Advances in technology is changing everything in the manufacturing industry, where automation has now become the norm, and number jobs that robots are taking over is on an all-time high.
Although these sound-like negatives, technological advances have paved the way for many new, innovative items to be developed. Technology has also helped to minimize waste and make processes much more efficient.
This article discusses a few initiatives you can introduce in your floor as a small manufacturer.
1. The Digital-Lean Initiative
A combination of timeless lean principles and constantly evolving digital technologies has the potential to take the manufacturing industry to a new level by decreasing waste and variability in processes, a report from Deloitte Insight has found.
It points out that digital lean accelerates waste identification faster than traditional lean methods by giving targeted, detailed information directly in digital platform to those who can reduce waste.
It also provides an opportunity to target hidden components of waste, such as information asymmetry and latency, which often go unnoticed and that cumulatively add up to higher support costs and reduced efficiency and output, which results in tangible bottom line impact.
The tree enablers for digital-lean are;
- Getting the data – collaborating information technology (IT) with operational technology (OT).
- Standaridising Processes – Non-standard and undisciplined process cannot generate continuous and usable data.
- Bring process to life – using a modern software platform that can give you insights about the process.
2. Introducing Adaptive Production Planning
React quickly to short term plan changes by accurate live modelling of material stock, including locations and consumption rates, together with product hierarchical knowledge, eliminating work-order cut-shorts, product starvation and excess shop-floor material inventory.
It will need you standardize and stabilize production planning process in your floor first with the aid of software platform that can guide planners through the processes seamlessly. Software platform shall, as a minimum, have the real-time awareness of jobs, materials, machines and product architecture.
3. Control Production Real-time with Traceability & Compliance
Technology makes it is possible to consolidate shop-floor functions for simplicity, efficiency, and cost savings, including paperless instruction, routing control, quality, full traceability and process verification.
A few initiatives you can kickstart without huge costs are:
- Introducing QR scanners to track material batches moving into production processes.
- Standardise production bin movements slips using QR code for superior traceability.
- Reftrofit simple sensors into machines making them smart and generating very useful data.
Enforce process adherence and handle production incidents with full traceability to improve yield and simplify audits.
References : Deloitte Insights Digital lean manufacturing.