Why Real-Time Operational Intelligence Is the Next Evolution of Manufacturing Execution Systems
Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) play a vital role on the factory floor, giving production teams the ability to track, monitor, and document production. They serve as a connection between the enterprise-level systems where customer orders are generated and the actual scheduling and execution on the factory floor.
As the technological needs of manufacturers evolved, so too have their shop floor solution demands. Today, manufacturers are in need of powerful real-time digitalization solutions that enable them to aggregate, analyze, and act on data, serving as the critical real-time link traditional systems lack.
Real-time Operational Intelligence (RtOI) solutions serve as that missing link, positioning themselves as the next generation of Manufacturing Execution Systems.
Improving Agility with RtOI
Modern manufacturers are pushing themselves towards greater adoption of industry 4.0 principles with every passing day. Among the most crucial of those principles is agility, the ability to react quickly and effectively to changing conditions on the factory floor.
Workflows that lack real-time data often have a latency when unexpected changes happen on the factory floor. This latency is the time between an event occurring and its eventual solution through corrective action. Any response will take time, but the lack of real-time data is what negatively impacts a plant’s ability to be agile.
To reduce or even eliminate this latency, manufacturers need a solution that aggregates and analyzes important data points in real-time. Such a solution lets production teams and other stakeholders constantly remain aware of what’s really happening on the factory floor. This makes it possible to discover events as they happen rather than when reconciling production reports.
Real-time Operational Intelligence (RtOI) solutions continually analyze data in real-time, providing contextually relevant and actionable insight to each stakeholder at the relevant time. When information is received and analyzed continually, manufacturers do not need to wait until a critical event occurs and disrupts operations. Instead, they can receive notifications via triggers and alerts about KPI deviations and adapt operations as needed.
The Impact of RtOI on the Shop Floor
RtOI solutions streamline production for all stakeholders.
On the factory floor, it helps operators, managers, and technicians do their jobs more effectively, ultimately making the manufacturer more productive, profitable, and sustainable.
For Production Operators
Operators on the factory floor frequently interact with the various digitalization solutions available on the shop-floor, however, most solutions haven’t really been developed with them in mind. Instead of focusing on actual usability, solutions are often highly complex and keep operator interaction to a minimum, relying on them for little more than data entry.
A real-time operational intelligence solution brings useful insights to operators that allow them to intuitively understand the impact of their decision-making on the factory floor. With real-time access to ongoing KPIs and other production data, operators have a more complete picture of the current state of production.
For Managers
Managers rely on technological solutions to run operations accurately, ensure work orders are carried out on time and to customer specifications, and to track raw material consumption. This extends to maintaining and planning inventories. However, the rigidity and potential blind spots of solutions that do not continually analyze data in real-time can lead to costly errors.
A production manager relies on accurate and timely data to make effective decisions. Next generation manufacturing shop-floor solutions ensure accurate and timely production data is continually delivered to managers on a dedicated app that is designed for their needs. In this way, information does not become isolated, connectivity is improved, and it becomes easier to gain full visibility into the entire shop floor.
For Technicians
Traditional digitalization solutions collect production data that is used to properly assess and evaluate issues with any specific machine or process. However, this data is often stored in an unintuitive format that does not provide the required context for technicians to diagnose and solve problems. In many cases, production data can also be inaccurate due to poor workflows around data entry.
With next generation RtOI solutions, technicians have ready access to accurate and relevant production data as well as decision ready insights into the state of each machine or process. They are better able to understand the problem at hand with a clear record of production and whether or not an issue has appeared suddenly or developed over time. An effective RtOI solution also provides improved communication capabilities that allow for information about specific machines or processes to be more readily available.
Changing the way people work in factories
Request a DemoMaking Your Factory Floor More Agile With Matics RtOI
Manufacturers looking to develop a truly agile factory floor can benefit from the unique real-time operational intelligence solution developed by Matics. The solution provides the real-time visibility needed to maintain a holistic view of all production data..
The Matics solution includes a wide range of versatile features for workflow management, production scheduling, communication, and more. Contact Matics today for a demo highlighting how our solution can transform your factory floor into an agile operation.
