At Shoplogix, we take pride in providing manufacturing leaders with digital transformation solutions that solve the most pressing challenges. A major part of this digital transformation process involves researching how businesses as a whole have adopted technologies in order to understand the opportunities and issues that occur on real-world shop floors.
One of the key trends we’ve discovered is how a truly connected smart factory brings the shop floor close to the people working at the manufacturing plant and those who are a distance away from the on-the-ground process. By providing real-time data for key stakeholders, new opportunities can be uncovered to accelate lean initiates while speeding up data collection and sustaining results through visualization.
With plenty of implementations and smart factory capabilities for manufacturers, the Shoplogix team has gathered a proven list of best practices and lessons learned that drive results. Our team also understands that one of the key lessons of true digital transformation with smart factory technology adoption is the integration of data, assets, people and processes. These not only assist in achieving more return on investment (ROI), but also emphasize the fact that engaging with others is one of the most important characteristics of a modern, sustainable and successful smart factory.
Here are some of our tips for achieving best practices on your manufacturing shop floor:
- Integrate your new technologies with existing ones
- Standardize your data collection process
- Establish smart manufacturing metrics
- Ensure your metrics support lean benchmarks
- Conduct post-deployment innitivaites
- Champion continuous improvement efforts
Of course, this is in addition to ensuring that your key performance indicators (KPIs) are a part of your day-to-day procedures and shift meetings. Implementing these real-world best practices on the shop floor can not only improve your overall plant performance, but also help you achieve manufacturing cost reductions through greater efficiencies.
As an example, a European packaging company and Shoplogix customer was able to deploy these best practices across 20 plants. This resulted in a significant improvement in overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) alongside higher throughput and run speed. Additionally, the average setup waste per job decreased, leading to an improved bottom line.
Operator engagement was key in making this happen because feedback from the workers themselves drove the improvement process. Actions based on specific conditions were taken into consideration in order to figure out the best methodology moving forward as well. Moreover, the integration of data into daily management procedures aligned business goals with that of plant floor operators.
The power of real-world best practices in the manufacturing industry comes from providing everyone with visibility into their daily responsibilities. By empowering production teams on the shop floor, a business can meet the changing needs of consumers while improving upon product quality and customer satisfaction.
To learn more about how you can bring your manufacturing plant to the next level, make sure email us at info@shoplogix.com or request a demo.
