Industry 4.0 and Lean manufacturing
Why Industry 4.0 and Lean go together As the number of machines on our shop floor increases, the darkness increases, and we stand there, wondering, fearing, doubting…..We have no idea of the current production quantity, which machines are running and which are idle, what is the ROI on the machines, and a hundred other things […]
Benefits of Production monitoring software on profits
Production monitoring software on Industry 4.0 can improve your shop floor profits dramatically. You can starting results in just a couple of weeks. Here is an explanation of what it can do for your organization, in various areas. Data speed with production monitoring system software In the traditional paper-based method with a chain of people, data from […]
How Work Out OEE – 3 Easy Methods
What is Equipment OEE ? Equipment OEE is a measure of capacity utilization, how efficiently you are using your machines. It therefore has a direct connection to return on investment on plant and machinery, and the company’s profits. There are multiple ways of calculating the impact of a change in equipment OEE on your profits What […]
Can Machine Monitoring Software Improve Work Ethics?
Downtime due to work ethics issues can account for a surprisingly large amount of downtime. Late starting and early stoppage in shifts, extended meal breaks, high downtime in night shifts, etc. Total downtime for this can be 10 – 25% of the available time. This is low hanging fruit that requires very little time to […]
Production tracking software and Andon boards
Production tracking software and Andon boards Stale data on Andon boards is as useless as stale bread, and is in fact as harmful as stale bread. Here’s how production tracking software based on Industry 4.0 principles can get you accurate and instant data on your Andon boards. Stale data on Andon boards is as useless […]
IoT based machine monitoring system – components
IoT based machine monitoring system The components of an IoT based machine monitoring system are these: Cyber physical system, IoT and Cloud computing. Cyber-physical system (CPS): Basically, a machine that is controlled or monitored by a computer that is directly connected to the internet. Cyber means ‘involving, using or relating to computers’ (as in cyber-space or […]
Formula for OEE calculation – problems, fixes
Formula for OEE calculation – diagnosing problems and fixing them The Formula for OEE calculation is simple, but the ingredients that go into it decide whether you get a correct OEE value. Here is an explanation of the commonly encountered problems in OEE calculation, and the fixes for them. Availability = (Running time / Available time) Performance […]
Industry 4 revolution and shop floor IT
Industry 4 revolution and shop floor IT In most organizations, the IT network covers all the functions outside the shop floor – Accounts, HR, Stores, Sales, etc. Managers have accurate and up-to-date data on all these functions, and can take quick decisions in these areas. The shop floor, however, is an island in this sea […]
What is Industry 4.0 ? A simple explanation
What Industry 4.0 is, what it is NOT Industry 4.0 is a system that comprises these components: 1. Machines 2. Sensors 3. Data transfer over internet (IOT) 4. Software that analyzes the data and takes decisions – data analytics The Industry 4.0 components in the picture combine to do this: 1. There’s a machine 2. There is […]
Maintenance monitoring system
Maintenance monitoring system – benefits An Industry 4.0 based maintenance monitoring system can dramatically improve efficiency of your maintenance, reduce machine downtime and cut cost of spares. This applies to breakdown maintenance, preventive maintenance, and predictive maintenance. If you are targeting the 8 wastes of LEAN to improve profitability, read on… Breakdowns or Unscheduled Maintenance (UM) How […]