From John O'Kelly's article on Manufacturing.net:

"Regardless of industry, efficiency gains and increased speed provide a competitive edge. The ever-increasing competition in the manufacturing world makes it necessary to find new, efficient ways to speed up the process while remaining accurate and productive. While flying robots and miracle technologies may promise to reshape the industry, we still have a way to go until full automation, and thus the most important asset on the manufacturing floor in 2019 will remain its people.

In 2019, the focus will undoubtably be increasing efficiencies, and this can be achieved through investing in employees, equipping them with the proper techniques and tools. An invested labor force will limit mistakes on the manufacturing floor and improve throughput at every level of the process."

Here are a few best practices to increase efficiency on the manufacturing floor in 2019:

1. Invest in your labor force
2. Prioritize quality assurance
3. Improve labeling errors

You can read the full article with detailed descriptions at: https://blog.safe.com/

Optimize Your Manufacturing Today!

I’m not talking “Modus Operandi,” which is a fancy way to say: “what’s your plan to get stuff done”.  I’m talking about Manufacturing Optimization. 

It is all about efficiency, and by that I mean doing more with less. Less labor, less time, less materials, while still delivering a high quality product on time.

The Three Secrets to Improving your MO

1. Identify the key metrics
You need benchmark data so you know what realistic goals are, then track them and publish your performance along with a brief comment from time to time on how things are trending and how you compare with others, particularly your primary competitors. The best thing about this is that it is a system that develops a life of its own.

2. Measure it
Automatically, people start to think about improving things. Then the fun part, stuff begins to improve by itself. Once in place, the system just hums along and the benefits appear, because it has motivated people to think about it, and figure out what they can do to make it better.

3. Communicate it
So if you publish gross profit numbers, explain to people how what they do affects the numbers. Employees tend to start to modify their behavior as a result, and look more critically at whether a given purchase is even necessary.

Optimize Your Manufacturing Today!

Lunch & Learn Webinar for Baan & LN! 

Want to Improve Profit and Cut Costs at the Same Time?

“Real-time executives averaged a 14% improvement in operating cash flow and achieved a 6% reduction in operating costs” According to the Aberdeen Group.

So, how do you accomplish this great feat? By streaming real-time data to the executives.

The need for visibility into what is happening in the trenches, and the comprehensive understanding of key metrics and their implications for overall performance, are critical for an organization to be at the “top of their game”.   read full article>

Learn how Crossroads RMC can provide for this data streaming with Analytics Dashboards.

Industry-Specific Technology Changes the Game:

"One of the most significant changes has been the development of software and enterprise-wide technology that is designed to specifically meet the needs of particular industries. This has multiple advantages. The technology doesn’t have to be “over-configured” to be functional; the functionality is built-in. It can also be deployed quickly and cost-effectively, with less effort and less risk." Industry Week Article by Kelly McGowan, American Securities.

Read Full Article>

New Data: New Fruit…that’s the promise of finding new data sitting right there under your nose on the factory floor.

Doug Woods, president of the Association for Manufacturing Technology and MTConnect champion says it this way:
"At the end of the day," he explains, "after you've invested in hardware and machines, at some point it all comes down to how do you wring the maximum amount of productivity out of them? How do you get the ultimate efficiency out of the facility?" The only way to be confident you're doing that, he says, is to really understand what is going on with all of the equipment in the factory all of the time. And that, he says, comes down to having "really good data." 

Read Full Article>

Discover How Crossroads RMC can meet this need with Analytics Dashboard.