by I2DS | May 26, 2023 | 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
by I2DS | May 25, 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 | May 9, 2023 | Blogs
What is profitability? Is it just making more and more money? Is it the blind pursuit of profit where no attention should be paid to the means of achieving it? The views on profitability might differ drastically depending on many socio-economic factors, what is important is that we realize why profitability is perceived differently around the world and what should be the true meaning of profitability in today’s economic environment. Profitability is perceived and pursued differently in different regions of the world and this difference arises due to the country’s economic maturity and the society’s general beliefs and its perception business ethics. Ideally any organization in business wants to achieve profit maximization, which is a valid thought; increasing value for the stakeholders is the number 1 priority of all firms. But it is the means of achieving higher profitability that becomes important in present context.
Sustainable Profitability, Social Responsibility and Ethical Conduct are a few aspects of modern theory of profitability and profit maximization cannot occur at the expense of these aspects. To achieve such profitability the organization needs thorough understanding of its own capabilities and its external environment. Let’s concentrate on the term Sustainable Profitability, and how can it be achieved in manufacturing operations considering the drastic changes in customer preferences, high speed of technological development and growing global competition. Sustainable Profitability comprises the achievement of maximum possible profitability under the given set of conditions and the effort required to sustain it in the given market conditions. Yes, sustaining long term profits is much more important than earning massive profits in the short term. In Manufacturing Industry, achieving higher sustained profitability is a function of productivity, which is both optimized and flexible. When we say optimized productivity we mean that the process produces the best possible output with the given resources, technology and employee skills, at minimal cost. When we say flexible productivity we mean productivity that is capable of reacting and adjusting to environmental changes, which are mostly uncertain. For a process to achieve sustainable profits, it should be both optimal and flexible at the same time.
This desired productivity, is again a function of automation and technical competence of the process and how well it is managed and controlled. To achieve process automation and reach the desired level of efficiency and flexibility, it is extremely important that IT applications like MES are considered. Successful MES applications have the power to combine the two most important facets of better productivity which are Operations Management and Technology. These are the two factors that can make an ordinary operation a very efficient and successful one. An MES application combines both these facets of Operation; it is a combination of Information Technology and Operations Management. Manufacturing Organizations can benefit immensely by the application of MES application, as it provides both automation but also Integration of their entire production process under one comprehensive system. But choosing just any MES application can be very risky and lead to massive losses and develop a negative attitude in the workforce.
To be able to design the perfect MES application, expertise in both Technology and Ops Management are prerequisites. As I mentioned earlier, every manufacturing process has some unique attributes, an MES provider should be able to assess these unique feature and use them in the MES application so as to further benefit the customer’s Organization. I2DS is one such company that can boast of expertise in both Information Technology and Operations Management. The team of experts at I2DS has worked for few of the top organizations world wide and is renowned for its skills in Factory Automation, Information Technology, Data Management and Operation Management. This means that the team does not take any manufacturing process for granted, each process is carefully analyzed to determine the scope and functionality of an MES application.
I2DS brings more to the table than any other MES application provider in the industry. Every MES solution provided is tailor made to suit the present and future technology of the client, with the main aim of making Operation Management more efficient and decision making more concrete. If you also value Technology and Operations Management and believe that your MES application should facilitate these factors, I2DS is the best partner for you. To know more about our solution or to get your process analyzed by our panel of experts, e-mail us at info@i2ds.com or hit the Request Live Demo tab on this webpage and we will get back to you
by I2DS | May 4, 2023 | Blogs
What makes an Operation Excellent? What are the means to achieve excellence, why is it so important? Is an excellent process highly profitable as well? These questions are relevant to all manufacturers irrespective of industry, type of production and the resultant end product. Taking it from the top, any operation that is excellent will have certain attributes that set it apart from the rest. An operation can become excellent only when it has a dedicated team of workers and has a process that is under control. What sets certain operations apart is the way in which they deal with issues, the foresight that they possess and the way they recover from issues that effect their operation. Excellent operations become excellent because they achieve a dynamic equilibrium with external environment factors by changing and controlling the internal capabilities accordingly. Technology has a major role to play in the pursuit of manufacturing excellence, because a gifted and well trained workforce can only do so much without technological aid. Technology is the vehicle that drives the operational excellence endeavor, workforce is the fuel and management is the driver. Without technology the process will be walking and not motoring towards excellence. This answers the second question; the third however needs thought and analysis from a couple of perspectives. I believe that in business the profitability and ethics should go hand in hand. So when we talk about making more money, it should not mean a blatant disregard for society, environment and workforce. An excellent operation is the one that is excellent in process efficiency, which achieves higher throughput as well as is fully compliant with social, ethical and quality standards. Sometimes the management feels that the cost of being compliant is just a waste of money and cuts profitability, but an operation cannot be excellent if it is not safe and does not put quality before cost. So, how do you achieve an operation that is excellent, an operation that saves money, generates higher throughput and still remains compliant with required standards? Well, you do what mankind has been doing since centuries, i.e. you employ better technology. Yes, if you are to achieve all the features that constitute an excellent process, you have to employ technology, that can integrate your process and help you remain compliant at a lower cost and achieve higher profitability. Manufacturing excellence solutions are helping Organizations reach the pinnacle of manufacturing in their industry. These solutions are integrated IT applications that allow you to monitor all parameters that are of providence in achieving excellence. Let’s say that the top parameters that you might consider as pivotal for achieving manufacturing excellence are Safety, Quality, Personnel Performance and Preventive Maintenance. A manufacturing excellence solution will help you monitor, control and improve on these parameters in real-time. This means that the chances of you missing an event leading to a non-conformance, or a small issue becoming a major cost center are almost completely eliminated. However, it is important that you choose the partner for such applications with great care and analysis. You should know what parameters you consider vital for attaining and maintaining excellence. Once you know you can employ an IT expert organization to design and implement the application for your manufacturing operation. If you would like to know more about Manufacturing Excellence Solutions and how they can help your operation become the Best in your industry, feel free to get in touch with me at sumeet@i2ds.com, or info@i2ds.com , I am waiting to hear from you.
by I2DS | May 3, 2023 | Blogs
Discreet Manufacturing is considered different from process manufacturing because the end product being produced is different every time, unlike process manufacturing. Practices like customization and delayed differentiation have allowed discreet manufacturers achieve the economies of scale and scope. Process manufacturing concentrates on refining the process and achieving the same end result every time with lesser cost and higher quality. In discreet manufacturing however, the process of production needs to be flexible and adapt itself to the desired end result. In discreet manufacturing the ability of the process to change as the product specifications change is a prerogative, also the high standards for quality and the pressure to lower the cost is ever existent.
MES applications for process manufacturing generally concentrate on the integration of the operation and achieving higher quality by achieving better process control and facilitating real-time decision making. The requirement of flexibility is not as important in MES applications for process manufacturing. In discreet manufacturing however, flexibility is the top priority. Coming back to the topic of today’s blog, Is an MES application successful in discreet manufacturing? The answer is No and Yes. The reason I have given such an answer is not to confuse my readers but to state the following observation. In my experience an MES application can fail any where irrespective of the production process, this happens because the management fails to determine their needs and choose the wrong application. In such a case an MES application might fail in a discreet process as well. For an MES application to be successful the management needs to carefully assess their needs and choose an MES application accordingly.
I believe that every process is unique and should be considered individually, especially for discreet manufacturing companies. The application of an MES solution can be successful in a discreet manufacturing environment, only if the process in analyzed completely and the parameters that need to be monitored and the process metrics that need to be analyzed are determined, before choosing the structure of the MES application. An MES solution can lead to higher productivity, lower cost, better quality and enhanced flexibility, only if the MES application partner specializes in the design and implementation of such applications.
Here I would like to introduce I2DS to you. I2DS is an organization that specializes in MES applications and has a team of expert analysts that works on the process specific design of the MES application. After designing the MES application, tailor made to your needs, our team of experts implement the application for you and provide a complete change management program for the employees. This makes I2DS the most preferred MES application provider in the industry today. We treat every manufacturing process individually and this makes our solutions the best choice for you. If you think that an MES application can not work in your process, just give us a buzz and we will show you how an MES application can make your operation more productive and much more profitable. For a live demo of our applications and solutions just hit the Request Live Demo Tab on this page or you can also e-mail us at info@i2ds.com.
by I2DS | Apr 28, 2023 | Blogs
Top Management plays an important role in any business decision, especially when leveraging information and benefits derived from it is concerned. Every manufacturing organization, which relies on selling goods to either consumers or B2B needs to realize the importance of process data and how it impacts the bottom line. The CEO’s, COO’s and CIO’s of the world need to take into consideration the huge value which lies dormant in their internal process, whilst they set targets of gaining business advantage by targeting external data and analytics.
Every manufacturing process, especially those with higher degree of automation, are potential gold mines of data, data which can lead to business advantages faster than the external data. The main reason why benefits are easily realized from internal data, is the ease of its availability, however, this also the main reason why it’s ignored as well. There is a huge propensity in the senior management leaders to ignore internal avenues of value creation and look beyond organizational realms to attain competitive advantage. The top bosses of manufacturing organizations need to realize that a large scope of improvement lies with-in day-to-day operations which might appear trivial or even mundane to them. What is required from them is to dig deeper and see what is required from the operations in terms of their strategic plans and goals. For example, If they want to reduce costs, where is the best place to begin reductions inside, how can inputs become more efficient and employees more capable? These questions and statements reinforce the notion that internal improvement and agility are key drivers of business improvement.
Process data is undoubtedly vital, but what does the CIO/CEO/COO of a company do to harness and convert otherwise useless information to information which drives improvement and competitive supremacy? Well, to begin with an important thing to do is to assess the current business scenario, where are the competitors in terms of process technology and IT. After understanding the competitive scene, its important to analyze the industry trends, whether its facing regular and incremental changes or are there any disruptive changes going around which might impact the industry at the base itself. Once these scenarios and trends are understood it is important to link these external changes/trends to the internal manufacturing process, and establish what is needed in terms or technology and information.
Leaders should pay attention to how MES and other IT applications can unlock the goldmine of data discussed earlier. Information form the MES may help them realize exactly where the main pressure points are, in their processes. So if they choose to employ an MES, in maybe three months time they may realize that their TPM efforts are more intensive than required and this is increasing unnecessary downtime. They may realize that they need to train workers cross-functionally to ascertain operations is immune to turnover. What I want to emphasize here, is that applications like the MES are capable of much more than they are given credit for. Improving performance and achieving higher quality standards is just a small speck of what integrated applications such as the MES can achieve, they have the potential to drive business decisions not even related to manufacturing as an activity, such as the one illustrated above regarding the cross-functional training.
Today most members of the C-suite in any manufacturing organization would be aware of an MES application, some of them might even have used it in their previous assignments, but what they need to realize is that these applications have now become more evolved and coupled with other enterprise wide applications like the MRP or the CRM, MES applications can not only drive conventional change and improvement, they can even be the source of inspiration for potential disruptive changes, which might change the way in which processes were run in your industry. Business leaders today need to look at the bigger picture, where the MES is the central character, along which other applications rally to extract the true potential from analytics endeavors. So if you are the CIO or CEO of a manufacturing enterprise, think of MES as the IT weapon which can give you the strategic advantage of knowing every single ounce of valuable information from your manufacturing process and imagine how knowing more about a manufacturing process more than your competitors can help you succeed in the marketplace.
