Production monitoring - accuracy and speed of data
To be able to take correct and timely decisions on the shop floor, you need accurately and timely data from a good production monitoring system.
With traditional paper-based manual production monitoring, data takes 1 day to reach you. With Industry 4.0, it takes 1 minute. 1440 minutes, versus 1 minute !
Here’s how production monitoring is done traditionally. There are people who go to every machine at the end of every shift, and ask the operator how many parts were made, how many were rejected, and what were the downtimes. They note these numbers down in a register, then enter them in a computer. Yesterday’s night shift ends today morning, so the whole of yesterday’s data is entered by today morning. Then someone else makes reports from this data for senior management. These reports are used in the morning production meeting, to do a post mortem of yesterday’s production.
The data is coming to decision makers via a chain of humans, usually cooked up along the way, after 24 hours. So it is inaccurate, and too late to do anything if something requires immediate attention.
Consequences of delayed or wrong data – some examples:
– There is a part running on machines, with a tight delivery schedule. It is delayed because there is a machine breakdown or there is no raw material. Senior decision makers do not know about this till the next morning, and nobody takes any action (like shifting the part to another machine). Result: delayed delivery.
– Production that has been today is available in the ERP system after 1 or even 2 days. This means the invoice and transport documents are made after this time, and you have finished goods sitting in your factory not making you any money for that period, losing interest.
– Inaccurate production quantity gets entered in the ERP system. Invoice and shipping docs are made for this quantity, but when the truck comes to the gate there is a quantity mismatch.
Monitoring system - manual
Monitoring on Industry 4.0
With production monitoring via an Industry 4.0 based machine monitoring system, data flow is instantaneous, accurate, 24/7. This is how the production monitoring works:
1. There is a machine
2. There is a sensor sensor on the machine that collects data from it
3. The sensor sends the data to the internet
4. Cloud software collects the data and analyzes it
5. Data is displayed to people, sent to other software, sent back to the same machine, or to other machines.
The data is collected automatically, analyzed immediately by software, and available as reports within seconds. You also get alerts on your mobile phone or email when something happens that requires immediate attention.
So here is what an Industry 4.0 based production monitoring system does for you:
With Industry 4.0, instant, accurate data direct from machines.
With the traditional paper method, inaccurate data after 24 hours.
