The manufacturing industry has always been a bit reluctant to adopt new technologies for fear of the opposite happening… production and productivity slowing down. Although a valid reason for being hesitant to adopt new technologies, the manufacturing industry has been coming around in recent years.
Traditional Shop Floor Technologies
Currently, there are many technologies to improve productivity and efficiency on the shop floor. There are both software solutions and machine technologies that will help with your shop floor. Some popular technologies that are currently being used in many facilities are Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) to help with inventory and planning and scheduling.
These popular technologies have been widely used for years and have ultimately changed how the manufacturing industry uses these technologies in their own manufacturing operations.
Quality Management System (QMS) is something most manufacturers are implementing but in case you have not considered this, it will provide cut-and-dry procedures, processes, structure, and resources that are needed to streamline your ERP and manufacturing operations while maintaining quality. There are a few options when it comes to QMS, if you need any assistance researching the best option for your manufacturing operations, Crawford Software can help.
Inventory Management technology will allow your shop floor to operate at the highest efficiency. It will do this by integrating with your other systems and allowing your business to track, organize and manage all inventory and your inventory process. Once you implement it, you will gain insight into maintenance data, ordering, supply chain management, and more.
Next Generation Factory 5.0 Technologies:
Predictive Maintenance is a type of maintenance that tracks asset health, status, and performance in real time. Since it is analyzed and tracked in real-time, it reduces the likelihood of an unexpected machine failure. With this technology, known as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), companies can be more prepared for potential shop floor issues or failures and be proactive vs. reactive.
Remote monitoring or Performance Monitoring allows you to track and receive alerts in real-time as to what is happening on your shop floor without having to be there. In addition, you could add time tracking software that will further help manage your shop floor and all employees effectively and efficiently.
Summary
As a manufacturing business, you might struggle between the need to improve your shop floor operations and not wanting to implement anything new that will disrupt your current process. This can be a common challenge when we speak with manufacturers every day. As an expert in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and the technologies (ISVs) that integrate, we are happy to provide you with an honest and detailed action plan to grow your manufacturing business.