by I2DS | Apr 22, 2021 | Blogs
Vendors are as important as customers in the Value Chain of any Organization. Supply Chain Management advocates strongly the involvement of Vendors in the Planning process of the Organization. Having a strong and long term relationship with all Vendors is a requisite for maintaining the competitive edge in today’s cut-throat market conditions; vendor-engagement is highly desired if the Organization is to achieve the Quality Standards required. Most companies today focus on vendor-relationship building as it allows them to concentrate on their core competencies and dedicated vendors ensure that the Operations of the Organization remains flexible to accommodate things like- New Product Development, Shorter PLC, Variable demand, Equipment Purchase and Troubleshooting etc. Vendors have become more than just suppliers of goods and equipment, they have become strategic partners for firms world-wide and concepts like Vendor Managed Inventory or VMI are gaining momentum. So are vendors equally important in your Organization? What is the Level of Information Sharing you have with them? How involved are your vendors in your planning process? Do you provide the right information to your Vendors which can enable a synchronized supply chain? These are a set of vital questions you need to ask yourself if you really want to optimize your supply chain. In the interest of time, let’s discuss the importance of Vendor-engagement in Equipment selection. Vendor-Engagement is vital when selecting equipment as they have the domain knowledge that you might lack when it comes to selecting the right equipment, let’s look at this in a different way, if a Vendor manufactures or supplies equipment, that is his Core-Competency, therefore engaging such a vendor can be vital when it comes to making a huge Capital Investment Decision like buying Equipment. So then, who is the right partner to help you better engage with your Vendors? Let’s answer this question by visiting what I2DS can do for you in this space and see if we can achieve the desired level of Vendor Management and Engagement. We at I2DS help our customers engage with Vendors for equipment selection so that the customer is relieved from furnishing Vendors with various requirements. We also provide the Vendors with Standards for Data Collection, Technical Documentation etc. which insures smooth MES integration. Also we are providing Vendors the required support for any queries related to Software, Hardware and Troubleshooting. We work with the Vendors and help them get a better picture of Spares and Material Requirements. We help our customer’s right from Vendor Selection to reaching a smooth, long-term and hassle free relationship with potential Vendors. So do you agree I2DS is the right partner for you? If the answer is yes, then write into us at info@i2ds.com
by I2DS | Apr 20, 2021 | Blogs
There are many questions that come to our mind when we think about a manufacturing excellence package. In today’s blog I will ask a few of these questions and then answer them. This would help us realize the importance of a Manufacturing Excellence Package but more importantly it would help you gauge the value of The Manufacturing Excellence Package by I2DS and why is it the better solution for you. Well then what are we waiting for, let’s begin by asking the most basic question- Do we need a Manufacturing Excellence Package? The answer is really another question, which is- Are you an Organization that wants to produce high quality products at minimum operational costs and achieve maximum throughput? If your answer is Yes, then you need a Manufacturing Excellence Package. The next question- Will any Package do? The answer- No Sir, any manufacturing excellence package will not do in fact you need a partner who understands your process someone like I2DS. Next Question- Why, what is the difference between an ordinary package and I2DS’ Manufacturing Excellence Package? The answer is- We at I2DS are a team of professionals who are vastly experienced in running operations and we understand your pain point better. Our Manufacturing Excellence is a solution that allows you to reduce your operational costs by preventing redundant efforts and minimizing equipment downtime. Also our system allows you to track issues related to each equipment & personnel in chronological order, it gives you the ability to drill down and analyze each issue, generate reports, view charts and much more. These aspects make our product both powerful and desirable as it saves cost and increases your productivity like no other. Next Question- Can we See I2DS’ Manufacturing Excellence Solution in action? The answer is- Yes, you can. But for that you will have to hit the Request Live Demo button on our website or mail us at info@i2ds.com
by I2DS | Apr 16, 2021 | Blogs
The product development life-cycle is the journey of a product (tangible or intangible), from its conception to its execution and beyond. You will gain further clarity on the above statement as you go on reading this blog further. Any product no matter how simple or complex it may be in terms of design, shape, size, features etc. has to go through various stages of development to eventually become a commercially viable product. Each stage or phase is extremely important and is a prerequisite for the next phase. So then what are these phases of product development cycle? First and foremost phase in this development cycle is the Idea Generation Phase, as the name suggests this phase involves generating the idea of a product which suits the Organization’s strengths and has a good opportunity to sell in the market. There are various ways to generate these new Ideas like Brainstorming, SWOT analysis, R&D reports and recommendations etc. Generally a set of ideas is generated &out of them the management might select a few to proceed to the next phase which is Idea Screening Phase, in this stage all the ideas are evaluated for their commercial and operational feasibility by the Marketing and R&D verticals respectively. The idea behind this phase is to eliminate ideas that are not feasible and to do this a thorough analysis of the external and internal environment is required. After eliminating the ideas that were not feasible, we move to the next phase Concept Development, Testing & Analysis Phase. In this phase the idea is transformed into a concept by the R&D team and they start the tedious work of adding features and making a prototype of the product. Once a prototype is prepared its operational viability is determined by performing relevant tests, after these tests are performed a business analysis is conducted by taking market surveys, customer feedbacks etc. to determine how the product would perform in the target market. After having ascertained the Economic Feasibility of the product we move to the next phase which is the Technical Implementation Phase. Here major decisions are taken such as whether to manufacture the entire product or outsource a part or assembly? Where will the raw materials be sourced from? How many vendors are to be employed? How would the production floor work? What Quality parameters are important? How to monitor the Quality? This phase is aimed at answering all these questions. This phase requires planning at all three levels i.e. Strategic, tactical and operational level. After the decision on production and planning is taken we enter the last phase of the cycle which is the Commercialization Stage. The commercialization of any product involves efforts pertaining to market the product in terms of its positioning, price, promotion, differentiation, competitive analysis etc. These are generally the steps that comprise a Product Development Cycle, however this cycle may be different for different products as all products have diverse features, similarly, variables related to each organization are unique and this might change the Life-cycle for them. My aim here was to shed some light on the general nature of a product development life-cycle and what does each phase of the cycle add to the entire process. Your comments and queries are welcome do get back to us at info@i2ds.com .
by I2DS | Apr 12, 2021 | 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 | Apr 7, 2021 | Blogs
FIS stands for Factory Information System; it is an application which is considered crucial by automation experts. There are many versions and variants in which an FIS can be applied in a factory but we will look into that part a bit later in the article. Right now let’s focus on what an FIS really is and what makes it so necessary for modern factories. To begin with let us focus on the value of information, and the need to have real time info about the factory floor. Every manager irrespective of position or function will agree with me when I say that the correct information obtained at the right time can be considered priceless. The reason behind this statement is that information that is gained a little too late has already caused some amount of damage, even though it might not be palpable at that point of time. For Greater collaboration and improved productivity companies generally opt for a comprehensive communication package like an FIS.
There is an ever present need to obtain information at the right time and for that information to reach the right person. Let us imagine a scenario where an engineer notes a leakage from a very expensive piece of machinery, he changes the seal which was causing the leakage and notes it in his journal. This particular episode is not noted any where else and the maintenance manager remains completely unaware of the event. Now, the leak still persists and is noted by another engineer, he too does what the first engineer had done. This way the root cause of the problem remains undetected, till it is brought to the manager’s notice and by the time an important part of the machinery has already failed. This causes losses that are multifaceted in nature; there is loss of money, machine up-time, labor, spare parts etc.
Such events and losses become hard to miss when an FIS system is in place. The FIS system is designed to record every event on the factory floor and can be viewed by the entire factory team. This application can also be used to provide training, inspiration and motivation to the workforce. However like I had mentioned earlier the functionality of the application can be defined by the management committee in-charge of deciding the extent and features of the application. The key thing is to realize the importance of the application to begin with and then comes the features and functionality of the application.
I2DS has developed a unique FIS solution. Our FIS system is truly at the forefront of technological advancements in the manufacturing space. It enables rapid data communication from the production floor and provides the organization with a real-time status on equipment status, WIP profile, and other factory metrics. We at I2DS realize the importance of process related information and how the flow of this information can affect the bottom line of your organization. Our FIS gives management a complete picture of what is happening on their Factory Floor, this helps better and faster decision making, that in turn increases organizational flexibility and aids continuous improvement. Factory Information Systems help you better utilize your equipment, make better tactical plans, improve cycle time, locate and relieve bottlenecks and achieve your true capacity. FIS system can provide above mentioned functionalities because it makes all the important metrics available for analysis and subsequent decision making in real-time. FIS Technology if used effectively can change the way your factory operates, let I2DS be your automation partner and reach the pinnacle of efficiency and profit optimization. To get an experience of our amazing FIS solution and other Factory Automation Solutions e-mail us right away at info@i2ds.com
by I2DS | Mar 25, 2021 | Blogs
All Operations professionals know and would agree that no matter how fool proof a production process might be there is always a possibility of an excursion, due to the contingent nature of day-to-day operations. 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 HMV 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
