Real-time monitoring will provide manufacturers with end-to-end control through manufacturing centers that they need to excel.
Manufacturers are concerned with shop floor efficiency, and they are investing and budgeting accordingly. This was one of the primary findings from a February 2019 Decision Analyst study of 150 North American manufacturers funded by IQMS. Indeed, 76% of participating producers believe that increasing shop floor efficiency is their most valuable development strategy for today.
With an emphasis on the factory floor, real-time monitoring is important. Among all manufacturers, 81 percent believe that real-time monitoring benefits their industry, and 72 percent believe that real-time monitoring is critical for streamlining and effective inventory reconciliation. 87 percent of plastic and process-based suppliers, in particular, state that real-time monitoring is critical for their productions.
The largest penetration rate is among manufacturers invested in new or updated smart machines and equipment; 100 percent of all these manufacturers have implemented real-time monitoring through their manufacturing facilities or are in the final stages of doing so. Meanwhile, 33% of respondents indicate that they are updating or removing their ERP framework mainly to provide real-time monitoring through their manufacturing facilities.
A key differentiator for manufacturers expanding at a 10% or higher annual rate is their ability to synchronize analytics, business intelligence (BI), and quality control programs to better understand their business by real-time monitoring of data streams. OEEsystems provides all the necessary performance improvement software & expertise for the manufacturer to boost their business.
Without further ado, let us have a glimpse at how high-performing businesses are using real-time monitoring to accelerate their smart production efforts and achieve strategic and time-to-market competitiveness.
Increasing Productivity
The fastest rising producers focus on real-time monitoring to gain fresh perspectives into increasing and improving shop floor efficiency while exceeding customer expectations. One of the most important takeaways is how real-time monitoring establishes itself as the key development driver for smart manufacturing. The more precise and high-quality the producers collect, the better they can achieve lights-out changes through their factories. 53 percent of manufacturers report increased output quality, as calculated by order-cycle times, and 47 percent report increased precision due to real-time monitoring. Both manufacturers who have implemented the processes are now delivering order status updates to their clients, enhancing consumer satisfaction and repurchase rates even more.
Optimize Smart Machines
41% of respondents are upgrading their appliances, while another 41% are engaging in smart, wired machines, the performance of which is closely linked to the efficiency of the real-time monitoring. Any of the various techniques manufacturers may use to boost shop floor efficiency is just as effective as the data collected, aggregated, and evaluated. Numerous models are capable of self-diagnosis and self-correction, real-time monitoring of quality levels, including statistical process control (SPC) maps, and real-time monitoring of yield data through application programming interfaces (APIs).
Maximize the Benefits of Quality Management Systems (QMS)
33% of manufacturers plan to invest in modern quality management systems this year, and they plan to use real-time monitoring to maximize the output of their new software. QMS is the most widely accepted technology among producers this year. Real-time monitoring offers the data sources necessary for these quality management systems to gain new insights into lowering the cost of bad quality, increasing yield rates, and achieving higher perfect order efficiency. 38% of respondents are directly using this technique to reinforce their quality management.
Simplify Audits
The highly an industry is monitored, the higher the priority is on real-time monitoring to automate and streamline consumer, regulatory, and organizational quality control audits. Across all vendors, 13% claim that the primary advantage of real-time monitoring is automating and streamlining audits. However, the usage of real-time monitoring during audits increases to 92 percent for producers of medical devices and 79 percent for manufacturers in the aerospace and defense (A&D) sector. The more complicated the audit is, the more imperative it is to maintain continuous conformity with federal regulatory regulations, and the more real-time monitoring becomes necessary.
Extend the Life of Manufacturing Assets
According to the report, 13% of all producers depend on real-time monitoring to extend the existence of manufacturing properties, with the fastest rising businesses using automation, business intelligence, and deep learning to more accurately forecast preventative maintenance schedules. The more complicated the manufacturing method, the more emphasis on real-time monitoring is needed to minimize output downtime caused by equipment failures.
Enable the Track-and-Trace functionality
As per the survey, track-and-trace is gaining traction in distinct and process manufacturing, especially as plastics manufacturers increasingly depend on real-time monitoring to boost their performance in this field. From basic track-and-trace functionality through more advanced inquiries and review down to the lot stage, manufacturers prioritize this sector for additional expenditure. Today, 26% focus on real-time monitoring to facilitate tracking and tracing which indicates this number would increase to 43% within 18 months.
Enhance Supplier Consistency in Quality
The majority of participants believe that real-time monitoring would help them solve this obstacle. For example, one vendor stated that real-time tracking assisted in reducing distributor rejection rates from 30% to less than 2% in only four months. By dramatically reducing reject rates, this producer maintained growth by recruiting new distributors across Europe. Without real-time monitoring, the company’s expansion efforts may have stalled. Manufacturers of tics depend on real-time monitoring to further develop this field. From basic track-and-trace functionality to more advanced inquiries and review down to the lot stage, manufacturers prioritize this sector for additional expenditure.
Conclusion
Through implementing these real-time monitoring strategies recommended by Decision Analysts for high-performing manufacturers, businesses will start to comprehend the cost savings, time-to-market benefits, and competitive advantages enhanced by smart manufacturing.