What is Manufacturing Optimization?
Manufacturing optimization refers to the process of manufacturers seeking methods to enhance their production process. The optimization of a product or system can happen on different levels. Ranging from improving equipment to reducing waste. With the rise of Industry 4.0 technologies, this goal has never become more attainable for the manufacturing industry. Thus, the key to optimizing a manufacturing process is to learn and adopt advanced industry 4.0 technologies that best fit your process.
What Does Factory Optimization Actually Mean?
Optimizing a factory means turning away from manual processes and adopting smart technology and automation. Successful factory optimization can help organizations reduce material waste, save costs on maintenance, materials, equipment, and increase staff productivity. An optimized factory means achieving greater performance at the best price possible.
The 4 main technology pillars to process optimization in manufacturing:
- Gather accurate, real-time data – by integrating industry 4.0 tools, such as machine learning and data connectivity, manufacturers are able to see every detail of the full production process. And by using IoT connectivity, manufacturers can be sure the data is safe and secure.
- Pinpoint root causes of inefficiencies – by implementing the technology mentioned above, factories can now also spot inefficiencies on the production line such as defective products or machine downtime, that quickly leads them to the root cause analysis.
- Forecast when process inefficiencies will happen – anticipating exactly when a process inefficiency will occur is extremely valuable for manufacturers. When factories integrate with an automated manufacturing analytics software, they have the ability to input data and receive actionable insights. Combining these actionable insights with machine learning algorithms help manufacturers predict issues and therefore are able to prevent them in the future.
- Determine how to create a process with zero inefficiencies – with the information above, manufacturers can determine how certain inefficiencies can be eliminated by testing how various processes will behave in different scenarios. The ultimate goal of optimization is to produce at maximum efficiency with little to zero inefficiencies.
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The manufacturing industry is notoriously competitive, meaning prices of products are lowering and product life cycles are shortening, creating an even more volatile environment. In order to keep up with these challenges, which also include high consumer demand, manufacturers are turning to automation and Industry 4.0 technologies to help optimize production processes.
Manufacturing optimization in production management enables operators to maintain precise control over every aspect of the production process from anyplace and anytime. This type of remote manufacturing provides organizations with greater perception of what is occurring on the factory floor.
