has to begin from Top, with the top executives taking initiative and making the importance of the endeavor felt throughout the Organization’s hierarchy. One key activity to facilitate the change from status quo to the desired state, is the systematic description of Job Roles and Responsibilities, based on the Analytics implementation and how they would impact the remuneration, incentives and bonuses of all the employees in the Organization. The HR and Functional departments and their heads would play a key role as change agents, as they would play an active role in conditioning the employees and slowly steering them towards the use of the application or the part of application intended from them. It is very important to train the front-line employees in analytics as they represent the company at the customer end, their being knowledgeable and informed would have a great impact on the company’s bottom line. The Organization should also look for partners who not only develop tailor-made Analytics applications, but who are also capable to act as active change agents and are capable of transforming any resistance from the workforce to a thrust for the successful implementation of the application.
The road to a successful Data-analytics implementation is filled with challenges and requires careful planning both in terms of the application deliverables and the actual implementation of the same. Just a decision to purchase an application from a well-known vendor, might look like a smart move, but what you should ask yourself is- Have we done enough home-work on how and what the application should be? Is our workforce capable of using the info which will be generated through the application? Who will train the workers and what would be the time and capital required? So, if you are looking to turnaround your business with Analytics, this Blog should give you a better picture from an Organizational Perspective.
