Digital Shop Floor Management: Achieving great things in small steps

Step 3: Networking the shop floor and top floor

In step 3, the networking of shop floor and top floor – i.e. the integration of digitally connected machinery with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, customer relationship management (CRM) systems or warehouse management systems – brings further significant added value.

The result is a consistent database in both production and planning – all systems work with the “single source of truth”. The source is the data from the ‘place of value creation’, i.e. data-driven production.

Practical example: How digitally recorded key figures help factory tea

The following example of order planning shows how important it is for the teams on the shop floor and top floor to work with the same data:

A new AVO – work process – is scheduled in business planning. The system assumes a production capacity of – theoretically – eight hours a day at 60 parts per hour. The production plan therefore provides for 480 parts per day.

But the factory team can’t manage that. The production manager had to listen to the accusation that work was obviously slower than planned.

The OEE key figure provides a remedy

The overall equipment effectiveness is then determined digitally – using the key figure OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness). It records the realistic production capacities because it includes downtimes and reasons for downtimes that factory teams are confronted with: Set-up, maintenance, repairs.

However, these times had previously not been taken into account in the corporate planning system. Result: With the digitally calculated OEE, the factory team was now measured against realistic production figures.

Parallel momentum: a continuous improvement process (CIP)

The example also shows that managers play a decisive role in the use of key figures for production planning. They must ensure that the key figures are calculated and interpreted correctly.

This is why every digital transformation only flies with two wings – a technological wing and a human wing. In other words, digital shopfloor management will only be successful if the people who are to use the technology are also convinced of its benefits.

CIP, the continuous improvement process, has proven to be the “engine of motivation”. Digital shop floor management provides the objective key figures for the CIP, which all teams can use as a guide.

Essential: training teams on the systems

Every CIP controlled by key figures leads to a change in motivation among managers and employees. Guiding principle:

‘We have all the tools in our hands to improve our team and take responsibility for creating greater added value. In this way, we contribute to the competitiveness of the company and thus to securing the location and jobs.

Employees must therefore be continuously trained in the use of shop floor management systems. In turn, managers play a key role in ensuring that the desired motivation is generated.

Understanding processes and technology – that motivate

The introduction of new IT is always a cultural challenge: it entails changes to the way of working and the working environment. Only if employees understand the desired processes and the required technology will they be motivated to use them in a targeted manner and integrate them into their changed work as a matter of course.

FORCAM ENISCO expert Alexander Schäfer: “Every employee, regardless of their job and training, should understand how production-relevant data must be recorded, interpreted and reported back.”

Communicate successes widely

The greatest motivator is success: good results should therefore be widely communicated right from the start. Encourage and reinforce the efforts of your employees in order to steer the project into calm waters in the long term. Major successes should be celebrated together – this will keep the transformation team motivated.

As many departments as possible should be involved in communicating success. The aim is to show how the improvement measures affect the company’s success. This activates employees and inspires them to continue with the CIP.

Summary

Today, the challenges facing the manufacturing industry, such as energy costs and uncertain supply chains, can only be mastered with software solutions for the factory. The longer-term paradigm shift – product life cycles are becoming shorter, customers want more and more product variations – can only be mastered with software support.

In industry, value creation takes place in the factory. Digital shop floor management must therefore be the main focus if companies are to continue to achieve their long-term goals such as sustainable profitability and competitiveness.

Mastering growing complexity in day-to-day production

Modern production today requires both the selective optimization of individual machines and an overview of the overall process. The aim is to master the growing complexity and diversity of variants in day-to-day production.

The prerequisite for this is digital shop floor management. Regardless of the size of the company, there are suitable software solutions for data-driven shop floor management to significantly increase efficiency and productivity.

• High-performance connectivity solutions for existing machines (AC4DC| EDGE CONNECT)
• Historical and real-time analyses with a Manufacturing Execution System (MES FLEX | E-MES)
• Hybrid deployment options for on-premise, edge and cloud architectures

The right technologies together with a professional CIP – Continuous Improvement Process – make it possible to significantly increase efficiency, productivity and flexibility in production in a short space of time.